St. Augustine Fl- Big time players make big time plays, and Escambia’s Patrick Sanders made play after play to lift the Gators over St. Augustine 33-16 in round one of the FHSAA 6A Playoffs. Sanders said after the game of his first big play a 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown , “I prayed before, and I just put it in God’s hands. When I saw everyone crash in, I just hit the outside as fast as I could and got some great blocks from my teammates, shout out to my teammates”. The electrifying kickoff seemed to sum up the night, as thunderstorms and lighting delayed the scheduled 7:30pm est start for about 30 minutes. However Sander’s many plays on the night were not delayed, they came right on time.
Sanders next play came on St. Augustine’s first drive, when he intercepted quarterback Sam Edwards and returned in 15 yards to the Escambia 45- yard line. The interception by Sanders would lead to a long drive by Escambia powered by running-back Frank Peasant. Peasant gained first down after first down on the ground ending in a 7-yard touchdown run by the talented 6-foot junior tailback. Two big plays by Sanders and heavy doses of Frank Peasant gave Escambia a 14-0 lead over St. Augustine early.
# Frank Peasant over 💯yds rushing TD and Patrick Sanders 3 interceptions, 1 int ret TD, kickoff ret TD. In Escambia’s 33-16 playoff win over St Augustine @PJLEVON @frankpeasant16 pic.twitter.com/N4NY8uLF66
— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) November 10, 2018
Finding themselves in a hole, St. Augustine needed a spark on offense. Ironically they’d get it from their defense. Leading tackler Nick Barlow would intercept quarterback Av Smith and return it deep into Gator territory. The interception allowed St. Augustine to put it’s first points on the board, a 25-yard field goal which cut the lead to 14-3.
“Two Times , Every Time! “ Escambia with a total team win over St Augustine round 1 of FHSAA Playoffs @PJLEVON
@frankpeasant1 pic.twitter.com/SQw4udjlmX— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) November 10, 2018
Escambia would respond and Av Smith would be redeemed from his earlier interception on their next drive when Smith would connect on a big screen pass to Tabari Taylor. Peasant would again run the ball effectively, gaining a first down on the drive, yet it would be Smith who’d finish with a score. Smith hit his wide receiver Deterius Gideon on a 22-yard touchdown pass putting Escambia up 21-3 in the second quarter.
St. Augustine was down 21-3, doing nothing on offense and their backs against the wall. Escambia had the ball on the Yellow Jacket’s 10-yard line with 2:38 to go in the half, when line-backer Targon Ridley stepped in front of a Smith pass and raced 97-yards with a convoy of blockers to the end-zone. Ridley’s big play kept St. Augustine in the game as Escambia led 24-9 going into halftime.
The second half saw St. Augustine close the lead briefly, when Michael Early hit Jaden McDowell for a big touchdown reception making the score 26-16. McDowell made several plays on defense as well with punishing hits from his defensive back spot. Yet his big plays and big hits were matched by Escambia’s safety Patrick Sanders. Sanders would also make hard hits from his safety spot in run support. Though it was his play in the secondary that would seal the win. Sanders would end St. Augustine’s hopes of advancing to the second round of the playoffs when he intercepted Michael Early and returned it 90-yards for a pick 6! That would give him three interceptions on the night. Truly a night of big plays. Escambia 33 St. Augustine 16 Final
Coach Mike Bennett was very proud of his team after the win, ” we are very familiar with St. Augustine and we’ve had some great battles over the years. This year we just got some outstanding plays from our players to get the W”. With the win, Escambia (9-1) moves on to face Navarre (10-1). St. Augustine (5-6) exits the playoffs after another district title. However this has been a rebuilding year for the Yellow Jackets who look to return several starters next year, in an attempt to make another run next year.
