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Eagles defense shines, offense stalls

By Mike Zima
Posted 10/19/17

FLEMING ISLAND – The Fleming Island defense forced turnovers that gave the Golden Eagles a halftime lead, but eventually succumbed to Bartram Trail quarterback Joey Gatewood and the visiting Bears …

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Eagles defense shines, offense stalls


Posted

FLEMING ISLAND – The Fleming Island defense forced turnovers that gave the Golden Eagles a halftime lead, but eventually succumbed to Bartram Trail quarterback Joey Gatewood and the visiting Bears 32-16 Friday night.

“Only one team played tonight, and that was the defense,” said Fleming Island coach Damenyum Springs. “The offense and special teams did not.”

Bartram Trail ran a whopping 75 plays during the game, often in hurry-up mode, making it impossible for the Golden Eagles to substitute players. The Bears finished with 513 total yards, outscoring Fleming Island 19-0 in a lop-sided second half to claim sole possession of first place in District 3-7A with a 3-0 district record. The Bears are now 5-2 overall. Fleming Island suffered its first loss of the season and now sits at 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the district.

“We kind of ran out of gas,” said Springs.

Fleming Island entered the contest allowing only 178 yards per game, and lived up to their reputation for stinginess in the first half. The Golden Eagles forced a three and out on Bartram Trail’s opening drive, with linebacker Ryan Smenda stuffing Bears running back Devin Ellison on a run up the middle and cornerback Brian Brown making a sure tackle on a bubble screen pass. A 26 yard punt return by Aaron Ramirez set up a 34 yard field goal by the Golden Eagles’ Noah Hamlet, and the hosts led 3-0 four minutes into the game.

On the Bears’ next possession, Gatewood threw a pass intended for Gunnar Hitzeman on a slant pattern, but did not see Fleming Island linebacker Isaiah Walker drifting toward Hitzeman. Walker caught the pass and returned the interception 25 yards to the Bartram Trail two yard line. On the next play, quarterback Dean Hyams followed a surging offensive line into the end zone, and the Golden Eagles led 9-0.

From that point, Bartram Trail asserted itself on offense and bottled up the Golden Eagles attack. Ellison, who finished with 83 yards on 16 carries, scored twice on two yard plunges, the first set up by Gatewood’s 49 yard scramble, and the second coming after an interception by Josh Follenweider near midfield. The Bears were poised to take a two-score lead into the intermission when a bubble screen to Hitzeman gave them a first down at the two yard line. On the next play, however, Ellison and Gatewood could not handle an exchange, and the ball was fumbled as Ellison moved forward. Blitzing linebacker Jack Surgeoner grabbed the ball off of the turf and raced 96 yards for a touchdown, giving Fleming Island a 15-13 lead with 0:07 remaining in the half.

“The running back just dropped the ball, and I scooped it up” said Surgeoner. “I started running, and hoped that my teammates would make some blocks, because I figured someone would eventually catch me.”

Fleming Island could not sustain the momentum into the second half. Springs tried to ignite the offense by replacing Hyams, who completed just six of 17 passes for 35 yards, for two possessions, but nothing clicked for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles mustered only one first down from the intermission to the 3:00 mark of the fourth quarter. In the meantime, Bartram Trail’s Corbein Hagans blocked two punts— one of which went out of the end zone for a game-clinching safety— and Follenweider intercepted Hyams a second time, leading to a Bartram Trail field goal. Fleming Island running backs Dewayne McBride and Chauncey Garrison averaged less than three yards per carry in gaining 65 yards on 24 attempts. Fleming Island played without running back Anfernee McCaskill, and lost left tackle Josh Gessner to an ankle injury in the first quarter.

Gatewood’s passing statistics were not exceptional—12 completions in 18 attempts for 101 yards— but the Auburn commitment was particularly effective on the ground. The 6’4”, 220 pound senior had a game-high 168 rushing yards on 16 carries. His 12 yard run on a quarterback draw put the Bears on top for good in the third quarter. Back-up quarterback Riley Smith, who himself passed for 107 yards and ran for 50, added Bartram Trail’s other touchdown on a similar 11 yard run in the fourth quarter.

“We have known Gatewood was good ever since we started playing [against] him,” said Springs. “That other guy [Smith] was good, too.”

The Golden Eagles are still likely to make the Class 7A playoffs with a district victory Friday at Creekside and wins in non-district games at Jacksonville Ed White and at home against Orange Park to close the regular season.

“I will tell the kids to continue to play for one another,” said Springs. “We have been through multiple adversities this season—we will be all right.”