PACETTI BAY – Led by the return of Anthony Permaul, the Pacetti Bay Wildcats came ready to play Wednesday and it showed in a 30-0 home win over Sebastian.
Permaul, who missed the first five games, returned to the field for the first time this season and finished with 7.5 tackles on defense and 24 yards rushing in his debut.
He wasn’t the only one standing out as the offense was led by quarterback Ryan Rustici (70 yards passing, 27 yards rushing) including a 31-yard touchdown toss to Kyle Brennock and a 9-yard touchdown scamper after rolling to his right.
Brennock had another huge day with 38 receiving yards, to go along with 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns (a long of 45 yards) and a 37 yard kick return to start the game.
Rustici other target was Blaze West, who finished with 33 yards receiving.
The defense recorded 7 sacks, led by Chase Warner who finished with 3 solo sacks and assisted on 2 more.
Pacetti Bay (2-4) host Gamble Rogers (6-1) Wednesday at 5 in another county show down.
JULINGTON CREEK – Murray coach Arnett Chase knew his game with Patriot Oaks was big, he just didn’t know how big it truly was till the end of the game.
“I talked to the commissioner after the game and found out they changed the playoff format to include six teams now,” Chase said.
The significance of the 18-14 win over Patriot Oaks at Plantation Park Wednesday, is it allows Murray to temporarily hold on to the six and final playoff spot as of right now.
To get in that position first they had to hold off a pesky Patriot Oaks team also fighting for a playoff spot.
Murray struck first as quarterback Trevon Dirden connected with Jaekwon Smiley on a 60 yard touchdown pass to give Murray an early 6-0 lead.
Patriot Oaks responded as tailback Keaton Thomas rumbled 75 yards for a score and Luke Johnson caught the two point conversion from quarterback Bryson Sweeney to give the Patriots a 8-6 lead.
Dirden raced 20 yards untouched on a keeper on the final play of the first half and yet despite the two point pass being knocked down, the Bulldogs led 12-8 going into halftime.
In the fourth quarter, Dirden faked a hand off and raced 25 yards down to the 8-yard line. Two plays later, Dirden trotted in from 6 yards for a 18-8 lead.
Patriot Oaks needed a big play to get back in the game late in the fourth and got it as Marshall Robinson returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to cut the lead to 18-14 with under four minutes remaining.
The onside kick was recovered by Murray but the Patriots defense forced a quick three and out giving the Patriots one last chance.
However, Smiley picked off a Sweeney pass with under two minutes left in the game and a quarterback sneak from Dirden picked up a first down and allowed the Bulldogs to run out the clock.
Now knowing the playoff situation, the Bulldogs look to keep themselves in contention and increase their playoff seeding.
“This gives our team that extra drive and motivation now and now we can get in the playoff mix, ” Chase said. “Our goal now is to go undefeated in October.”
So far so good for the Bulldogs, who close out the season with games against a pair of struggling teams Valley Ridge and arch-rival Sebastian and their toughest challenge Landrum, which could decide the fifth and sixth playoff seeds.
First things first though, as the Bulldogs (2-4) hosts Valley Ridge (1-5) next week in another key county showdown.
Landrum 28, Valley Ridge 0
No. 5 Landrum (3-3) won its second straight game to remain in the fifth spot with a 28-0 win over Valley Ridge at Davis Park.
The Lions host Switzerland Point Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Cornerstone in a game that could see the Lions move up to the fourth seed with a win.
Week 8 (Oct. 11)
Swiss Point vs Landrum (Cornerstone), 5
Valley Ridge at Murray, 5
Gamble Rogers at Pacetti Bay, 5
Sebastian vs Patriot Oaks (Plantation), 5
Liberty Pines vs Fruit Cove (Plantation), 7
