With 1.5 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Flagler Palm Coast’s Chase Magee kicked a game winning 23-yard field goal to the eruption of his sideline and teammates, giving the Bulldogs a 20-17 victory over Ponte Vedra (2-3) Monday Night. The play summarized a game that saw one team handle the pressure of the moment, while the other team fumbled it’s opportunity under the pressure of the pass rush.
With ice water in his veins, Magee made his second field goal of the game in the last seconds. Earlier in the contest, the junior nailed a 34-yard field goal as timed expired to end the first half, giving Flagler Palm Coast a 15-10 advantage. Said Magee after the game, “I saw them (teammates) driving down the field and I said to myself, oh boy I think this is what it’s going to come down to”. The game did come down to the leg of Chase, and just like Chase Bank, Magee was “money” on Monday Night Football.
His team needed every point in the tough district 4S-4 contest as the game went back and forth. In the fisrt quarter, Flagler Palm Coast would strike first when quarterback Dennis “DJ” Murray Jr kept the ball on a zone run, scoring from 11-yards out to give Flagler Palm Coast a 6-0 lead. Murray led the team on the drive amassing 30-yards on the ground himself.
After a defensive stop, Flagler Palm Coast would get the ball back and this time put it in the hands of running-back Rodney Hill. Hill would gain 25-yards on a run play up the middle. Playing both offense and defense, Hill makes big plays on both sides of the ball. And in the game his run set up Flagler’s second score of the night.
Marcus Mitchell Jr would get the call and barrel ahead for a short 4-yard touchdown, giving the visiting Bulldogs a 12-0 lead with just over 2-minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Ponte Vedra would wake up in the second quarter, thanks to the play of quarterback Ben Burk. Burk used both his arms and legs to put together a scoring drive. He kicked it off with a nice pass down the seam to Wyatt Rogers for a key first down.
Next, Burk would use his legs to get his team even further into the red-zone, with a 10-yard gain setting up first and goal for Ponte Vedra. That play set up a touchdown run up the middle by Burk, as he punched it in for Ponte Vedra to put the Sharks on the board trailing 12-7.
Ponte Vedra would get a big stop on defense , and the sharks would drive down the field late in the second quarter and convert a Mark Ramano field goal to pull within 2-points 15-10.
Yet a minute was too much time for the poised and savvy DJ Murray, as he led his team down the field. A critical play saw Murray complete a pass to Hill for positive yards. However, the ball would jar loose and bounce into the waiting arms of teammate Ethan Roland who was in the right place at the right time. The heads up play ensured that Magee would get the chance to knock down the field goal before the half.
The game was a stale-mate in the 3rd quarter as both teams drove the ball down field, but were unable to turn the drive into points. This was in part to the defensive efforts by both teams. For Ponte Vedra, 6’3, 215-pound linebacker Trooper Price, and 6’2, 240-pound defensive-end Layne Swafford made life difficult for Flagler Palm Coast.
Others contributed on defense as well, such as two-way player Nathan Bunkosky, and defensive back Joe Mahoney who would make a crucial play when he stripped Flagler Palm Coast’s rusher and recovered the ball to thwart a touchdown drive. The score remained 15-10.
Flalger would get a decisive advantage through defense as well. Along with Hill, players like Landon Simmons, Terance Johnson, and Tra’vel Adams made critical plays to keep Ponte Vedra out of the end-zone. The defense would score points themselves, when defensive end Ethan Laupepa would sack Burk in the end-zone for a safety, giving Flagler Palm Coast a 17-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Ponte Vedra would respond driving 75-yards down the field for a score. Burk would gain 25-yards on the longest play of the drive. Then on the biggest play of the drive, he’d keep it for a 4th and goal touchdown to tie the game at 17-17 all with just 1:41 to play.
However, as he showed earlier in the game, if it’s a 2-minute drill then that means it’s “Murray-Time”. DJ Murray made incredible plays to lead Flagler Palm Coast down the field for the winning score, as the Bulldogs headed back to Palm Coast at 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in the district.
With only three teams in district 4S-4, Ponte Vedra will now need help. They must defeat Nease (10/28) and hope for Nease to defeat Flagler Palm Coast (10/14) in order to have a shot at the district title. As for now, Flagler Palm Coast has the inside track, putting the pressure on everyone else.
