by First Half Action
This previously-postponed game (due to Hurricane Isaias) was flexed to a Tuesday night as opposed to the usual Friday Night Lights. Nonetheless, the stands were full of passionate fans and the players came ready to play right from the initial kickoff.
This game started off with an absolute bang, when Cougars freshman DB Davey Lattimore blazed off a 72-yard kickoff return on the opening kick. Wakulla running back/defensive back Danny Godbolt had an impressive effort to catch Lattimore and prevent a first-play touchdown. However, the ball was still immediately within the 10-yard line of the War Eagles, Godby was already knocking on the door for points. And on their second play of the possession, Godby quarterback Landon Dougherty found wide receiver Kyle Estimond for a 5-yard score in the back right quadrant of the end zone for a touchdown. An Abdul Albasha extra point notched the game at a quick 7-0.
As for the War Eagles, they had a 24-yard kickoff return return themselves, but it got called back to their 16-yard line as a result of an Unsportsmanlike Conduct call. Another penalty halted Wakulla’s progress when an Illegal Procedure made it so they had to cover 15 yards of ground as opposed to 10. The War Eagles had three medium-yardage plays to get to a 4th & 1 on their own 25-yard line. And the coach made the decision to go for it. It was an extremely gutsy call that could destroy every speck of momentum they could have. However, when wide receiver Rhyheem Moore took the wildcat snap, he bolted up the field for a 15-yard gain to keep the drive going and light the crowd up. Running back Armon Lindsey would then take a carry for 22 yards to push Wakulla into opponent territory. Danny Godbolt would fill in for a couple plays and rushed for an 11-yard gain to continue the progress towards the end zone. Ultimately, the drive was capped off by an Armon Lindsey ground-n’-pound run up the gut for a 5-yard score. And a Colby Carranza kick would even the score at 7 apiece.
The Cougars on their ensuing drive would receive a short kick from Wakulla as to prevent another long kick return. The War Eagle defense would then force a third down, but Landon Dougherty scrambled out of the pocket and found athlete Terron Atkins trailing on the right side for an 18-yard pickup. A few plays later, Godby running back Kamren McMillan carved up the seam for a 22-yard rush and took multiple defenders to bring him down after he put his team on the Wakulla 6-yard line. McMillan’s next carry put the Cougars on the 1 and Dougherty took a QB sneak into the end zone for the second Godby touchdown of the first quarter. The kick this time however was blocked by War Eagle defensive lineman Antonio Harvey to keep the difference at 6 points.
Godby wasn’t the only team with a good kick return unit. Wakulla’s next kickoff saw athlete Jarrell Rudolph return the Cougar kick for 50 yards and put them right away on the exact yard-line point the ball was kicked from. Danny Godbolt and QB Ashton Brooks would represent the War Eagles’ yardage numbers on the first few plays of the possession on the ground. They would also get a few chunk plays to get close to the end zone. A 15-yard Brooks to Rhyheem Moore connection and 12-yards Brooks to Lindsey put Wakulla in easy striking distance for points as the second quarter rolled around. Rhyheem Moore would then take another wildcat snap that would find him in the end zone from 6 yards out. Carranza’s successful extra point attempt adjusted the score to 14-13 in the favor of Wakulla.
On their next posesssion, Wakulla’s defense would once again force Godby into a third down situation right off the bat including a combined 2-yard TFL from middle linebacker Rayshon St. Pierre, athlete Nigel Cloud and defensive end Zay Carnline. This attempt would not prevail as well for the Cougars however when their deep pass attempt was tracked well and picked off by War Eagle athlete Ced Hicks at the Wakulla 28-yard line in a diving effort.
The War Eagles ensuing drive began with a holding call on Godby and then a following offensive facemask that set Wakulla on a 1st & a country mile that they weren’t able to do much with and as a result went three-and-out. The punt from Wakulla was not returned and was downed at the Cougar 42-yard line.
On their first play, Godby had a snap go high and Dougherty immediately had to run back to corral the ball and was pulverized by athlete Ced Hicks for a 13-yard loss. A 2nd & 23 was once again not an ideal situation off the get-go for Godby, but Dougherty once again showed grit in the face of adversity heaving up a dart that was caught moss-style on the head of the defensive back by wideout Kyle Estimond for a 52-yard field-flipping highlight reel catch. The next third down was an attempted pass that was excellently defended by Danny Godbolt, forcing Godby into their first fourth-down scenario of the game. The field goal attempt for the Cougars was wide left and Wakulla took over.
This Wakulla possession, similar to Godby’s, also started off with a loss on third down as Cougar defensive end Tykari Powell bursted his way into the backfield and got a 5-yard solo TFL to give Godby’s defense the upper hand in that present scenario. Being stuck behind the initial sticks again, the War Eagles managed to make it 4th & manageable, but elected to punt this time. This quickly took a turn when Godby athlete Zaeon Simmons flew off the edge into arms-length off the punter and blocked the punt, ran after the ball and recovered it. This solo effort from Simmons gave Godby another chance to score with less than 2 minutes left in the half at the 10-yard line. On their second play, Landon Dougherty found Lacari Murray for an 11-yard touchdown. And on the PAT attempt,
