NORTHSIDE – In a close and highly competitive contest, the Raines Vikings gained their 35th victory in the annual Northwest Classic by defeating the Ribault Trojans 14-6 on Saturday afternoon.
Raines came into the contest red hot, winners of eight straight since a Week 1 16-15 loss to Lee, while Ribault had caught fire as well going 5-1 in their last six games.
Ribault wrapped up their district with a win over Paxon, securing their playoff berth for the third straight year. Raines does not sit in a district, but sits number one in the Class 4A Region I power rankings with 42.78 points. Two playoff teams went head-to-head in the biggest game in Northeast Florida.
Raines would strike first when quarterback Barron Coates faked the hand off and rolled out the back side for the 11-yard bootleg, putting the Vikings on the board 7-0 early in the contest. Raines marched 70 yards in three plays with ease, and it seemed as if the Vikings were en-route to a route.
However, the Ribault defense settled in and settled down, capitalizing on Vikings mistakes. Darnell Wilson intercepted Coates and returned the ball deep in to Viking territory.
The first round of this defensive wrestling match would go to the Trojans, but the second round would go back to Raines when Uriah Ratliff intercepted the ball in the end zone, returning it to midfield. Raines dodged a bullet deep in their red zone with the interception. However, Ribault would close out the quarter with defensive stops and a sack by Eugene Vickers as Raines lead 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
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The second quarter saw tensions reignite as pushing and shoving occurred after the play. The fire was originally lit before the game as both teams met at mid-field to taunt each other. They were separated by coaches and the players jogged to their perspective sidelines.
In the second quarter, the fire would result in penalties on Raines setting up Ribault in good field position. The Trojans capitalized when Josh Roberts took a hand off and raced right for five yards and the score. Ribault attempted the 2-pt conversion, however it failed and Raines took a 7-6 lead into halftime.
In the second half, both defenses continued to dominate. Ribault was committed to stopping Raines running-back Brandon Marshall. For the most part they did on the afternoon, holding him scoreless for the first time this season and forcing a fumble when Darnell Wilson stripped the back.
Immanuel Smith, Quarnell Madison, Nigel Allen and company combined for several sacks by the Ribault defensive line. If they didn’t get to the quarterback they pressured him, forcing untimely throws. Avarrio Harrison was the recipient of an interception courtesy of the Trojan pass rush.
The pressure forced Coach Deran Wiley to go to a direct snap formation with Jacourey Rivers. Rivers gave Raines a spark, gaining first downs on several plays. He would score the final touchdown of the evening when he ran it in from 10 yards out late in the third quarter to give Raines a 14-6 advantage.
The Vikings defense would seal the win in the second half with tackles from Janorris Robertson and sacks from talented defensive end Javon Bonsell. Raines would wrestle away their second consecutive win in the Northwest Classic.
Raines now leads the Northwest Classic Overall Series 35-14 over Ribault . The defensive battle was the lowest scoring affair since a Ribault 8-7 win back in 1996.
