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Raiders hold off Clay, 29-28

By Randy Lefko
Posted 9/19/18

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Raiders hold off Clay, 29-28


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - In a classic slugfest between two Clay County rivals, Orange Park High got two monumental defensive efforts; one a stuffed fourth down run at the Raider six yard line, the other an end zone interception, as the Raiders held on to beat Clay 29-28 in a district clash that puts district 5-5A into turmoil with losses to early frontrunners Ridgeview and Pedro Menendez.

“This feels great,” said Raider defensive end Kendy Charles, who stuffed a fourth down run play at the Raider six that thwarted a go-ahead scored for Clay. “We’ve been working all week to get this one. No one believed in us and we just came together.”

For Raider coach Tom Macpherson, the win was a big jolt for the Raider program, but the more important element of the night was the resolve of his team after suffering two seasons of sub-par play.

“You got to give hats off to Clay, they do what they do and it was up to us to stop them,” said Macpherson. “They are very hard to get off track on offense. We just fought and fought. My guys are starting to believe in themselves.”

Clay coach Joshua Hoekstra took the brunt of the blame for the result citing Clay history as maybe creating an atmosphere that was outed Friday night.

“I take the blame for maybe not going for field goals because we traditionally don’t kick field goals because we make the fourth and ones,” said Hoekstra. “We had 450 yards on offense and lost. Hats off to Orange Park. I think our guys didn’t realize how good they were going to be until it was too late. They answered every score we made.”

In the final two minutes of the nailbiter, Clay looked to be engineering yet another Blue Devil fourth quarter win. With the score at 29-28 with 4:17 left on the clock, Clay started at their own 42 yard line and pounded running backs Abbott Taylor and Al’Quarius Ray into the teeth of the Raider defense with two passes to wideout Spencer Lesage putting Clay at the Orange Park 19 at 1:23.

From there, Clay quarterback Turner Erstad lofted an end zone pass to Lesage in the corner with Raider defensive back Isiah Blair that produced a jump ball won by Blair that seemingly put the dagger in the heart of the Clay sideline.

“We knew they were going to try to find their number 4 (Lesage),” said Blair. “I knew I was going to go up and get it. I was thinking of trying to run it out, but my teammates held me.”

Blair’s pick put the Raiders on the 20 for a final series, but Clay High coach Joshua Hoekstra methodically used two time outs to counter Orange Park quarterback Vinny Walker kneeling twice after the snap. Forced to punt, Clay was looking at a final minute from near midfield for a final surge, but LeSage fumbled the punt to end the game.

The win puts the Raiders at 3-1 and unbeaten in district play with Baker County beating Pedro Menendez and Palatka beating Ridgeview putting the Raiders right into the mix for playoff possibilities.

“There is still a lot of football left to be played,” said Macpherson. “Clay will do what they do as the season progresses, but I want our guys to get after the possibility they just put on the table.”

Hoekstra commented that his season is now unpredictable.

“Baker County is still the top team, but now the rest of the district is going to be tough,” said Hoekstra, maybe hinting of his historical second half season runs to the playoffs. “New coaches at Palatka (former Clay coaches Willie Fells and offensive coach Boobie Tobler) have got the athletes down there and they are making good calls. Tom (Macpherson) has done a nice job at Orange Park and Ridgeview will come back. It’s still early though.”

In the first quarter, Clay opened with offensive efficiency behind Ray and a pass from Erstad to Cedrick Brown to move the chains with Lesage taking a Wildcat snap to the 17 of Orange Park.

Kendy sacked Erstad on first down, but Taylor powered through the defensive line to paydirt and a 7-0 Clay lead with six minutes off the clock.

Knowing that his Raiders had to answer the opening salvo, Macpherson blasted the Clay defensive with wideout Terrance Johnson going 16 yards on first down to set a tone. An 11 yard pass from Walker to wideout Deantwaan Holton got another nine yards as Orange Park was moving swiftly behind a quick snap.

Handoffs to tailback Alex Collier gearing up behind guard Silas Little got gains of six and eight to the Clay 42 where two penalty flags for offsides by Clay moved the chains to the Clay 32.

From there, Walker found Johnson again for 14 yards to the 12 before hitting wideout Hunter Moore in the back of the end zone for six.

With the score at 7-6, Macpherson put in his heavy package and got Charles to pound in for a prophetic two point conversion.

“That might be the play of the game although it was so early in the game,” said Macpherson. “We hit all the PAT kicks and Kendy does that winds up being the difference.”

