Until midway through the 3rd quarter, many who attended the First Coast vs Deland game must’ve thought they accidentally went to the wrong game. Many were accustomed to seeing the Buccaneers of First Coast up by 2o at halftime, when in actuality they were only up by 2!
What happened you ask? Quite simple.. Deland came out confident and ready to play. #1 Tomas Ward and #27 Bull Bruten energized their team with strong efforts running and tackling. First Coast were polar opposites, coming out completely flat. So flat were the Bucs, that with a 9-3 lead in the second quarter you would’ve thought they were losing 9-3 by the sense of the crowd. But in the second half, Quarterback Deandre Johnson lifted the Bucs on his back and carried them to the victory 34-19. Wide Receiver Kevin Stepherson showed tremendous explosiveness with yards after the catch. And Xavier Rhodes complimented Johnson well on the ground. The defense was able to shut down Delands offense in the second half yielding only one touchdown.