Ribault’s interim Head Coach Lin Shell was thrust into a tough position with the football program. Just days before the season, the school fired it’s former head coach, and a few days later appointed Shell as interim. Player’s loyalty to their former coach and uncertainty of the direction of the team, created division early on in the season. The results saw Ribault lose their first two games, and look fractured in the process.
So Coach Shell took a different approach to their next game. After hurricane Dorian cancelled their game against Trinity, the team had several weeks to gel and come together as a team. To ensure this, Shell and the coaching staff did team building exercises to boost camaraderie. Said Chris Johnson of the team, ” all week we did team building exercises and we came out and played as a team and got the W”. Ribault defeated Sandalwood 21-14, but it didn’t come without a fight.
After punting on their first drive, Ribault found themselves down early when Sandalwood’s quarterback Jeff Sims took a zone read and sprinted 69 yards on Sandalwood’s first offensive play.
Down 7-0 and forced to punt again, Ribault’s special teams would jump start the Trojans scoring. After the defense forced a three and out, on fourth down Cory Cooper would rush through the up back and extend his arms to block the Sandalwood punt. The ball bounced into the corner of the end-zone where Keonta Jenkins would recover it for a Trojans touchdown. The game was tied 7-7.
Sandalwood and Ribault would trade scores in the second quarter. First Sandalwood’s Jhaylin Embry took a screen pass from Sims to the house, racing 70 yards for the score. The Saints took a 14-7 lead.
Not to be out done, Ribault committed itself to running the ball and running they did. A heavy dose of Josh Jones saw him break around the left side and barrel into the end zone before the half. A missed P.A.T saw Ribault trail 14-13 at halftime.
Hope, the Trojans had hope going into the fourth quarter. Facing a team in Sandalwood with several D1 college commits, the players seemed to galvanize around each other. The culmination of their team building during the week. It all paid off when Josh Jones took a hand off around the right side and cut up field 15-yards to score the game winning touchdown. A 2-point conversion was successful as Ribault led 21-14.
The defense closed out the contest as it had done all day. They flustered Jeff Sims, and held the Saints rushing attack in check, holding running back Jeremiah Huntley under 100 yards for the first time this year. Darnell Wilson recovered a costly fumble by Sandalwood late in the game. Chris Sharp Jr stuffed the run game and registered a sack as well.
Chris Johnson, who had an interception earlier in the game, sacked Sims on the final drive. Countless penalties by the Saints offensive line backed Sandalwood up even more as they had no answer for the blitz. That pressure forced a turnover on downs as Ribault took a knee to take the win.
Sandalwood (3-1) has talent, but focus and discipline plagued them on the evening. They must put the loss behind them quickly as district power house Oakleaf (3-1) comes across town.
Ribault showed what a team can do when they come together. Coach Shell said after the game that a win like this can boost moral. “Any time you win it’s a good feeling. At the end of the day, a win is a win no matter where it comes from, and it just lets you know you’re doing the right thing”.
