St. Johns Fl-After Bartram Trail’s 59-37 win over rival St. Augustine Friday night, the question isn’t whether the Bears are one of the best teams in Northeast Florida. No, Bartram’s play the last few weeks introduces another question, are they the best team in Northeast Florida? Against the Jackets, they displayed every facet of a football team that is ballin like the best.
Quick Strike Offense
It’s the signature of a great team, the ability to strike quickly and Friday Bartram did that. Less than a minute in the game, running back Laython Biddle scored up the middle on a 48-yard touchdown run. Biddle would score four touchdowns in the first half, on his way to an amazing night.
Weathering A Storm
As in every rivalry, there will be lots of big plays by the opponent. St. Augustine kept the game close as big plays from Trenton Jones who caught a touchdown pass put the Jacket on the board. An interception by Braylon James set up a score by Devonte Lyons which tied the game at 14-14 all.
St. Augustine would eventually take a 24-21 lead after a field goal that followed a touchdown by Locklan Hewlett to Trenton Williams.
However, Bartram would weather the storm. It was Biddle who scored two more touchdowns to retake the lead for Bartram 28-24.
Superb Special Teams
Bartram’s Liam Padron is a difference maker for his team. Several high school football teams struggle with field goals, but not Bartram. Padron connected on a field goal before halftime to increase Bartram’s lead to 7-points 31-24 at halftime.
Finishing Strong
In earlier games this year, Bartram had a problem finishing teams when they were up big. This isn’t the case anymore with the Bears. Bartram would make halftime adjustments, and only give up one competitve score in the second half to St. Augustine. Quarterback Riley Trujillo would lead this effort when he scored on a touchdown run in the third quarter.
Trujillo would also hit Taylor Rhodes for 60-yard touchdown to increase Bartram’s lead over their rival 52-31. Trujillo would account for three scores on the big night for the Bears, tossing two touchdowns and running in another.
Fittingly, the final scoring effort for Bartram came from Biddle, who scored his sixth touchdown of the night. This time, he showed off his versitility by adding a receving touchdown to the five rushing ones on the historic night. Bartram (5-0) defeated St. Augustine (2-3) for the fifth time in a row 59-37.
St. Augustine takes on Matanzas next week, while Bartram has a big showdown with Fleming Island (3-1). The Bears enter their toughest part of the schedule, which will challenge just how good they are with Creekside (4-1) and Buchholz (4-0) still remaining. As for now, the Bears are ballin at the right time, and ballin like the best.
