Ed White- A scoreless first half had many believing the game between Fletcher and Ed White last Friday would be a close one. They were sadly mistaken when the Senators scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to shutout the Commanders 27-0.
The Ed White Commanders vs Fletcher Senators game has ended. The final score was Fletcher Senators 27 – Ed White Commanders 0. Great game between these two teams as they battled each other for the win. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/UXDgoUfLej
— Ariana Zackery (@ZackeryAriana) September 22, 2018
The scoreless first half seemed like a hang over from the long night the Senators experienced a week earlier at the hands of Raines. Fletcher suffered their only loss of the season, while scoring their lowest point total of the season. Fast forwarding to their game against Ed White, the Senators were unable to sustain drives and committed costly turnovers in the first half. The case was the contrary for White, as they decisively defeated Nease the prior week before struggling against Fletcher in the first half of their game. The second half would tell two different stories of two teams in very similar situations.
At the end of the second quarter neither team has scored a point yet. The score is still Ed White Commanders 0 – Fletcher Senators 0 as we head into halftime. Both teams are headed to the locker room to discuss their playbook. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/lgFBSTZbId
— Ariana Zackery (@ZackeryAriana) September 21, 2018
Fletcher relied on its defense to get the upper hand in the second half. Safety Jalen Mitchell intercepted a pass and returned it to the one yard line of Ed White. However the Commander’s line backer Tyler Lawton would cause a fumble and it would be recovered by White to thwart a promising scoring opportunity for Fletcher.
The Commanders fumble the ball the 3rd time tonight and is recovered by #54 J.Bosco on the Senators. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/Jn6U7aJyhQ
— Ariana Zackery (@ZackeryAriana) September 22, 2018
It seemed as if Jalen Mitchell’s interception was wasted, that is until he would secure his second one in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell has been a great addition to the team. His play making ability in the secondary allows Fletcher to stay competitive and capitalize in games. This time the Senators would do so when Travious Johnson would score on a run play to give them a 7-0 lead. Linebacker Josh Bosco would recover an Ed White fumble to end the 3rd quarter keeping the score 7-0 heading to the 4th.
#22 L.Johnson scores for his team on a nice run play and putting his team in the lead. The score is Fletcher Senators 7 – Ed White Commanders 0 with 2:04 left in the 3rd qtr. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/sQzXMQBWPI
— Ariana Zackery (@ZackeryAriana) September 22, 2018
In the 4th quarter, two James Schaefer field goals and Johnson touchdown (his second touchdown of the game) would put Fletcher up 20-0. The defensive night would end in fitting fashion when Mitchell would secure his third interception of the game, and return it for a touchdown to close out the Commanders.
Fletcher Senators bring out the turnover surfboard as #2 J.Mitchell gets his 3rd interception tonight and takes it all the way back to the house. The score is Fletcher Senators 27 – Ed White Commanders 0 with 20 seconds left in the 4th qtr. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/J7xK8B2OwE
— Ariana Zackery (@ZackeryAriana) September 22, 2018
Fletcher improved to 4-1 on the season while Ed White fell to 2-3. The game may have resulted in a lopsided defeat for White at the hands of Fletcher, yet both team’s playoff hopes remain evenly distributed. Fletcher begins their district play against First Coast this Friday, while Ed White continues their district play against Middleburg. If both teams can run the table in their district they would receive automatic bids to the playoffs as district champions.
7A-2
| School Name | *W-L | *Pct. | *PF | *PA | W-L | Pct. | PF | PA | Strk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Coast | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 92 | 88 | 1 W |
| Columbia | 1-0 | 1.000 | 42 | 37 | 5-0 | 1.000 | 222 | 89 | 5 W |
| First Coast | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 2-2 | 0.500 | 107 | 63 | 1 L |
| Fletcher | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 4-1 | 0.800 | 157 | 68 | 1 W |
| Lee | 0-1 | 0.000 | 37 | 42 | 3-1 | 0.750 | 133 | 73 | 1 L |
6A-4
| School Name | *W-L | *Pct. | *PF | *PA | W-L | Pct. | PF | PA | Strk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Englewood | 0-1 | 0.000 | 7 | 37 | 1-4 | 0.200 | 32 | 147 | 4 L |
| Middleburg | 1-0 | 1.000 | 37 | 7 | 1-4 | 0.200 | 78 | 164 | 1 L |
| Nease | 0-1 | 0.000 | 13 | 48 | 0-5 | 0.000 | 68 | 179 | 5 L |
| St. Augustine | 0-0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 1-4 | 0.200 | 84 | 187 | 4 L |
| White | 1-0 | 1.000 | 48 | 13 | 2-3 | 0.400 | 100 | 101 | 1 L |
The road is easier for White as they’ve already defeated Nease(0-5) and at this point seem much better than Englewood(1-4) and Middleburg(1-4). Their toughest test will be against St. Augustine(1-4), but the Jackets are experiencing a down year in 2018. The destination is the same for Fletcher but the road is much harder. They must win games they are supposed to on paper like First Coast and Atlantic Coast, yet they must also defeat powerhouses Lee and Columbia. A loss to the two state ranked teams wouldn’t be such a terrible blow in the new playoff points system, if Fletcher had scheduled harder opponents during the season. Yet the Senator’s road is clear just as the Commander’s, win the district by derailing the top teams.
