MACLENNY – The Ed White Commanders traveled to Memorial Stadium in Macclenny to face the Baker County Wildcats in an intriguing Week 2 matchup.
It was the first meeting in decades, between these two public schools located only 25 miles apart.
The game started out as a defensive battle.
After the Commanders fumbled on their first drive, Baker County was unable to capitalize. A series later, the Wildcats got down to the 25 but came up short again. Although the Wildcats were unable to score early, they sustained a definitive field position advantage. In fact, every snap in the first quarter took place on the east end of the 50 yard line, in Wildcat territory.
Halfway through the second quarter, they were finally able to take advantage of the field position advantage when quarterback Noah Carter hit Lee Graham on a 19 yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone.
After a 3 and out for Ed White, the Wildcats looked to take the momentum to another level.
As Carter dropped back, he looked in Graham’s direction once again, this time they would connect for a 55 yard score. Although there appeared to be good coverage from two defenders, Carter launched a deep throw without any hesitation.
Lee Graham described the design of the play: “That was a matter of my quarterback having faith in me and trusting that I would make a play”.
His faith paid off, as Graham outran 2 defenders in a decisive path to the ball; catching it in stride and cruising to the end zone to put the Wildcats up 14 points before halftime.
Ed White looked like they might answer with a nice methodical drive, but they fell short when linebacker Kelton Knabb intercepted a screen pass around the 30 yard line.
In the third quarter, both defenses remained reluctant to give up many rushing yards. However, the Wildcats turned to the air once again.
With 10:37 remaining in the quarter, Carter threw a well timed out route to Graham. An Ed White defender gambled and went for the pick off, but in this game of inches, a couple inches meant all the difference. Graham spun up the field uncontested and had one man left to beat as he dashed down the sideline for a 65 yard TD reception.
“Overall, it was a great team victory” Graham stated.
This was definitely an accurate statement. The Defense pitched a shutout for the majority of the night. All night long, they were able to corral standout runningback Caleb Steward (a Virginia Tech commit), while also creating 2 turnovers.
In the 4th quarter, both teams traded rushing touchdowns to bring the final score to 28-7. Both teams now have a record of 1-1.
As the final horn sounded and the teams shook hands, a series of thunder and rapid lightning strikes began to come over Memorial Stadium. But it was the thunderous defense and lightning quick offensive strikes from Lee Graham & company that Wildcat fans will remember most on this night.
