Bartram Trail- It was a rematch from the regular season, a playoff game between two teams very familiar with each other. In rematches, the team that won the initial game sometimes can run into trouble in the rematch. However that wasn’t the case when Bartram Trail hosted Fleming Island Friday night. The Bears, who won the regular season contest 32-16, completely dominated the Golden Eagles from start to finish in the rematch winning the game 38-13. The win guaranteed Bartram a spot in the state semifinals next week, but the Bears would have to wait to see who and where they would play. When the smoke finally cleared, it was revealed that Bartram Trail would face Plant at home for the chance to go to Orlando to play for a state title.
FINAL: @PlantFootball 13, @LHSDreadnaughts 10.
Plant hangs on! Panthers will face Bartram Trail in 7A State Semifinal with thrilling victory over Lakeland.@FlaHSFootball @H2_Recruiting @Ed_Colon863 @JakePerper @DuvalSports @wwbrown19 pic.twitter.com/FpMDSbZEsV
— Will Turner (@WTurner247) November 25, 2017
Plant defeated Lee high school in the state semifinals in Tampa Florida last year to move on to the state title game. They would eventually lose to St. Thomas Aquinas in the championship game, yet Plant is no stranger to winning state titles with four championships themselves (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011). 
Bartram will face a very confident Plant team, but confidence is something the Bears won’t be lacking. They showed that against Fleming Island Friday night, a team that was very confident themselves winners of five straight including two road playoff wins. The Bears overwhelmed them with a barrage of offensive weapons. After a 37-yard field goal from Ethan Dudley put Bartram on the board 3-0 in the first quarter, quarterback Riley Smith hit wide receiver Gunner Huntzman for a 30 yard touchdown to put the Bears up 10-0 in the first quarter. Fleming Island would get on the board with a field goal in the second quarter, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop the Bears. Quarterback Joey Gatewood drove the team down the field and capped the drive with a touchdown pass to Griffin Helm to make the score 17-3. It would be the second score of the quarter for the Bears, but it wouldn’t be their last. After Fleming Island responded in a major way with an 80 yard touchdown pass from Brian Brown to Anfernee McCaskill, it seemed as if the game would be competitive and close now 17-10 Bartram. Yet Riley Smith would respond with his second touchdown of the game, this time running it in for the score to up the advantage to 24-10 Bartram at halftime.
Bartram Trail did a great job of neutralizing the rushing attack of Fleming Island. Fullback Ryan Smenda and running back Chauncey Garrison couldn’t break loose for big game busting runs that has fueled the offense of late. 
Bartram was stout at the point of attack and swarmed to the football making it hard for Fleming Island to establish their running game. It forced Fleming Island to commit several turnovers playing out of sync. Trying to stage the comeback, Fleming would fumble several times with Bartram’s Chase Ruskin and Kolton McDaniel recovering for Bartram. In total, the Golden Eagles would commit five on the night. A Conner Sutton interception ended the turnover party late in the game. The bread and butter for the Eagles seemed to be cooked as Bartram’s play makers started to eat, feasting off the turnover fest. Joey Gatewood would remain smoldering with his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter, this time a pass to Xavier Hutchinson to increase Bartram’s lead to 31-10. Hutchinson would be on the receiving end of a second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter from Riley Smith this time, to put the game away 38-10. Smith would end with 110 yards passing with two touchdown passes and one rushing to lead the scoring effort Bartram. His efforts lifted Bartram to its fifth win in a row and red hot heading into their state semifinal contest next Friday. Head Coach Darrell Sutherland has his team clicking on all cylinders at the right time.
Fleming Island battled adversity on and off the field this year and Coach Damenyum Springs can be proud of the effort of his coaching staff and players. A smoking team themselves, the Golden Eagles ran into an even hotter team in the Bears. One that has all the tools and weapons to represent Northeast Florida in class 7A in Orlando if they win next week.
Photos by Eagles Eye Photography (Aaron Jones)