Clay again went to their bread and butter with Erstad engineering a 10 play drive that pounded the middle of the Raider defense with Ray rumbling in from 28 yards out to up the score to 14-8 with 8:46 left in the half. The longest run of the drive was just six yards.

“Clay is going to use all four downs to get their 10 yards because they are so confident of their kids,” said Macpherson. “They punched out two third down and long plays on us and that was a little disappointing. We think third and 13 is good, but they turn it into a touchdown.”

Orange Park went air to counter the Clay bludgeoning with Walker finding Johnson in full stride in front of the Raider bench for a 51 yard play to the Clay 36. Two stuffs by the Clay defense set up a fourth and seven at the Clay 33, but Walker calmly hit Holton with a 33 yard scoring pass to put the game at 15-14 with Jean Breville’s second PAT kick of the night.

Trading blow for blow, Clay roared right back on offense with Erstad going 14 on a scramble to the Clay 46 where Taylor broke into the secondary for 26 yards to the Raider 19. Clay pounded again with Ray and Taylor setting up a five yard score for Ray and Clay now ahead 21-15 with 3:38 left in the half.

From their own 16 after the kickoff, Orange Park let loose with Collier speeding out of the backfield for six on first down and, on third down, blasting 70 yards in front of the Clay bench for a 22-21 Raider lead with 2:22 still left in the half.

“Me and Silas (Little) and Cedric (Flanders, offensive tackle) got a thing going on now,” said Collier. “I’m small and can hide behind them, then jet away.”

Little measures 6’-3”, 285 pounds with Flanders at 6’-4”, 340 pounds. Collier is just 5’-9, 160 pounds.

Clay looked to add one more before the half and took the kickoff start from the 30 to the Raider two yard line in the remaining two minutes only to have Charles stuff Erstad on third and goal as the clock ticked off the final seconds. Erstad set up the final surge with a 45 yard pass to Brown from midfield to the four yard line where LeSage got two and wideout Derek Holt was out of bounds with an end zone catch before Charles’ stop.

In their first drive of the second half, after Clay defensive end Kenneth Johnson stopped Collier on a third and six handoff to force a punt, Clay took over at their own 27 and immediately crushed any thoughts that Orange Park may have had of a Blue Devil nap as Taylor busted off right tackle and sprinted 60 yards to the Raider 13 to set up a one yard plunge by Ray that put Clay up 28-22 in less than two minutes.

Knowing that Clay was going to come out amped for the second half, Macpherson knew his guys had to stay calm and react.

“I’m kind of a lunatic out there because I love this game so much, but they have to stay in the game and not get crazy no matter what I’m doing on the sideline,” said Macpherson. “They reacted.”

From the Raider 19, Walker went to Johnson again for 22 yards on a slant pattern to get the offense revved up for a retaliatory strike.

“I think my guys respect me and trust me as their quarterback,” said Walker, a junior varsity athlete last year thrust into a starter’s role due to a player transfer and Macpherson’s need to have Johnson amongst his playmakers downfield. “I can look them in the eye in the huddle and they know I got their back.”

Walker called his own number on a quarterback draw for seven before setting up a flea flicker from Walker to Collier to wideout Umar Young that caught the Blue Devil defense off balance and got Orange Park on the Clay two yard line.

Two snaps to Johnson in shotgun got the score and the Raiders’ 29-28 lead with 6:12 left in the third period.

Clay wanted to end the Raider attack on their home turf and settled in to just grind the ball to the end zone with Taylor and Ray pounding between the tackles to the Orange Park 37, but defensive plays from Alex Moore, Orange Park’s 5’-3” defensive tackle, thwarted one attempt. An unsportsmanlike flag on fourth down put Clay at the Raider 12 with a first down. Lesage took the snap and swept left on his way to the corner of the end zone, but was upended as he attempted to dive over linebacker Jacob Moore and lost the ball out of the end zone giving Orange Park a touchback on the play and possession of the ball at the Raider 20.

Orange Park stalled in four downs on the opportunity and Clay took over near midfield with a full quarter of time left.

Taylor and Ray went to work and a 32 yard pass to Brown put Clay inside the Raider 20 looking to go ahead, but, on fourth and one at the six yard line, Charles again came up with the big stop on Taylor to end the effort.

Orange Park could only move the ball two yards before punting from the 18 to set up the final two drives; Blair’s interception and Lesage’s punt muff, ended the game.