Eastside- With 13.8 seconds left in regulation, Fletcher middle school found itself at the five yard line against Gilbert with the game tied 0-0. Coach Jeff McCrone, Fletcher’s new head coach who replaced long time head coach Marty McCaulsin, brought a new offense with him and implemented it all game. However, in the closing seconds versus Gilbert McCrone went back to what Fletcher has been known for since the beginning of the Duval County Middle School Confernece began. He ran the ball.
The result was a 5-yard touchdown right up the gut by running-back Chase Durden who followed the lead block of his offensive line and broke three tackles to plunge into the endzone for the score. Durden would run it from 1-yard out for the 2-point conversion to give Fletcher the 8-0 lead, and it’s first win of the 2022 season.
Said Coach McCrone after the game, ” I think we can go as far as we want to” . “We gotta run the football, play a lights out defense like they did tonight, and keep relying on our defense until our offense get’s it’s timing and we will” said McCrone.
Both Fletcher and Gilbert struggled on offense in their first official games. Both defenses were a big reason for that. For Gilbert, #7 Justice Tucker and #3 Joshua James were in control of the edges for their defense. They didn’t allow Fletcher running-game to hit any big runs outside.
Also for Gilbert, #53 Jamari Banks plugged the interrior and penetrated gaps in the Fletcher offensive line. It was a good showing for he and the Panther defense that didnt allow Fletcher into the red-zone all game.
For Fletcher, their defense capitalized on creating turnovers. One key turnover occured when defensive tackle Braiyan Cardozo timed the snap perfectly, and disrupted the quarterback exhange for Gilbert forcing a fumble. It was recovered by linebacker Christian Cato, Fletcher’s most impressive defender already standing at 6’0 tall in the 8th grade.
A two-way player who just started playing football last year, #4 Adrian Ealey showed incredible promise for Gilbert. He played running back and linebacker, chasing down ball carriers from behind and standing out for Gilbert.
For the Panthers, they had opportunities to score but penalties and costly turnovers plauged them. Joshua James caught a long pass that might’ve set up a score, however he was called for offensive pass interference.
On Fletcher’s last drive, Gilbert was called for pass-interference, that gave Fletcher the ball at the Gilbert 12-yard line with 19 seconds in the game. On that same drive, Will Reynolds of Fletcher caught a key first down on 4th and long from quarterback #11 Max McCrone. McCrone was poised under pressure in his first game of the season, connecting on three nice passes in the game.
That play set up the pass interferance call, and eventual touchdown by Fletcher who got a huge win on the road against Gilbert.
For Gilbert, Coach Richardson and his team will look to get more work completed in the coming weeks as their division opponents approach. They only had a few days of preperation before their season openor.
As for Fletcher, it’s a new coach and a new identity for the team, and it will be exciting to see how they progress this year. These two teams have a storied history in the Duval County Middle School Championship series. They may see one another again in the playoffs.
Check out Fletcher vs Gilbert stories below.
