Northside- The two time defending state champions have battled throughout the season, coming up short a time or two. Having had two losses within the season, newly aligned teams are assembled eager to take a shot at the defending champs. Raines has a young team, yet talented and were ready to defend the graveyard. Equipped with Florida State University commits Jeff Sims and Derek Bermudez, Sandalwood would shoot their best shot to take them down.
Raines head coach Deran Wiley said, “Overwhelming yet exciting game tonight. We overcame a great team in victory. The defense stood tall and I’m very proud of our guys. We have work to do for the season. We are the state champions until we are not”. Bold statements coming from a bold head coach who before the night was over would make a bold decision for his team.
Many teams were on a bye this week, as the Sandalwood verses Raines match up would be one of the few top games of the week. The big game would bring out Florida State University’s head coach Willie Taggart. To the surprise of many, Taggart’s helicopter would land at the Viking’s stadium before the game.
Raines kicked off the homecoming night festivities with a touchdown run by Jaylin Griffin. Along with the good extra point, the Vikings led 7-0 as Sandalwood failed to score in the first quarter.
The second quarter began with Raines in possession of the ball. Quarterback Adrian Williams’ pass to Jarius Stewart would end in a crushing tackle by Sandalwood’s Brandon Jennings. The Vikings offense opted to punt the ball on the fourth down as Sandalwood would then take control of the ball.
Sandalwood’s quarterback Jeff Sims pass to Jeremiah Huntley resulted in a short lived play brought down by Viking, Derek Nealy. Nealy and Kyree Hammond manned a Vikings secondary that held Sandalwood in check. Hammond intercepted Sims stalling a drive in the game. Neither the Saints nor the Vikings scored in the second quarter ending the first half of the game 7-0, Raines.
The Vikings offense led with the ball in tow at the top of the third quarter. Sandalwood’s J’Quan Hicks tackle dealt a hard blow to the Raines offense. Raines quarterback Carlton Butler Jr’s pass to Kareem Burke would be at the forefront of one of the two most controversial calls of the evening. Burke’s run came to a halt as Saints Nick Bowling tackled and wrapped around Burke causing the ball to drop. Sandalwood’s James Walton quickly recovered the loose ball. The referee deemed that Raines would maintain possession of the ball.
On the next play, Butler ran the ball as Akil Lampley tackled him while he crossed the goal line causing the ball to drop once again. Coincidentally, the players would all end up in a huge pile up. Once the pile of players were cleared, the referee called the play a ‘joint possession’ which would allow the Vikings touchdown. Raines led Sandalwood 14-0 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Saints struck back once the ball landed back in the hand of Sims. His pass to Javonte Kinsey led to Sandalwood’s first touchdown as 2:26 remained in the third. The Saints stonewall secondary consisting of Alabama commit Jaquez Robinson, Derek Bermudez and Christian Ellis kept the Vikings from scoring to end the third quarter 14-7, Raines.
The Sandalwood defense continued to wreak havoc on the Raines offense opening the fourth quarter. Saint’s James Walton sacked the Vikings quarterback on the fourth down turning the control of the ball over to Sandalwood. While 3:19 remained in the fourth, a Jeremiah Huntley touchdown run in the quarter tied the score at 14-14.
Raines avoided disaster on its final drive of regulation when Sandalwood forced them to punt from their own territory. Saints defensive back Christian Ellis knifed through the line and partially tipped the Vikings punt which still bounced for 24 yards. Sandalwood’s offense played it conservative and having ended the fourth quarter tied, both teams would head into overtime.
The coin toss between captains Jeff Sims and Treyvon Hobbs led the Saints to the goal line first. Kinsey ran a deep middle scoring the touchdown. The Saints opted to kick a field goal gaining a 21-14 lead over the Vikings.
As the Vikings lined the goal line, Griffin would score a touchdown on a run around the left side following the blocks of his offensive line. While the crowd watched the 21-20 score, Coach Wiley made a bold decision for his team. Instead of tying the game on an extra point, he decided to go for the win. The play he and his staff chose was identical to the touchdown run. The results were the same as the two point conversion play would be executed perfectly by Griffin. Raines defeated Sandalwood 22-21 in overtime.
Sandalwood is now 3-3 and will face off against yet another state champion team, Mandarin in two weeks after a bye week. Raines is 3-2 and will move forward to battle against rival Ribault in the annual Northwest Classic. Confidence will play a key factor in the big game, and the Vikings certainly gained that with their bold victory over Sandalwood.
