St. Johns Fl- Bartram Trail went to 3-0 on the season and made it three in a row against rival St. Augustine (1-2), with dynamic plays and dynamic play-makers at home on Friday night.
The Bears started slow as they missed a field goal on their first drive of the game. St. Augustine capitalize on the slow start, as running-back Aaron Wynn scored from 6-yards out to put the Jackets up 7-0 after the successful extra point.
Bartram needed a jumpstart and would turn to their dynamic duo to do so. With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Quarterback Santino Marucci found A.J. Jones for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Jones has been one of two key play-makers for Bartram all year. The other would make his mark next.
After a Ty Baxter 80-yard touchdown run gave St. Augustine the lead 14-10 in the second quarter, Bartram converted a field goal to pull closer to the Jackets 14-13. Next, Bartram deployed their other weapon as Marucci found Eric Weatherly for a 17-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion was good, and the Bears took a 21-14 lead.
Coming into the game against St. Augustine, Weatherly and Jones had combined for 711 all purpose yards for Bartram. A.J Jones III had scored three touchdowns total. Eric Weatherly had also scored three touchdowns, a rushing score, a punt return score, and a kick return score. The dynamic duo would add to these numbers.
St. Augustine’s Ty Baxter would break long run for the Jackets showcasing his speed and athleticism. Running-back Sean Harvey would finish off the third quarter drive with a touchdown run to tie the game 21-21.
Fittingly, it would be Jones and Weatherly to take over the game and finish off the Jackets. Jones would score on a 41-yard touchdown run, his second of the game. And Weatherly put the finishing touches on the win with an amazing 64-yard punt return touchdown, as Bartram defeated St. Augustine 35-21.
Bartram welcomes American Heritage to North Florida this week who have a duo of their own in running backs Reggie Foster Jr and Mark Fletcher Jr. Yet it is the dynamic duo of Aaron Jones III and Eric Weatherly that just may have the opportunity to make a name for themselves against the 9th ranked team in the state.
