Raines HS- It didn’t take long for Ed White’s offense to show why they are going to be one of the premiere units in the city this year. On Ed White’s first drive, the Commanders trotted out new starting running-back Christian Ellis who quickly showcased his ability for moving the chains.
Ellis reeled off a 20-yard gain on first down, and a 15-yard scamper on his second run of the game. By this time White was in Zarapeth territory in just two plays, Ellis converted a first down on a 15-yard gain and would cap off the scoring drive, racing around the left side for a 10-yard touchdown giving Ed white a 7-0 lead over Zarapeth Academy.
The talented Coastal Carolina commit wouldn’t stop there. On the ensuing drive, Ellis lined up as a free safety on defense and intercepted quarterback Jordan Durham V on the next drive, returning the interception 7-yards.
Ed White’s quarterback Isiah Teal would capitalize on the turnover, tossing a touchdown pass to Jeremiah Jones for the score. Before the football could warm up, Ed White’s offense had put up 14 unanswered points to the delight of the signal caller Teal.
” We just executed, we’ve worked hard in practice and we came out and performed. We have Christian and Jaquan running the football, nobody is going to stop them” – Isiah Teal
Ellis reflected on the weekly goal for the offense this year. ” We came out and worked on some stuff to go against a good team in Raines, and we want to go back and look at the film and see what we can tweak and perfect for next week”.
Next week Ed White travels to Baldwin to kick off the season. After defeating Zarapeth 22-0 and Raines 12-0, the Commanders are riding high into a season with big offensive expectations. Yet it’s the defense that will undoubtedly ensure that championship aspirations are within focus for White.
Against Raines, Ed white stifled the quick and elusive JaQuon King who played some quarterback in the jamboree. They batted down balls and shut down passing lanes. Davaughn Patterson the talented 2023 safety patrolled the secondary and made sure that it was a no fly zone against Raines.
Junior Xavier Baldwin shut down the scoring for the evening on a 30 yard end around racing to the end zone for the score.
The touchdown put the game out of reach. Ed White’s defense closed the game out forcing a turnover on downs and heading back to the Westside of Jacksonville victorious.
