MIDDLEBURG -It was a coming out party of sorts for Javon Gantt. The rising senior wide receiver put on a electrifying show for those in attendance after seeing Westside hold off host Middleburg 21-12.
Gantt didn’t get a lot of looks but he certainly made the most of them hauling in three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns in a half of work.
On the Wolverines first drive of the second quarter, Gantt was on the receiving end of a 22 yard completion from rising sophomore Ditannon Otis that put them near midfield.
Facing fourth and 10 from the 44-yard line, Otis found Gantt behind the defense and all alone across the middle for an easy 56 yard touchdown reception giving the Wolverines a 14-6 lead with 9:25 left till half.
A possession later, he was back in the end zone again.
Otis hit Gantt on a fade route in the right corner of the end zone for a 7 yard touchdown reception increasing the lead to 21-6 with 2:23 left till half.
Gannt, who has offers from FIU, Mercer and Valdosta State, will almost certainly be climbing up the recruiting rankings with his 6-4 lean body frame and blazing speed.
He wasn’t the only one showing out though.
The loss of Andrew Thomas to graduation was a big one; but looks like the Broncos have a couple of guys filling his shoes in rising seniors Anthony Havens and Tyler Bryant.
Havens transferred in from Fort Lauderdale and looks to make a sudden impact with his speed, while Bryant a two-way standout also showed off his athleticism.
However, it was another teammate who put the Broncos on the scoreboard first as rising junior quarterback Joe Justino hit rising sophomore split end Jay Lane on a post route for a 10 yard touchdown reception giving the Broncos a quick 6-0 lead five minutes into the game.
With no live kickoffs, punts or field goals; teams began each possession on the 20 yards line except after fourth down as each drive started 40 yards opposite of where ever the opposing offense drive stalled, the equivalent of a downed punt.
Starting at their own 20, the Broncos rode Bryant five times on the drive, while also mixing up passes from Justino to Lane for 46, Lane again for 10 and split end Trevor Todd for 5 yards, which put them inside the ten. Nine plays and 80 yards later the Broncos were on the score board first.
Westside countered the score with one of its own as rising senior quarterback Jalil Jackson faked a hand off and raced up the middle untouched for a 75 yard touchdown run giving the Wolverines a 7-6 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter.
The Wolverines alternated quarterbacks at times through out the game as both Jackson and Otis saw time behind the center. Both bring the same level of skills to the table for the Wolverines and both will be counted on likely in the fall.
After both offenses went up and down the field easily on their opening drives, they both stalled on their next few drives as both turned the ball over on downs after failing to get a first down on third down.
Following the first score by Gannt, the Broncos appeared on the move to another score but the drive stalled at midfield despite a 16 yard completion from Justino to Lane on the drive.
After the second score from Gannt, the Wolverines tried to add to their lead on the final drive of the first half as Jackson rumbled 19 yards and then 13 yards to the 47 yard line. However, an offside call on the offense and a bad low snap, which allowed Cole Leclair to sack Jackson on the final play of the half brought the half to a close.
Both teams played a mixture of starters and backups in the third quarter before finally turning it over to the backups late in the third quarter.
Westside took over at its own 20 to start the third quarter and rising sophomore LilJames Harris rumbled 80 yards for an apparent score but it was called back after a extremely late illegal procedure call.
After seeing the Wolverines chew up nearly all of the third quarter on their opening drive, the Broncos finally got the ball back with seven minutes left in the quarter.
Bryant literally carried the Broncos on his back carrying the ball five straight times for 31 yards, before finally getting a much needed breather as Havens broke free for a 16 yard gain down to the 29 yard line.
Justino found tight end Jacob Hansen for a 14 yard gain, which set up Haven’s 5 yard scamper in the left corner of the end zone cutting the lead to 21-12 with 2:59 left in the third quarter. Haven was stopped well short of the goal line on the two point attempt as the Broncos tried to cut it to a seven point deficit.
Both teams cleared their benches and put in the backups at this point bringing the 1’s on 1’s to a close and the scoring to a close.
The Wolverines (1-8) last season under Rodney Dubose are once again loaded on offense with play makers rising seniors wide receiver Kenneth Davis, tailback Dalton Wilson, wide receiver Javon Gnatt along with junior tailback Jared Ealey.
While the Broncos (1-9) last season under Karl Smeltzer have some weapons as well led by rising seniors tailbacks Tyler Bryant and Anthony Havens, juniors corner Calvin Suggs and quarterback Joe Justino and sophomore split end Jay Lane.
Both coaches had to be pleased overall with their teams performance, as well as knowing things they have to work on heading to summer and fall workouts before practice resumes July 30 and both take the field again Aug 17 as Westside travels to Fleming Island and Middleburg host Wolfson in their kickoff classics.
