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26
Nov
2016

Nick Tronti’s Four Touchdowns Leads Ponte Vedra Over Rickards

November 26, 2016
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Ponte Vedra- Ponte Vedra and Rickards both came into their Region 1-5A playoff game Friday night extremely confident. Both teams possessed explosive offenses that led them to district titles. Both teams possessed opportunistic defenses that made opponents pay for making mistakes. But most importantly out of all their similar attributes, both teams were accustomed to winning as Rickards road a ten game winning streak into the contest, and Ponte Vedra was on an eleven game streak. So something had to give when these two teams met for the chance to play for the title.

At the start of the game it looked like the Ponte Vedra’s defense would be the one unit giving in. After Rickards forced Ponte Vedra to punt on it’s first possession, (only team to do so in playoffs) Quarterback DJ Phillips took just three plays to put his team on the board. #7 Phillips tossed a 69 yard touchdown to #3 Marcus Riley stunning the capacity crowd on hand and putting his team up 7-0.

Being down early in a game was very uncharacteristic of Ponte Vedra, so everyone was eager to see how the team would respond and respond they did. Quarterback Nick Tronti drove Ponte Vedra right now the field mixing passes, scrambles, and zone read runs together. Tronti capped the drive himself with a 10 yard touchdown run to respond to the Rickards score. The PAT would be partially blocked and the score stood at 7-6 Rickards in the first quarter.

The first two scores of the game were an indication to how each offense was run, through each of the stud Quarterbacks on hand. Phillips (6’3 190lbs) is verbally committed to Florida A&M University while Tronti (6’2 210 lbs) is a verbal commit to University of North Carolina Charlotte. The two schools would be impressed by what we all saw Friday night, as each Quarterback showed poise in the pocket and play making ability with their arms and legs. Phillips would show off these skills again as he commanded the Raiders offense down the field hitting Riley again with a touchdown pass. This time from 8 yards out giving Rickards a 14-6 lead. It was two touchdowns in the first quarter by Phillips and Riley that closed out the first quarter of play.

In the second quarter Ponte Vedra would keep the pace of the game high as they drove down field on offense. With the Rickards defense keying on Hal Swan in the first half, Tronti ws able to keep zone read plays and gain chunks of yards at a time. Ironically the areas leading passer would score his second rushing touchdown of the game bringing Ponte Vedra closer 14-13.

The Ponte Vedra defense was in desperate need of a stop and thats exactly what they got on the next possessor of the second quarter. Rickards who had no trouble moving the offense between the 20’s drove deep into Shark territory but was stopped on downs by the Sharks defense.

Tronti and company did not let the crucial stop go in vain. After driving into Raider territory, Tronti hit his big wide receiver #1 JD Pirris wo made a spectacular catch in the endzone to score the touchdown. All of a sudden Ponte Vedra would take its first lead of the night 20-14, but Rickards was not done yet.

The Raiders again responded by driving the ball into Ponte Vedra territory. Runningback #1 Destin Coats had some nice runs on the drive, but it was Phillips who took the ball into his own hands. Phillips found himself in trouble on the pass rush from Ponte Vedra. So he scambled left then right luding defenders and turned the right corner tip toeing the sideline and diving over the pylon for what appeared to have been a touchdown. However referees called a touchback because Phillips lost the ball through the back of the endzone attempting to dive for the touchdown. It was a very tough call and some felt it was the wrong one in fact. Including fans from both sidelines and in the stands.

It was the second time in the game the Rickards offense was unable to score in the redzone, something they consistently did all season. Yet they’d get another shot at the endzone before the half expired and capitalized when Phillips it Marcus Riley for a thrid touchdown pitch and catch of the half. Rickards led 21-20

With very little time on the clock Ponte Vedra drove the ball into Rickards territory again highlighted by a great catch by WR Marshall Few. PV would kick the field goal and take the wind out of the sails of Rickards who stood in disbelief trailing 23-21 at halftime.

In the second half Rickards would be held scoreless as the Ponte Vedra defense gang tackled and pursued the ball ferociously. They were effective in pressuring Rickards Quarterback DJ Phillips making him scramble and forcing him to either make plays on the fly or fit balls into tight windows. It’s a testament to the defensive coaching staff of Ponte Vedra who called a very good game plan against one of the best offenses in the state.

Their play allowed Ponte Vedra to build a lead when Tronti scored his thrid rushing touchdown of the game, giving him four total touchdowns on the night. The score sitting at 30-21 for the majority of the second half, Rickards had one last shot to come to within three points or potentially one point on the Sharks. Yet that play was ironically stopped at the one yard line by a host of defenders who tackled Rickards playamkers Marcus Riley ending any hope of a Raider comeback.

Ponte Vedra’s 30-21 victory over Rickards was sweet for some many reasons. The seniors got to end their final game at home wit ha win. The Sharks silenced the naysayers who doubted their ability to win. Yet the most important reason its sweet is that they will stay alive and travel to Clay next week for the chance to play for the 5A State Title.

(Tronti and Phillips meet at 30 second mark)

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About the author

Andre' Ellis, Founder/ Lead Writer DuvalSports.com Florida Times Union All-City 1998,LB, Sandalwood Florida A&M Unv, BA , MBA

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