JULINGTON CREEK – Defending county champion Gamble Rogers went old school football on Patriot Oaks, ala three yards and a cloud of dust.
Behind tailback Thomas Jones and quarterback Noah Lawless, the Stingrays ran the ball every play until through the middle of the third quarter.
They didn’t need to throw, as they gashed the Chargers defense 5 yards a play to move up and down the field with ease every drive.
Lawless 5 yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the game gave the Stingrays a quick 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Jones 12 yard touchdown run early in the second quarter increased the lead to 14-0.
Patriot Oaks answered as Tanner Morrison hauled in a 75 yard touchdown pass from Jacob Akel cut the lead to 14-6 midway through the second quarter.
Jones 15 yard touchdown run before half gave the Stingrays a cushion and a 22-6 lead going into the half.
Lawless and Jones gashed the Patriots defense thanks to a dominating offensive line featuring Jake Orr, Trey Pate, Corey Crowley, Ethan Carr, Carson banks and John “Frito” Harris.
Halftime
Gamble Rogers 22
Patriot Oaks 6@DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/28A7Hjl3U0— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 24, 2018
The defense continued to have a field day against the Chargers offense stopping them on nearly every drive holding tailback Sharif Denson in check the whole game.
Evan Delke sacked Akel for a huge loss to force another punt in the third quarter.
Up 22-6 midway through the third quarter, Gamble Rogers finally attempted their first pass of the game which fell incomplete.
Minutes later, Lawless found Frankie Morabito in the right corner of the end zone on a 11 yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 28-6 still in the third quarter.
Noah Lawless 11 yard touchdown toss to Frankie Morabito. Gamble Rogers leads Patriot Oaks 28-6 late in third. pic.twitter.com/RI14wBL5SA
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 24, 2018
Just when it looked like the Chargers had something going finally on offense after a long completion down field, the receiver dropped the ball on the way down and the Stingrays recovered .
Several plays later, Denson recovered a Gamble Rogers fumble giving the ball back to the Chargers late in the third quarter.
However, the Chargers were stopped on a fourth and short play giving the Stingrays the ball back and allowing them to run out the clock.
Tomas Jones and Noah Lawless have come big for Gamble Rogers with touchdown runs in first half. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/8nJpIgX7Sb
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 24, 2018
Gamble Rogers (7-2) will face Landrum (8-1) a 47-20 winner over Sebastian, in the semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m. at Cornerstone Park in Ponte Vedra.
No. 5 Fruit Cove 20, No. 4 Swiss Point 6
Fruit Cove waited all season long for another shot at nemesis Swiss Point and finally got it and then went out and sent the Raiders packing.
Back in Week 1, Swiss Point escaped with a 8-0 win, Fruit Cove had to wait two months later to get revenge.
Fruit Cove opened the game with a lengthy drive on offense that chewed up a lot of the clock but the drive stalled at the 20 yard line after being stopped on fourth and short.
Early on defense controlled the game as both defenses stopped the other offense on nearly every drive of the first quarter.
Fruit Cove struck first on fourth and goal as Wilson Edwards found BJ Boykin in the end zone to give the Flyers a 8-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Swiss Point dialed up a double pass play to score and cut the lead to 8-6 with twenty seconds left in the half.
Ashton Anderson fumbled the ball away as the ball popped up in the air and was recovered by a Raider defender and returned back to the 25 yard line as Anderson made a touchdown saving tackle on the play.
A Hail Mary pass was caught inside the 2 yard line however the Raiders were unable to get a play off sending both teams into the locker room with Fruit Cove leading 8-6 at the half.
Swiss Point throws long pass down inside the 5, tries to hurry up but clock expires. Fruit Cove leads Swiss Point 8-6 at the half. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 24, 2018
Locked in a defensive battle, it was going to take a big play or two to settle this one and the Flyers came up with a big one on special teams.
Ryan Clodfelter fielded a punt at the 45 yard line and behind great blocking weaved his way down field for a 55 yard punt return for a score putting the Flyers ahead 14-6 midway through the third quarter.
Ryan Clodfelter 55 yard punt return down Swiss Point side of the field untouched gives Fruit Cove 14-6 lead in third. @DuvalSports
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 24, 2018
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, Fruit Cove added to its lead as Edwards connected with Boykin again for a 47 yard touchdown toss increasing the lead to 20-6 to put the game out of reach.
Fruit Cove leads 20-6 in fourth as Wilson Edwards hits BJ Boykin for a 47 yard touchdown pass. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/nQT3YCnxP4
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 25, 2018
After the game, Fruit Cove coaches and players celebrated the win dousing Gatorade on their coaches as they moved on to the semifinals.
Fruit Cove players douse coach with Gatorade after first playoff win pic.twitter.com/qCih4jJ2O7
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 25, 2018
No. 1 Murray 36, No. 8 Liberty Pines 6
Top seed Murray (9-0) had little trouble with eighth seed Liberty Pines jumping out to a lead and never relinquishing it.
The Bulldogs were led by Sean Harvey and JaKwame Moore offensively as shown in the two clips below.
I’m just trying to make it out. 🙏🏾🤞🏾@PlayBookAthlete @NextGenAACamp @_UnderTheRadar_ @BSPRecruits @Youth1Media pic.twitter.com/axvHAeW4wX
— Sean Harvey (@rbu_kidd2) October 25, 2018
Semifinals
Thursday
#3 Gamble Rogers at #2 Landrum (at Cornerstone), 5
#5 Fruit Cove at #1 Murray (at Pomar), 7
