ST. AUGUSTINE – They had to wait nine weeks but the wait was so worth it for Landrum.
Nine weeks ago, Landrum left Cornerstone Park likely feeling they gave one away after a 26-20 loss to Murray at home.
They wanted a rematch badly and they got it.
Second seeded Landrum did what no team had been able to do all season slow down Sean Harvey and the Murray offense, avenging the only loss of the season Thursday night with a surprising 8-6 win over top seeded Murray at St. Joseph Academy.
Landrum celebrates title pic.twitter.com/ngIfuxp0mA
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Landrum received the opening kickoff and did what every opponent has tried to do against Murray control the clock with a lengthy drive keeping the Murray offense off the field.
The Lions started the game with a 12 play drive thanks to the running of tailbacks Maddox Johnson and Cooper Fordham as the duo gashed the Bulldogs defense slowly down the field.
The drive stalled as Damon Thornton sacked Baylor Hayes on fourth down to end the drive.
Although the drive didn’t end with any points it did eat up valuable clock as Murray finally touched the ball for the first time with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
Starting from their own 42 yard line, Murray went to work feeding it to Harvey immediately. Harvey broke off a 22 yard run on the Bulldogs third play of the drive to put them inside the 11 yard line.
As the first quarter came to a close, Murray still was in the middle of the drive and on the move, however Thorton was sacked by a host of Lions giving the ball back to the Lions inside the 8 yard line after a personal foul after the play was over.
Yet Landrum couldn’t do anything on offense and Thorton sacked Hayes again on fourth down to give Murray the ball back with under four minutes left in the first half.
Thorton picked up a first down on a quarterback sneak but the ball fumbled forward on the play and into the hands of JaKwame Moore, who picked it up and tried to run with it only to fumble it backwards to be recovered by another teammate at the 9 yard line.
On fourth and goal, Thorton tried to hit Jensen Meachem in the back of the end zone but the ball sailed out of bounds to turn the ball over on downs and keep the game scoreless going into the half.
Half
Murray 0
Landrum 0 @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/qtEn2dWkfG— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Landrum opened the second half with an onside kick which Murray recovered at midfield giving them great field position to start the second half.
However, the Landrum defense forced a quick three and out and punt on Murray and a bad high snap over the punters head was recovered by Murray for a 18 yard loss giving the Lions the ball at the 29 yard line.
A short run by Fordham and a personal foul on Murray moved the ball inside the 15 yard line. Johnson then moved the chains with a run of 9 and then capped the short drive with a 3 yard touchdown along the right side and the ensuing two point conversion run to give Landrum a 8-0 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Maddox Johnson 3 yard run and 2 point conversion gives Landrum a 8-0 lead over Murray with 3:12 left in third quarter. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Landrum recovered the ensuing onside kick at midfield to keep possession of the ball after finally breaking through with the first score of the game to gain all of the momentum.
Thorton sacked Hayes again for a third time to force another punt from Landrum and ultimately decide the game for both teams.
Harvey fielded the punt and was gang tackled before going out bounds and came up limping and had to be carried off the field by coaches unable to put any pressure on his ankle taking him out of the rest of the game with under a minute left in the third quarter.
Without its go to guy, how would Murray respond ?
Thorton put the team on his back racing 23 yards on the first play of the drive to move the Bulldogs down to the 39 yard line. Two plays later, Thorton found Veyon Wilcox wide open for a gain of 38 down to the 1 yard line. Thorton followed with a 1 yard sneak to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard finally, however he was stuffed on the two point conversion keeping Landrum ahead 8-6 with 18.1 seconds left in the third.
Landrum fielded the ensuing kickoff and was aided with a late hit on the return to set up at midfield but the Bulldogs defense forced a quick three and out to get the ball back quickly.
However, the momentum was short lived as Landrum defense rose to the challenge to force another three and out to get the ball back with 4:48 left in the game.
A false start on Landrum and a bad snap on third down forced another punt that was fielded by Cornell Thomas and the momentum carried him back to the 5 yard line to set up the final drive.
Backed up to its 5 yard line with no timeouts with 3:08 left in the game, the Bulldogs had their opportunity but it was going to be easy to go 95 yards against the Landrum defense.
Thorton found Wilcox for a gain of 16 yards down to the 21 and then Meachem for a gain of 28 to move them to midfield, forcing Landrum to call a timeout with 2:48 left in the game.
A two yard completion to Kaireyce Wilson and a sack on Thornton by Tripp Field and Michael Daniels forced the Bulldogs to go hurry up even more as the clock was running down quickly.
