Gators score on all eight possessions in 58-20 road win
ranked Ware County scored touchdowns on seven of its eight possessions and added a field goal on another in hammering Bainbridge 58-20 here Friday night at Centennial Field.
The victory pushed the Gators’ mark to 3-0 as they prepare for a trip to play Bartram Trail (1-1) in St. Johns, Fla., south of Jacksonville.
“We had a really good week of practice,” said head coach Jason Strickland. “But, there’s three things we didn’t do well enough tonight. We had a couple of special teams mishaps, we were not fitting gap scheme stuff very well defensively and we got to tackle better.
“Offensive, I think both the backs got over 100 yards. Isaiah (White) had a nice night throwing the football. The offensive line had another good night.
“I think we’re pretty dog gone solid with a lot of stuff to fix. So, if we get those things fixed, I like our football team going forward. We’re going to play a really, really good football team next week.”“ Offensively, the Gators moved up and down the field behind the running of Jamir Boyd (11 carries, 107 yards, touchdown) and Tayshaun Franklin (10 carries, 101 yards, three touchdowns) racking up 477 yards of offense picking up 23 first downs going 5-of-7 on third down and 2-for-2 on fouth down.
Each supplied a big run with Boyd’s 57-yard run on the Gators’ fourth snap setting up his one-yard touchdown one play later giving Ware County the lead for good at 7-3 midway through the opening period.
Franklin opened the second half with a 44yard sprint to the end zone for his final score of the night. He scored on a pair of five-yard runs in the second quarter.
White completed 13-of-20 passes for 197 yards and touchdown strikes of 38 yards to Ja’Mario Rice (six catches, 90 yards) and 39 yards to Ja’Londi O’Hara (three catches, 67 yards).
Defensively, the Gators allowed 254 yards on the ground with Bainbridge gaining 11 yards or more eight times. The Bearcats ripped off runs of 37, 34 and 26 yards with the other five runs consisting of 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 yards.
“We knew they were going to be a big, physical offensive line,” said Strickland. “We just didn’t fit their gapscheme stuff. They’ve got some slippery backs who hit on some big plays.
“In saying that, I couldn’t be more pleased with what we’re seeing right now. We’re attacking the football and getting after it.”
The Gators spotted Bainbridge a 3-0 advantage with the Bearcats scoring on their first possession. The nine-play, 66-yard drive ended with a 35-yard field goal off the foot of Riggs Rentz with 7:57 left in the opening period.
Rice’s 97-yard return of the ensuing kick was wiped out by a penalty, the only one Ware County had in the first half. Undaunted, the Gators marched 85 yards with Boyd’s one-yard run with 5:48 showing on the clock giving them a 6-3 lead. Jeffery Gonzalez hit the first of his four first-half PATs for a 7-3 lead.
After getting a defensive stop following a Bainbridge 38-yard return, the Gators’ offense followed with an 80-yard drive spilling over into the second period. Rice caught
YARDSTIICK
Ware County 7 24 20 7 - 58 Bainbridge 3 3 7 7 - 20 SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter BHS - Riggs Rentz 35 field goal, 7:57 WCHS - Jamir Boyd 1 run (Jeffery Gonzalez kick), 5:48
Second Quarter WCHS - Tayshaun Franklin 5 run (Gonzalez kick), 11:01 WCHS - Avontae Ballentine 28 fumble return (Gonzalez kick), 11:01 WCHS - Franklin 5 run (Gonzalez kick), 5:30 BHS - Rentz 37 field goal, :53 WCHS - Gonzalez 47 field goal, :00 Third Quarter WCHS - Franklin 44 run (Joel Cortez kick), 10:18 WCHS - Ja’Londi O’Hara 39 pass from Isaiah White (kick failed), 6:40 BHS - LaDerrius Bradshaw 95 kick return (Rentz kick), 6:24 WCHS - Ja’Mario Rice 38 pass from White (Cortez kick), 3:01 Fourth Quarter BHS - Kavion Kelly 3 run (Rentz kick), 8:38 WCHS - Masiyer McCoy 16 run (Cortez kick), 1:40 WCHS BHS First downs 23 14 Rushes-yards 39-283 38-254 Passing yards 197 0 Total yards 480 254 Comp-Att-Int 13-20-0 0-6-0 Punts-Avg —- 3-38.7 Fumbles-lost 1-0 5-1 Penalties 3-35 5-55 3rd Down Con. 5-of-7 3-of-9 4th Down Con. 2-of-2 1-of-1 Time of Poss. 26:23 21:37 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – WCHS: Boyd 11-107, Franklin 10-101, McCoy 8-40, Taylor 3-17, Gilbert 2-9, O’Hara 18, Rice 1-4, White 2-(-3). BHS: Jackson 12-103, Olds 9-61, Kelley 10-58, Lowe 6-24, team 1-8.
