ORANGE PARK – Ridgeview High’s Richie Lewis tossed two touchdown passes, but a depleted Panthers secondary was no match for Beachside quarterback Bryant Balcita and his receivers as Ridgeview fell 42-16 to the visiting Barracudas on Friday, September 23.

Ridgeview began the game without three of its four starters in the secondary, and it showed. Minus safety Franklin Brown and cornerbacks Wain Sulph and Alex Fennell, Ridgeview was forced to start Hasani Scott at safety, Kayden Zamor at left cornerback and freshman Deshun Green at right cornerback. Balcita took full advantage, torching the Panthers for 204 passing yards and four touchdown passes in the first half.

The Barracudas, now 3-1 in the St. Johns County school’s first year, effectively mixed wide receiver screens with deep passes, scoring on five of seven possessions to take a 35-0 halftime lead.

Balcita finished with 282 passing yards and five touchdowns, competing 13 of 19 throws.

“We were stretched thin, and we are used to playing against running teams,” said Ridgeview head coach Bryan Arnette. “They got us on a few tricks and a few big plays. Beachside’s timing on those quick throws was great.”

Safety Conner Hupp, the lone returning starter in the secondary, gave the Panthers hope with an interception on Beachside’s first possession, stepping in front of a deep slant pattern at the Ridgeview 25 yard line. But any momentum was quickly snuffed out by Barracudas’ Matthew Collazos, who intercepted a Lewis pass at the Beachside 40 yard line.

On the third play following Collazos’ theft, Beachside opened the scoring when, on third down and 9 from the 41, Balcita threw sideways to flanker William Dudley, who took a step forward and then threw to a wide open Drew Aldrich downfield. With no defender around, Aldrich coasted to the end zone.

Cohen Beebe took advantage of a blown coverage between Scott and Zamor to haul in a 34 yard scoring pass on Beachside’s next possession.

If there was a turning point, it was late in the first quarter when Arnette rolled the dice and went for it on fourth down and a yard to go at the Ridgeview 34 yard line on the next possession. Running back Rayhn Hutchinson was stopped for no gain. The Barracudas took advantage of the short field when Dudley outfought Green and Kupp to come down with a Balcita spiral in the front corner of the end zone. When Bryce Gee took a shovel pass across the goal line for a two-point conversion, Beachside had an insurmountable 21-0 lead.

Hutchinson was Ridgeview’s only offense until the fourth quarter when Beachside played largely backups, Against a defense that quickly recognized he was the hosts’ main threat, the junior ran for 150 yards on 26 carries, the only Panther to carry the ball besides Lewis.

“He toted the rock all night and did not complain,” Arnette said of Hutchinson. “He showed up at every summer workout and is a member of our 1,000 pound club, meaning that he can bench, squat and clean and jerk a combined 1,000 pounds. He continues to be the epitome of what we want our players to be.”

After Dudley took a middle screen pass 10 yards for a score with 30 seconds left before the intermission, the Barracudas marched 65 yards with the second half kickoff to take a 42-0 lead when Beebe got behind the secondary to snare his third touchdown catch of the game.

Lewis found a rhythm in the fourth quarter, hitting Green on a slant pattern for a 21 yard score and lofting a perfect ball to Jarren Rosier up the right sideline that Rosier turned into an 81 yard touchdown. The Panthers converted two-point conversions after each touchdown on a flat pass from Lewis to fellow sophomore Charles Mendat and a Hutchinson run off of left tackle. Lewis finished 11 of 22 for 143 yards with one interception. Rosier led the Ridgeview receivers with 102 yards on three receptions.

“I was proud of our guys. They did not give up,” said Arnette. “You see the culture changes around here. In the fourth quarter, even though we were down, we were dabbing each other up.”

Ridgeview, now 1-4, travels to Middleburg on September 30 for its first District 3S contest.

“The good news is we do not have a bye week,” said Arnette. “We do not have time to sit and sulk.”