St. Augustine, FL- The Choctawhatchee Indians and the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets meet in the third round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Last year matchup was a high scoring victory for St. Augustine. This year’s game was quite the opposite from last year, as both defenses held strong through the sloppy rain conditions.
Choctaw elected to receive the ball first. The Indians would have a solid opening drive, that was until St. Augustine’s K’yon Wilcox picked off Tamen Zabetkis to get the ball to their high powered Jacket offense. St. Augustine would move the ball right down the field with ease, and quickly find themselves in the red zone. Christian Coleman would power his way in for first touchdown of the game. After a missed extra point, St. Augustine would lead 6-0.
St. Augustine strikes first, Christian Coleman punches it in. Extra point is no good
— Christian Schultz (@schultzmedia_) November 30, 2024
St. Aug 6
Choctaw 0@DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/aLyBNgvJez
On the next drive for the Indians, they look to spark some momentum. The St. Augustine defense would hold strong, as DT Mike Wright would come up with a huge tackle on fourth down to bring an end to Indians second drive.
St. Augustine’s second drive would result similarly to their first. Solid drive down the field, before punching it in with a short rushing touchdown. This time, it was Trendell Anderson, who has been the reliable running back for St. Augustine all year. With the rain pouring down, the first quarter would come to and end, with St. Augustine holding a 13-0 lead.
Trendell Anderson finds the end zone to extend the Jacket lead
— Christian Schultz (@schultzmedia_) November 30, 2024
St. Aug 13
Choctaw 0@DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/C91RvJst68
In the second quarter, both offenses would continue to sputter. Drive after drive would end in a punt or a quick 3 and out, which is not what we typically see out of this high powered St. Augustine offense. Late in the second quarter, The Indians would finally get on the board, with a field goal by Sam King to make it just a 10 point deficit going into halftime.
Choctaw gets on the board late in the second quarter with a field goal.
— Christian Schultz (@schultzmedia_) November 30, 2024
St. Aug 13
Choctaw 3@DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/Wn40aBaIa2
On the opening drive of the second half, St. Augustine’s offense continued to show no signs of life. After a huge Mario Alloway sack on third down, the Indians would force a punt and set themselves up with good field position.
The St. Augustine defense would just bend and not break, holding Choctaw to just a field and holding onto a 13-6 lead. St. Augustine would finally wake up after the half. After a long completion down field to Somourian Wingo Jr and some strong running by Trendell Anderson, the Yellow Jackets would find themselves on the edge of the redzone.
The drive would eventually stall out and St. Augustine would attempt a field goal to make it a two possession lead, however the kick was wide left and Choctaw would have lots of momentum going into the fourth quarter.
With some strong running by Von’tavius Keller, the Indians would march right down the field. However, the St. Augustine defense would hold strong and force a turnover on downs in the red zone, giving the ball back to their offense. The nightmare night for the Yellow Jacket offense would continue, as Locklan Hewlett would throw an interception to Choctaw’s Alante Reese, who got a great return to set their offense up in amazing field position.
Choctaw now had the opportunity to tie the game up in the fourth quarter. However, they could not do anything against the stout St. Augustine defense. On fourth down, safety Darrell Jenkins would force an incompletion and a turnover on downs.
St. Augustine’s struggles continued. They tried to run the clock and burn time, but that just resulted in another three and out. St. Augustine would punt the ball away to the Indians, however it was blocked and set up Choctaw in the redzone.
Once again, the strong defense would bail out the Yellow Jackets after forcing another turnover on downs. St. Augustine would be able to get a first down on the next drive but would eventually punt it away.
With about a minute left in the game, Choctaw would have an opportunity to drive down and tie the game up. Quarterback Tamen Zabetkis would drop back to pass, looking for a receiver downfield. Jimmie Wheeler would fly in and make the interception, sealing the deal for the Yellow Jackets and defeating Choctawhatchee for the second year in a row.
St. Augustine’s recipe for success all year has been relying on their electric offense and running up the score on their opponents. When their offense couldn’t find a rhythm Friday night, their defense stepped up in a massive way.
Choctawhatchee had several opportunities to tie the game up or take the lead, but drive after drive, the Yellow Jacket defense would hold strong. Bubba Gardener Jr, Mike Wright, and Brent Bell continued to put pressure on the quarterback all night long, while Braylon James, Darrell Jenkins, and Jimmie Wheeler held it down in the secondary.
It is extremely impressive to see this St. Augustine team find a way to win and advance to the state semifinals. Next week, they will have to travel down to south Florida and have a tough matchup against an impressive American Heritage team in the Class 4A FHSAA playoffs.
Photos by Christian Schultz