Murray picks up huge first down on fourth and ten on closing minutes to keep drive going. pic.twitter.com/LAvXjiUjQ2
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Faced with fourth and ten, Thornton found Meachem across the field for a 15 yard gain to keep the drive alive down to the 45 yard line.
A false start penalty on Murray backed them up to the 40 yard line, however Thornton found Wilcox for a gain of 10 to move them back across midfield with less than a minute left.
Thorton was looking across the middle trying to find either Meachem or Wilcox again to keep the drive going but it was picked off by Fordham at the 35 yard line before returning it back to the 50 to give Landrum the ball back with 46.1 seconds left.
Cooper Fordham with game winning interception with 45 seconds left for Landrum. pic.twitter.com/60RJU2T8kn
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Landrum went into victory formation taking two knees to run out the clock and win its second county title in school history with a shocking 8-6 win over previously undefeated Murray.
Last play of game victory formation and postgame celebration and handshake. pic.twitter.com/9r22tdfsON
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
After falling short two years ago in the championship game to Swiss Point, Landrum (10-1) was finally back on top again for the first time since 2013, when they won their only other county title.
Landrum coach Todd Fordham told his team, “Nobody gave you a chance, nobody, Duval Sports didn’t even know your names, they do now,”.
Fordham talked about the huge win and how his team was able to stop the potent Murray offense and how they were prepared to play tonight.
Landrum coach Todd Fordham on shutting down Murray and winning second county title tonight. pic.twitter.com/WosgwslnmA
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
The win was even more special for Coach Fordham who shared the win with his younger son Cooper Fordham as well.
Landrum coach Todd Fordham and son Cooper Fordham celebrate title. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/8ODyJHyf4V
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
Landrum Lions (10-1)
Game 1: Landrum 21, Pacetti Bay 14
Game 2: Landrum 21, Fruit Cove 14
Game 3: Murray 26, Landrum 20
Game 4: Landrum 7, Patriot Oaks 0
Game 5: Landrum 35, Sebastian 12
Game 6: Landrum 27, Valley Ridge 0
Game 7: Landrum 34, Liberty Pines 0
Game 8: Landrum 19, Gamble Rogers 6
Game 9: Landrum 47, Sebastian 20 (Quarterfinals)
Game 10: Landrum 27, Gamble Rogers 14 (Semi-finals)
Game 11: Landrum 8, Murray 6 (Final)
Murray Bulldogs (10-1)
Game 1: Murray 40, Sebastian 0
Game 2: Murray 36, Pacetti Bay 0
Game 3: Murray 26, Landrum 20
Game 4: Murray 33, Swiss Point 0
Game 5: Murray 22, Liberty Pines 8
Game 6: Murray 14, Patriot Oaks 12
Game 7: Murray 20, Gamble Rogers 6
Game 8: Murray 16, Fruit Cove 12
Game 9: Murray 34, Liberty Pines 6 (Quarterfinals)
Game 10: Murray 34, Fruit Cove 0 (Semi-finals)
Game 11: Landrum 8, Murray 6
Final
#2 Landrum 8, #1 Murray 6
Semi-finals
#1 Murray 34, #5 Fruit Cove 0
#2 Landrum 27, #3 Gamble Rogers 14
Quarterfinals
#1 Murray 34, #8 Liberty Pines 6
#2 Landrum 47, #7 Sebastian 20
#3 Gamble Rogers 28, #6 Patriot Oaks 6
#5 Fruit Cove 20, #4 Swiss Point 6
Standings
Landrum (10-1)
Murray (10-1)
Gamble Rogers (6-4)
Fruit Cove (5-5)
Swiss Point (4-5)
Liberty Pines (3-6)
Sebastian (3-6)
Patriot Oaks (3-6)
Pacetti Bay (2-5)
Valley Ridge (0-7)
2018 St Johns County champs Landrum Lions pic.twitter.com/E2BfCiUptK
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) November 9, 2018
St. Johns County Middle School champions
2018: No. 2 Landrum 8, No. 1 Murray 6
2017: No. 2 Gamble Rogers 21, No. 4 Switzerland Point 20
2016: No. 3 Switzerland Point 21, No. 4 Landrum 14
2015: No. 4 Sebastian 14, No. 3 Switzerland Point 12
2014: Murray over Sebastian
2013: Landrum Lions
2012: Murray 27, Fruit Cove 12
2011: Murray Bulldogs
2010: Switzerland Point 22, Fruit Cove 6
