The Florida High Seminoles had to call an audible for their game against the Taylor County Bulldogs. When weather forecasts suggested Friday night was going to be a washout, the Noles and Bulldogs elected to play their game on Thursday night. Even with the truncated week of practice, Florida High came out prepared and demonstrated that it has built a strong foundation and continues to put the pieces together on the road to a championship. A key to this team’s success is the offensive line, which has played with leverage in this young season.
Florida High’s first scoring drive at Mike Hickman Stadium (“the Shack”) on Thursday night came off a seven-play drive. It culminated in an eleven-yard bootleg that junior quarterback Jeremy Johnston tucked and ran in for a touchdown, impressively flipping over the defender to cross the goal line. The scoring drive was set up by two plays that went for big gains. The first was a 15-yard dash by junior running back Micahi Danzy. Danzy took the handoff going left to the wide side of the field. Junior tackle Mark Faircloth and sophomore Sam Wemm, who pulled from the right guard position, played the Bulldog linebacker like a pinball game ball, bouncing him around and taking him just out of reach of Danzy as he reached the edge. Blocks by tight end sophomore Maurice Adams and a downfield block by senior defensive back Donovan Barnes opened up space for Danzy, whose run established the line of scrimmage at the Bulldog 36-yard line.
The second big gainer was a lateral pass from Johnston to Barnes that went for 20 yards. The gain was set up when junior left guard Collin Bishop sealed off the Bulldog linebacker. Barnes was able to escape a Taylor County defensive back with a move to the outside but all the Bulldog saw when he made his move to pursue Barnes was a towering Faircloth, who proceeded to fold him up and put him on the ground. Johnston’s run then put the Noles up 7-0.
Taylor County’s next drive ended quickly with a pick-six for junior defensive back Tyson Howard. However, the points were taken off the board due to an illegal blindside block. The Noles took possession of the ball on the Bulldog’s 23-yard line. They almost immediately turned it back over when Johnston tried to thread the needle into tight coverage to junior wide receiver Keisean Inman. The first quarter came to an end with the Noles up 7-0, a lead that would be widened to blow-out proportions in the second quarter.
Florida High’s second touchdown came off a five-play dive on a short field. The Noles took possession of the ball on the Bulldog 34-yard line. After an interface call on a pass to senior wide receiver Brooks Hickman, the field got even shorter. Three plays later, Danzy walked into the end zone behind the blocks of freshman tackle William Hathcock, senior running back Rhyder Poppell and Adams.
The Seminoles’ next possession and touchdown drive started at their own 29-yard line. Two big passing plays to Hickman and junior wide receiver Ashton Hampton and a 23-yard Danzy rush made up 57 of the 71 yards of the drive. The Johnston-to-Hickman connection came off a drag route into a wide-open flat that was cleared out by Barnes and junior receiver Jacques Gilliam’s deep routes. The right side of the pocket held up well behind the textbook blocks of Hathcock, junior guard Wyatt Crosby, senior center Stevie Simpson, and senior running back Jalon Carter.
Danzy’s run was to the short side of the field. With all of the momentum flowing to the sideline, Danzy was able to dig in and cut back against the grain into a huge gap created by a symphony of blocking by the entire offensive line. Hampton’s touchdown reception came on a fly route that was initially tipped by the Bulldog defender. Sophomore kicker Cole Allbaugh added the extra point and the Seminoles were quickly up 21-0.
Florida High’s next possession came from a turnover in the closing minutes of the first half. Senior defensive lineman Eli Williams has been pressuring quarterbacks all season long. He has played a key role in forcing opposing quarterbacks to throw ill-advised passes, and Thursday night was no different. On the Bulldogs’ fourth play of the drive, they found themselves in a third-and-thirty on their own 5-yard line. The Taylor County quarterback launched a deep pass from inside his end zone a second before Williams made contact with him, and the ball was picked off by junior defensive back Jayden Smith. The Noles took over possession on the Taylor County 41-yard line.
Three plays later, the Noles were in the end zone again. Johnston, in the shotgun, took the snap from Simpson. Looking off Hickman across the middle, Johnston hit Inman who tip-toed the sideline, maintained his balance, and dashed untouched to the end zone. The Noles were up 28-0 at the end of the first half.
The Noles’ first drive of the second half started on the 50-yard line after a 25-yard return by Carter. Danzy exploded through a hole created on the left side by Bishop, Faircloth and Simpson and, using his natural speed and agility, made his way to the Taylor County 30-yard line. The next play was a roll-out to the right. Johnston released the ball just before taking a big hit and Poppell was able to elevate and catch the back in stride. He turned up field and ran 30 yards for another Seminole touchdown. Along the way, Poppell lowered his shoulder and delivered a blow to a Bulldog defender, knocking his helmet off. A coach on the sideline was heard saying, “Hello 2022!” to Poppell congratulating him as he came off the field. The score was then 35-0.
Not to take things for granted, but guess what happened on the next Taylor County possession? You are right, another three-and-out. Big hits by Adams and senior defensive back Tay Young, a receiver pushed out of bounds by senior defensive back Alexander Day, an incomplete pass and a punt. Our defense is nothing if not SOLID.
Speaking of solid, Danzy took the subsequent punt 60 yards untouched to the house, simply turning up the heat and outrunning the Bulldog coverage. Noles 41, Bulldogs 0.
The running clock sped things along eating up clock for the remainder of the game. Taylor County’s next possession included another third-and-thirty. The Bulldog drive resulted in another punt, giving Florida High the ball back on their own 36-yard line. The Noles proceeded to hammer the ball on the ground. The drive was capped off with a rush by Poppell through a gaping hole created on the right side by Hathcock, Crosby and Wemm. This 43-yard dash put an exclamation point on the game.
The final score of the game was 48-0; however, the game didn’t seem that close. The Noles scored touchdowns with their offense, defense and special teams. Of the 10 Taylor County possessions, only four included more than four plays. The Bulldogs never penetrated deeper than the Noles’ 45-yard line all night and only crossed midfield twice. The Florida High defense only gave up three first downs. In case you missed it earlier, our defense is good.
Thursday night also saw a dominant performance by the offense. Aside from a couple of early turnovers, the offense executed very successfully. Johnston showed confidence and got the ball into the hands of his receivers. He displayed a lot of toughness when he lowered his head and flipped into the end zone in the first quarter. Game speed sometimes makes it hard to appreciate everything that the offensive line is asked to do play after play — but if you slow it down and start to analyze it, our big men are constantly moving from one side of the field to the other. They were working in tandem, picking up isolated responsibilities, and were aggressive and physical all night. This mobility along their toughness and sheer overall size just wore down the opposing team’s defense.
This recap is a bit longer than some of the previous editions. We felt it was important to recognize some of the names that generally don’t get mentioned in traditional game summaries. If you have made it this far in your read, we hope you have a greater appreciation for every facet of the Florida High football team.
Next week the Noles host the Gadsden County Jaguars, who will be coming back to Tallahassee 0-3 after suffering a 33-0 loss to Lincoln last Friday night. It won’t be a litmus test for our final game of the regular season, but it will be interesting to compare how we play the Jaguars with how Lincoln just did. Another Shack shutout?