PASSING – WCHS: White 13-20-0 197. BHS: Hines 0-6-0. RECEIVING — WCHS: Rice 6-90, O’Hara 3-67, Hayes 2-12, Fore 116, Franklin 1-12.
two passes for 35 yards, Boyd ripped off 23 yards on a pair of runs with Franklin finishing the 10play drive with a five-yard run upping the margin to 14-3 with 11:13 left in the half.
Ware County’s defense recorded its third scoopand- score in as many games on the Bearcats’ first play. Avontae Ballentine plucked the bouncing pigskin off the turf and raced 28 yards unscathed upping the margin to 21-3 just 12 seconds later.
Following a three-andout by Bainbridge, the Gators drove 57 yards in 10 plays with Franklin racing off right tackle to punch in his second touchdown of the night from five yards out as the lead swelled to 28-3 with 5:30 on the clock.
Bainbridge answered with its second field goal of the night at the end of an 11-play, 60-yard possession. Rentz connected from 37 yards out 53 seconds before intermission cutting the deficit to 286.
The Gators final drive of the half started at its own 35 after Rentz kicked the ball out of bounds. A 13yard pass on third-andtwo from White to O’Hara moved the ball to the Bainbridge 44.
A 15-yard pass interference on a fourth-and-10 with two seconds remaining spotted the ball at the Bearcats’ 29. Gonzales calmly drilled a careerbest 47-yard field goal at the buzzer giving Ware County a 31-6 halftime advantage.
The Gators scored on all three third quarter possessions. Rice’s 45-yard return of the second half kickoff spotted the ball at midfield.
Franklin sped 44 yards three plays later on a third-and-four for the touchdown. Joel Cortez kicked his first career PAT for a 38-6 lead at the 10:18 mark.
A three-and-out by Bainbridge was followed by a six-play, 67-yard drive ending with a 39yard scoring toss from White to O’Hara with 6:40 on the third quarter clock. Cortez missed the PAT leaving the score at 44-6.
The Bearcats’ LaDerrius Bradshaw, after fumbling the ensuing kick, raced 95 yards down the hash marks in front of the Ware County bench 16 seconds later cutting the lead to 44-13 after the Rentz PAT.
Ware County countered with a 68-yard, nine-play drive scoring on White’s 38-yard toss to Rice with Cortez kicking the lead to 51-13 with 3:01 remaining in the third period.
Bainbridge unleased freshman Kavion Kelly (10 carries, 58 yards) on its next possession. He carried on 10 of the 12 running plays as the Bearcats moved 74 yards scoring on Kelly’s three-yard run with 8:38 to play in the “mercy rule” final period. The kick by Rentz sliced the margin to 51-20.
One last Ware County possession closed with a 16-yard run up the middle by Masiyer McCoy (eight carries, 40 yards) ending a 12-play, 63-yard march. Cortez was true with the PAT for the final 58-20 margin.
Jamir Boyd (2) finds a huge running lane in the middle of the Bainbridge defense. The senior running back ran for 107 yards while backfield mate Tayshaun Franklin added 101 yards. Both played three quarters. Photo By BO CARTER
