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Suwannee receiver MJ Rossin jumps over a Dixie County defender Thursday night at Bruce Boyette Field. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)
CROSS CITY — Wanting to see how his team responded to different situations, Thursday's spring jamboree gave Suwannee coach Kyler Hall just what he desired.
The start of the three-team jamboree was delayed an hour before in began due to lightning, leading to a condensed schedule.
The other adversity, Suwannee provided that itself late in the final quarter against host Dixie County at Bruce Boyette Field.
“We wanted to see how they responded,” Hall said of the weather delay and the change in schedule. “I think they handled that well. There was a lot of things we just had to adjust to, but I thought our kids handled it well and came out ready to play.”
After Suwannee downed North Florida Educational Institute 14-0 in the one 15-minute quarter they played, the Bulldogs had to hang on for a 3-0 win against the host Bears in the finale.
Leading from the quarter's opening possession, Suwannee took over near midfield after stuffing Dixie's first drive with defensive end Sam Wainwright burying Dixie running back Jaheim Taylor in the backfield for a four-yard loss on a pitch one play before teaming up with Justice Leggett for a sack.
However, Suwannee, which had to settle for a 28-yard AJ Hitt field goal after its first drive stalled at the DC 11, couldn't convert on 3rd-and-1 nor 4th-and-1 at its own 49 behind an offensive line playing three rising sophomores in Blayne Crews, Reese Bronson and Lorenzo Lee due to some injuries, including center Andrew Harrell being out.
On third down, rising sophomore running back Lou Jack Smith was wrapped up in the backfield before getting back to the line of scrimmage.
Suwannee rising senior quarterback Kodi Lang's swing pass to Marquavious Owens on fourth down was short, leading to Owens falling to his knees to catch the ball for a six-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
“That's a situation where if we go for that in the regular season, it's a short field and we have to come back out defensively and get a stop, which we did,” Hall said.
The defense responded. Following an eight-yard Darius Cook run on 2nd-and-12 to give the Bears a manageable third down, Wainwright and Delwyn Allen stood up Cook two yards shy of the first. On fourth down, Dixie quarterback Carter Hodge couldn't handle the snap and was whistled down at the SHS 40, even though the ball was free where Lang scooped it up and was all alone racing for the end zone.
“It looked pretty loose to me, it looked like a clean fumble,” Hall said. “Even though it got called back, it'll be good to see that on film.”
One play after looking like he had scored, Lang gave the ball right back to Dixie. Scrambling to his right after an errant snap, Lang tried to force a throw back across the middle and was picked off by Dixie's Jayden Waugh at the Bears' 30, returning it just across midfield with 2:30 remaining. Lang completed 5 of 9 passes for 14 yards in the quarter against Dixie.
The Bears picked up one first down on a Hodge 9-yard run, but on Dixie's final snap, Drew Pleasant was tossed for a 10-yard loss by MJ Rossin on a reverse. The Bears managed just 16 yards on 16 plays, all runs.
“That throw there, I don't like that we turned the ball over, but I like that he had to experience that play, a bad play, and then have to go right back out there on the field, the mental battle that that is,” Hall added. “He's going to be on the field on offense and defense.”
The stop by Rossin, who also intercepted a pass against NFEI, was enough after Suwannee opened the quarter against the Bears with a 12-play, 64-yard drive that saw Lang break free for 17 yards on the second snap and Owens pick up 22 more two plays later. Owens picked up five more yards on a 4th-and-1 run from the 16 before the drive stalled as Lang, who was 5-of-9 passing against Dixie, missed Daijuan Perkins on a slant after throwing the ball away following an errant snap on second down before then overthrowing Rossin in the corner of the end zone to set up Hitt's kick.
Rossin had two catches for 18 yards and added 13 yards rushing on two carries against Dixie as Suwannee finished with 72 yards of offense, 58 rushing.
In their opener, the Bulldogs had little trouble moving the ball against NFEI, totaling 111 yards on just 15 plays that was led by Lang's 35 yards rushing on three carries and 35 yards passing on 3-of-4 attempts.
After stopping NFEI, which managed just 18 yards in the quarter, on the game's first drive thanks, in part, to a pair of errant snaps, Owens following up a five-yard run for a first down with a 14-yard carry down to the Eagles' 15. A pop pass to Noah Lopez for 12 set up Owens scoring on 3rd-and goal from the 6.
“The plan coming in was to, obviously, get him some touches, but kind of keep him limited,” Hall said of Owens, who totaled 52 yards on five carries in the two quarters. “We know what Quavi can do.”
Getting the ball right back following a 3-and-out, Lang had a 60-yard touchdown run negated by a holding penalty. Three plays later, Lang scored from 20 yards out.
In the first quarter of the jamboree, Dixie edged NFEI 8-6.