Bolles High School- The Bolles Bulldogs had one job to do. Win and they would be crowned district champions. Yet standing in their way were the Ponte Vedra Sharks, a team that needed to win in order to keep their district championship and perhaps playoff hopes alive. On Friday night, Ponte Vedra would play like a team that knew the stakes at hand, while Bolles would play like a team not ready to take the district in their hands.
From the start of the game the difference in approaches was clear as Ponte Vedra Quarterback Jack Murrah played like a man possessed. Not known to be a running Quarterback Murrah, reeled off a long 45 yard run to set up the Sharks deep in Bolles territory. Murrah would hook up with Jarrett Stepp on a 10 yard touchdown pass to go up 6-0 after a missed PAT. On the ensuing kickoff, Bolles would give Ponte Vedra a gift in the form of a recovered kickoff. The ball was kicked deep to the left of the Bulldog kickoff return team, bouncing just in bounds and falling between the Bulldogs players. 
Ponte Vedra raced down the field and recovered the ball at the Bulldogs 20 yard line. Bolles would hold Ponte Vedra to a field goal, but Ponte Vedra had built a 9-0 lead early. On the next drive, Bolles would make some plays in the passing game to get them into Sharks territory, however Stepp who also plays defensive back for Ponte Vedra would intercept the Josiah Johnson pass ending a promising drive for the Bulldogs. It was a disastrous first quarter for Bolles, and the second quarter started the same when Ponte Vedra scored on its very first play. Murrah tossed his second touchdown of the game, this time to Kit Connelly and just like that Ponte Vedra led Bolles 16-0 after two quarters. The suffrage on offense didn’t end there for Bolles as on their next offensive drive they would fumble on the Sharks 29 yard line. Ponte Vedra wouldn’t turn that turnover into points, but after forcing a Bolles punt on the next drive they would capitalize. Murrah hit Stepp on a deep 40 yard pass with only 20 seconds to play in the half. A few plays later with just seconds in the half Jack Murrah would make the signature play of the game. The Quarterback dropped back and eluded one rusher, stepped up int o the pocket and eluded another rusher, rolled to his left keeping his eyes down field and hit Kyle Barker on a 10 yard touchdown pass. The play showed everything Ponte Vedra exhibited in the first half, determination, focus, and toughness. It’s why they hald a 23-0 lead on the road at halftime.
“My Coach told me before that touchdown pass, don’t get sacked, so that’s what I did”- Jack Murrah
The second half saw Bolles come out with more focus and readiness. On the second half kickoff, returner Bryson Kirksey faked the reverse and took it 75 yards all the way down to the Ponte Vedra 25 yard line. The play showed life for Bolles, something they severely lacked. It was taken away briefly when Duncan Van Kouteran intercepted a pass from Johnson ending yet another drive for Bolles. 
The Bolles defense was able to get a much needed stop and the Bolles offense finally woke up. Josiah Johnson hit Jayden McCloud for their biggest play of the night, a 45 yard touchdown pass and catch to put them on the board. After a recovered onsides kick, Johnson would toss his second touchdown in two minutes when he hit Chris Sanders II on a 20 yard touchdown reception and just like that Bolles had clawed to within 10 points 23-13. Bolles would attempt a two point conversion and fail. Momentum had shifted in the game as Bolles looked for an emotional boost to carry them to victory. Yet emotion can only take you so far against a team with a killer instinct, and Ponte Vedra had that mantra the entire night. Every time Bolles made a positive play, Ponte Vedra would return the favor. Ponte Vedra respond to the two touchdowns with a field goal making the score as Bolles also added one to make the score 26-16. McCloud would score his second touchdown of the game , this time on a short run to pull Bolles to within three points 26-23. But it would be Murrah time again, on Ponte Vedra’s next offensive possession, the talented quarterback hit Stepp down the middle for a Bolles back breaker. “What I tried to do is make big plays for my team and punch our ticket to the playoffs” said Stepp after the game. After the 70 yard gainer Ponte Vedra found themselves on the Bulldog’s doorstep late in the contest. They would knock the door down with a one yard touchdown run by Zack King, crashing the Bulldogs homecoming party 33-23.
Ponte Vedra preyed on the secondary of Bolles all night. Jack Murrah finished with three touchdown passes and 225 yards passing unofficially. Jarret Stepp added 125 receiving yards, a touchdown catch and an interception in his spectacular effort. ” We’ve been preparing for this and we knew we had good matchups where no one could cover Jarrett, I’m just glad we could come out with the win” said Quarterback Jack Murrah after dealing his former school a devastating loss. Murrah attended Bolles from Kindergarten to fifth grade and noticed how the Bulldogs fueled their fire before their first matchups in both school’s history. ” They were talking during pregame warm-ups about how they were going to beat us” said Murrah. Stepp added “No they’ve been saying all year how they were going to beat us, smack us, and we are just glad we could come in here and smack them in the mouth”. With the loss, Bolles squandered an opportunity to win the district due to Trinity Christian having to forfeit their win over Bolles earlier in the season. A Trinity appeal will be heard next week, yet barring any changes in the decision, the Ponte Vedra win left district 4-5A in a three way tie with Ponte Vedra, Bolles and Trinity all sitting at 4-1 in district play.
