PENSACOLA – Perhaps it was the early morning wake up call and the six plus hour bus ride why Bolles came out flat and trailed by 17 at the half on the road at West Florida.
An hour later, the Bulldogs woke up and shocked host West Florida 30-27 with a come from behind win with a 20 point second half spurt, while also posting a second half shut out on defense.
Despite the large deficit, the Bulldogs began chipping away little by little to get back in the game and eventually stun the host crowd.
West Florida tried to catch Bolles off guard with a onside kick to the second half but the ball rolled out of bounds giving the Bulldogs tremendous field position to start the third quarter and the Bulldogs made them pay.
Jayden Kel McCloud raced 34 yards for a score on the opening possession quickly cutting the lead to 27-17 minutes into the third quarter.
McCloud breaks free. Bolles cuts lead to 27-17
8:24 3Q#pnjsports pic.twitter.com/0qgpEiCoua— Brian Achatz (@PnjBrian) November 10, 2018
Roles seem to reverse as in the second half as the Jaguars were the ones making all the mistakes and getting the costly penalties allowing the Bulldogs to get back into it.
An interception by Bolles help set up another score as Ben Netting hit Bryson Kirksey for a 43 yard gain, Kirksey fumbled on the way down but Chris Sanders was there to recover the fumble for a score cutting the lead to 27-24 with 2:36 left in the third.
On the ensuing possession, a late hit on Netting keyed another score as Netting found Simon Bracklin for a 5 yard reception giving Bolles a 30-27 lead six seconds into the fourth quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, West Florida appeared to have retaken the lead back as Jordan found Xavier Pugh Davis for a 33 yard touchdown reception but it was called back for a illegal offensive lineman down field.
The Jaguars kept possession of the ball, however the lengthy drive ate up the clock and Kirksey picked off Jordan in the end zone to kill the drive and give the Bulldogs a chance to run the clock out perhaps.
Long drive for WF shut down by nice pick by Kirksey,
Bolles leads 30-27 with 5:35 left#pnjsports pic.twitter.com/z1frht3hD4
— Brian Achatz (@PnjBrian) November 10, 2018
However, West Florida forced a quick three an out giving them one final chance late in the game with less than six minutes remaining.
Facing fourth and 9 from the 19 yard line with 1:22 left in the game, the Jaguars lined up for a 35 yard field goal; however the kick was blocked allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock.
Things didn’t start that great for the Bulldogs as the Jaguars Amir McDanie returned a punt 72 yards for the games opening score to take a quick 7-0 lead in the first; however they were able to tie it back up as Netting hit Cooper Sullivan on a 12 yard screen pass for a score tying the game at 7-7 with 2:13 left in the first bringing the first quarter to a close.
Special teams and turnovers specifically were disastrous for the Bulldogs as they muffed a field goal and a punt in the first half, allowing West Florida to retake the lead at 14-10 early in the second quarter on a pass from Trevor Jordan to Keon Burrell.
Netting was picked off at the 35-yard line setting up another Jaguars score and 21-10 lead minutes later on a Dyquaris Gaines touchdown reception from Jordan with 15 seconds left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs fumbled the kickoff and the Jaguars Jarius Sharp picked it up for another quick score and 27-10 lead going into the locker room at the half.
Miscue on KR for Bolles, Sharp scoops and scores
WF takes 27-10 lead in to halftime #pnjsports pic.twitter.com/35BFkGSt91
— Brian Achatz (@PnjBrian) November 10, 2018
Despite all the turnovers and mistakes in the first half, the Bulldogs were able to overcome all of that and escape with a 30-27 win on the road and advance to the second round for the first time in two years.
Next up for No. 6 Bolles (7-4) is a three hour trip to Tallahassee Thursday night to take on No. 2 Godby (11-0) Thursday night 7:30 p.m. at Gene Cox Stadium in the Region I-5A semifinals. A win there would put them in the Elite 8 and a possible rematch with rival Trinity next week for a spot in the Final Four.
Photos courtesy of Christopher Sanders
