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Indians open strong
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| Fort White receiver Jordan Dewhirst (16) escapes a tackle as Tyler Sherrod (13) and Alexis Blake (4) come in to block. |
Fort White routs Bradford, 38-0, to kick off season.
By BRANDON FINLEY
bfinley@lakecityreporter.com
With the stadium decked out in its finest red gear, Fort White High took the field for its regular
season opener in all black when Coach Demetric Jackson unveiled the new jerseys to the Indians prior to the kickoff.
That motivation inspired the Indians to a 38-0
victory over Bradford High on Friday night.
“Coach Jackson came in just before kickoff, and gave us our new black
jerseys. It had us all hyped up,” said quarterback Alex Gilmber after the game.
It was an emotional lift for the Indians defense as Bradford started with the ball, and quickly drove down the field with Rodney Mosley breaking away into the open. However, what looked like a sure
touchdown was taken away from Bradford when Anthony Smalls pursued him on the play and saved the touchdown. It was the first of four big plays for Smalls on the evening.
“He’s a young kid who takes coaching. He wants to be good,” Jackson said. “He works hard, and that’s what we spend a lot of time on in practice. He’s a good tackler.”
Smalls would give the ball back to the Indians when he recovered a Bradford fumble. Xavier Blake would break for a 28-yard run on the first play, but the drive would stall.
Sending in the punt team may have actually swung momentum in the Indians favor as Smalls would again be in on the play, downing the punt at the 3-yard line.
After forcing a three and out, Jordan Dewhirst returned a punt inside the Tornadoes 20-yard line.
Blake again got the call, and ran it down to the
2-yard line. Two plays later it was Blake’s line allowing him to walk into the end zone.
“The line blocked all night. They came off the ball well,” Jackson said. “It allowed Xavier to hit on some big plays. He ran with authority.”
Alexis Blake made it another Fort White
touchdown when Alex Gilmer hit him and Blake did the rest taking it
51 yards for a touchdown
making it 14-0 with 1:37 to play in the first quarter.
Following a field goal by Levi Hatcher, and a couple of exchanged drives it was Xavier Blake at it again. This time Blake would engineer the drive with four runs of over 10 yards before capping it off with a 1-yard touchdown giving the Indians a 24-0 halftime lead.
Fort White didn’t let up coming out the gate for the second half as both Blake brothers came up with big plays on the way to a scoring drive. Xavier Blake started out the drive by
rushing for 25 yards on three
carries, and then Alexis Blake finished it off with a 23-yard reception from Gilmer.
Two drives later the Indians began pounding the ball down the field with Blake with Blake and Montre Cray getting the bulk of the carries. Gilmer capped off the drive with a pass to Dewhirst on a slant pattern. It was Gilmer’s third and final touchdown pass of the game. He was
7 of 16 for 128 yards.
Bradford would produce a drive deep into Indian’s territory with the score
38-0 late in the fourth
quarter, but the Indians would hold down. Marcus Spencer sent Trey Winkler down when he came through the middle for a sack on first down. Two plays later it was A.J. Parnell, Roy Blake, and a host of Indians bringing down Winkler and giving the Indians a
shutout in their regular
season opener.
Xavier Blake led the Indians in rushing with 158 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.
“I kept telling my line to block for me, and allow me to get into open space. They did a good job of that tonight,” Blake said.
Fort White hosts Keystone Heights High next Friday night.
season opener in all black when Coach Demetric Jackson unveiled the new jerseys to the Indians prior to the kickoff.
That motivation inspired the Indians to a 38-0
victory over Bradford High on Friday night.
“Coach Jackson came in just before kickoff, and gave us our new black
jerseys. It had us all hyped up,” said quarterback Alex Gilmber after the game.
It was an emotional lift for the Indians defense as Bradford started with the ball, and quickly drove down the field with Rodney Mosley breaking away into the open. However, what looked like a sure
touchdown was taken away from Bradford when Anthony Smalls pursued him on the play and saved the touchdown. It was the first of four big plays for Smalls on the evening.
“He’s a young kid who takes coaching. He wants to be good,” Jackson said. “He works hard, and that’s what we spend a lot of time on in practice. He’s a good tackler.”
Smalls would give the ball back to the Indians when he recovered a Bradford fumble. Xavier Blake would break for a 28-yard run on the first play, but the drive would stall.
Sending in the punt team may have actually swung momentum in the Indians favor as Smalls would again be in on the play, downing the punt at the 3-yard line.
After forcing a three and out, Jordan Dewhirst returned a punt inside the Tornadoes 20-yard line.
Blake again got the call, and ran it down to the
2-yard line. Two plays later it was Blake’s line allowing him to walk into the end zone.
“The line blocked all night. They came off the ball well,” Jackson said. “It allowed Xavier to hit on some big plays. He ran with authority.”
Alexis Blake made it another Fort White
touchdown when Alex Gilmer hit him and Blake did the rest taking it
51 yards for a touchdown
making it 14-0 with 1:37 to play in the first quarter.
Following a field goal by Levi Hatcher, and a couple of exchanged drives it was Xavier Blake at it again. This time Blake would engineer the drive with four runs of over 10 yards before capping it off with a 1-yard touchdown giving the Indians a 24-0 halftime lead.
Fort White didn’t let up coming out the gate for the second half as both Blake brothers came up with big plays on the way to a scoring drive. Xavier Blake started out the drive by
rushing for 25 yards on three
carries, and then Alexis Blake finished it off with a 23-yard reception from Gilmer.
Two drives later the Indians began pounding the ball down the field with Blake with Blake and Montre Cray getting the bulk of the carries. Gilmer capped off the drive with a pass to Dewhirst on a slant pattern. It was Gilmer’s third and final touchdown pass of the game. He was
7 of 16 for 128 yards.
Bradford would produce a drive deep into Indian’s territory with the score
38-0 late in the fourth
quarter, but the Indians would hold down. Marcus Spencer sent Trey Winkler down when he came through the middle for a sack on first down. Two plays later it was A.J. Parnell, Roy Blake, and a host of Indians bringing down Winkler and giving the Indians a
shutout in their regular
season opener.
Xavier Blake led the Indians in rushing with 158 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.
“I kept telling my line to block for me, and allow me to get into open space. They did a good job of that tonight,” Blake said.
Fort White hosts Keystone Heights High next Friday night.
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FW FAN wrote on Sep 6, 2008 9:25 AM: