FRUIT COVE – With little to none practice this week after playing Mainland on Monday, Bartram Trail offense looked anything but rusty in a 49-21 win over Clay last night.
Which begs the question, what would a full week of preparation looked like ?
If last night’s production was any indication of what future opponents have to look forward to, defensive coordinators are not going to be getting much sleep.
Three days after shocking host Mainland, Bartram Trail racked up 529 yards of offense in the win over Clay, including 330 on the ground along with six touchdowns.
Ahead 28-21 late in the third quarter, senior quarterback Joey Gatewood directed his offense down the field quickly responding to the Clay score with a 14 yard scamper giving the Bears some much needed cushion at 35-21 just two minutes later.
While the score gave the Bears some much needed breathing room, it was the ensuing call which ultimately changed the game. A surprised onside kick recovered by the Bears put the offense back on the field and the tired Devils defense gasping for air.
Two plays later, Riley Smith faked a pass and handed off to Devin Ellison, who rumbled 43 yards up the middle untouched to increase the lead to 42-21 with three minutes left in the third.
Clay, which never led and had to play catch up all night tying the game twice at 7-7 and 14-14, was now down three touchdowns as the game quickly got out of hand.
Aundre Carter, 113 yards on 20 carries, 1 yard run seconds into the fourth quarter cut the lead to 42-28.
However, every time Clay scored, Bartram Trail had an answer never allowing Clay any chance to pull off the upset.
Freshman Aaron Jones scored his first career touchdown on a 3 yard scamper to increase the lead to 49-28 three minutes into the fourth quarter.
The second half was quite different than the first half, which saw both teams go toe-to-toe with each other responding to the others score.
Clay easily drove down the field on their first possession, however Caleb Eason’s fourth down pass to Ajay Belanger came up a yard short of the first down at the 22 yard line.
On the Bears opening possession, Gatewood found Xavier Hutchinson open for a 20 yard score to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter.
Eason sucked the defense in the box after several runs by Carter and found Belanger open for a 40 yard score tying the game at 7-7 with under two minutes left in the first.
Ellison, 139 yards on 12 carries, broke of a 22 yard run and capped the ensuing drive with a 16 yard score putting the Bears back ahead 14-7 seconds into the second quarter.
Two possessions later, Eason again sucked in the defense playing the run and found a wide open Spencer Lesage on a 60 yard completion tying the game at 14-14 with 2:19 left in the half.
Ellison broke off a 14 yard run and capped the ensuing drive with a 6 yard run with thirty one seconds left giving the Bears a 21-14 halftime lead.
A shanked punt which rolled 15 yards gave the Bears great field possession to start the third quarter at the Clay 29-yard line. Four plays later, Smith showed off his athleticism after being forced out of the pocket and zig-zagged 23 yards for a score to increase the lead to 28-14 midway through the third quarter.
However, Eason answered back finding Lesage alone in one-on-one coverage with the defensive back and perfectly placed the ball into Lesage hands for a 31 yard strike cutting the lead to 28-21 with 5:10 left in the third.
Eason started the game 10 of 11 for 220 yards, but threw five straight incompletions to finish 10 of 16 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Lesage was on the receiving end of 5 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while Belanger added 5 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown.
Gatewood was 11 of 16 for 158 yards and one touchdown and also ran for 69 yards on 9 carries and one touchdown; while Smith chipped in 5 of 8 for 41 yards and 74 yards and one touchdown on 6 carries. Hutchinson had six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown, while Griffin Helm added four catches for 58 yards.
Bartram Trail (2-1) host Oakleaf (1-2) next Friday in the District 3-7A opener for both teams. The Knights will be looking for revenge having lost to the Bears two consecutive years with both losses knocking them out the playoffs. Clay (1-2) travels to county rival Orange Park (0-3) in the District 5-5A opener for both teams next Friday.
