JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Sanford Seminole High School Noles (9-0) traveled almost two hours north on I-95 to defeat the Sandalwood Saints (8-3), 40-20 in a Class 8A Semifinal matchup.
Seminole never trailed in the contest. After the first quarter they were up 7-0 thanks to Donta Whack, junior Running Back, finding a hole on the left side of the Saints defense.
With 9:35 left to play in the second quarter, Javari Frederick, senior Running Back, dove in for the touchdown. This was quickly followed by a two point conversion from Jimmy Horn, senior Wide Receiver. Seminole was up 15-0.
This ignited the Saints offense to get going. Chris Calhoun, junior Quarterback, muscled his way in for a touchdown with 4:06 to play in the half. This brought the score to 15-6.
The Saints would make one last attempt at a score before halftime. Calhoun saw Jadon Canady, senior Defensive Back, one step ahead of three Seminole defenders. This resulted in a 45-yard touchdown pass to bring the halftime score to 15-13.
Seminole held Sandalwood scoreless in the third quarter while they managed to put up an additional 14 points on the board. First, Timmy McClain, senior Quarterback, with 8:15 left to play in third ran in for a 70-yard touchdown. The play originally drawn up to be a pass.
Then with 13 seconds left in the third, Whack found another hole in the Saints defense to wiggle his way into the end zone to put Seminole up 29-13 going into the final 12 minutes of the game.
In the final quarter, Seminole scored twice. The first time off of a field goal kick with 3:47 to play. The second time by Demari Henderson, junior Defensive Back, off of his second pick of the night. This led to the score being 40-13.
Canady would score one more time in a Sandalwood jersey with eight seconds to play. A 17-yard catch that would lead to the final score being 40-20.
Seminole (9-0) will now return home as they prepare to welcome the Bartram Trail Bears (10-1) next Friday night in a Class 8A Region Final matchup. Kick-off is set for 7:30pm.
