An improbable play highlighted a third-quarter comeback for Flagler Palm Coast and the Bulldogs scored a 33-21 victory over Fleming Island Friday night in the spring classic game for both teams.
FPC, undefeated for the first time in school history in the 2017 regular season, trailed the Golden Eagles 14-0 at halftime before rising junior halfback Ty Jenkins hit Tyshaun Blount on a 70-yard touchdown strike. The play came on the opening series of the third quarter and caught even head coach Travis Roland off guard.
No matter, though, because the play triggered a 19-point turnaround for the Bulldogs. FPC also got touchdown passes from Donovan Montoyo covering 40 yards to Dennis Shorter and 17 to Damien Irven to secure the eventual win.
The comeback began after the Golden Eagles had mounted a 14-0 lead when the defense was fooled on a 79-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter, followed by a sustained scoring drive on the next series.
FPC came into the game riding a solid four weeks of spring workouts and on the crest of a 9-0 season last year that ended with a playoff loss to Orlando Boone in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs. The nature of the “unfinished business” aspect will be inspiration for the Bulldogs, who bring back a large contingent of veteran starters on both sides of the football, including area Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Nelson Paul.
The FPC defense played well for the balance of the game after the initial shock, led by rising senior defensive back Woody Dezius, linebackers Tallin Coates (the leading tackler for the team in 2017) and Anthony Buchanan, and rising sophomore cornerback Ja’Corey Benjamin.
FPC now prepares for the annual summer workouts, which will include core weight strength training and conditioning along with football camps and passing league activities. The first official day of fall football practice with non-contact drills starts the week of July 30, with full contact starting Aug. 5.
The Bulldogs will play their preseason classic fall game at home this year on Aug. 17 against Jacksonville Atlantic Coast and open the season against cross-county rival Matanzas Aug. 24.
Matanzas falls to Clay
New Matanzas head coach Don Mathews has seen program highs and lows during his tenure as an assistant football coach with the school. He’s looking at Friday night’s 14-0 loss to Clay in three quarters of varsity action as a learning experience, not only for his young charges but for himself.
Mathews, who has spent the past five years as the team’s defensive coordinator, helped former coach Robert Ripley craft what had historically been an also-ran program at best into a competitive team that could move the football up and down the field. Matanzas was 7-3 and a Class 6A playoff representative for the second straight year last season.
The Pirates had difficulty all night Friday navigating against Clay’s stout defense, a situation made worse by slippery field conditions generated by a week of rain. Many plays were stopped before ever getting a chance to develop because of aggressive play up front by the Blue Devils’ defense. Matanzas racked up 106 yards of all-purpose offense, 93 of it on the ground.
Rising senior quarterback Josef Powell found himself in the grasp of a Clay linebacker many times before he was able to hand off. The Blue Devils were particularly sound at checking Matanzas’s attempts to probe the middle and equally effective when the Pirates tried to run wide.
The Pirates gave up two touchdowns, one a 5-yard off tackle sneak by Clay quarterback T.K. Kocak, the other a touchdown run by running back Wilguens Dorvillas, who rushed 13 times for 57 yards including the scoring play. The Blue Devils rolled up 259 yards on the ground, the sum of their offense as they failed in their few attempts to pass the football.
Matanzas did get some good play out of the defense, in particular linebackers Josh Iglesias and Skyler Williams-Michaud. Rising junior Nehemiah Knight had a handful of stops playing out of left cornerback, including a big pass breakup.