Region 2-2S Football First Round: Panthers fall 1 point short of Rams

GAINESVILLE – In a game as tight as Friday night's Region 2-2S first-round playoff matchup at Citizens Field, one fateful play could be the difference between winning and losing.

In this case, it was an action.

A 15-yard celebration penalty against Palatka Junior-Senior High School moments after Cartaveon Valentine took a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown forced the Panthers to go for two points from Gainesville Eastside High's 17-yard line. The play came up short and the Rams held on for a 28-27 victory, ending the Panthers' season at 7-4 for the second straight year.

"It just wasn't our night, but it was one heck of a football game," said Panthers coach Patrick Turner, doing his best to remain positive afterward. Hats off to (Eastside). They did a great job. That's what a high school football game should be. I hate it for our seniors, but I'm extremely proud of everybody who played. I love this team and am proud of how far they came."

The fourth-seeded Rams (8-3) and the fifth-seeded Panthers (7-4) went toe to toe, neither side backing down the whole night. The Panthers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to reverse a 14-7 deficit and take a 21-14 lead going into the final quarter. But the Rams responded with a pair of touchdowns to take the 28-21 lead into the ensuing kickoff.

After Valentine had fumbled the kickoff, he retrieved the ball at the 16, avoided a would-be tackler, then another, then found the sideline where he picked up a pair of blockers and turned up his speed to dash into the end zone and give the strong Panther contingent who made the trip across SR-20 a chance to cheer loudly.

But a moment after Valentine was celebrating with his teammates in the end zone, the official called the unsportsmanlike penalty against the Panthers. With the ball on the 17, but still a chance to take the lead, quarterback Tommy Offord found no open receivers he could throw the ball to in the end zone. Instead, he threw to tight end Trenton Williams, who caught the short pass and was allowed to have some yardage by the Rams defense before a pair of defenders forced him down at the 6-yard line.

"I understand the penalty," Turner said. "Maybe we got a little too excited, I don't know. But that was the referee's call and it put us in a situation where the extra-point (kick) was iffy. In my mind, the probability of going for two points is just as good as a kick. Maybe it wasn't the right play call. I felt like the play needed to be developed a little more."

Though the conversion try was a disappointment, the Panthers got another chance when Gage White's onside kick attempt was mishandled by Eastside's Chris Bishop and recovered at the Palatka 44 by Valentine with 2:37 left in the game.

After Offord (15 carries, 52 yards) got 5 yards on the first play, he was sacked by Claude Whitford for a 3-yard loss on second down. Then Valentine tried a run on third down, only to be met by three Rams defenders for another 3-yard loss, leaving Offord and the Panthers at fourth and 11 to go.

Offord tried a pass along the Panthers' sideline to George Taylor, but Eastside's Kamariyon Mack knocked the pass away with 47 seconds left to give the Rams the ball for good and hold on for the victory.

"This was a momentum shift game," Turner said of Friday night's affair. "Sometimes it was in our direction, sometimes it wasn't. But it was a great high school football game. I think (Eastside) probably thought they were a lot better than what the final score was going to indicate. We gave them all we had and played a pretty clean game up until the end."

After the game, Turner thanked his players for what they put forward not just Friday night, but the entire season. He then turned toward the juniors and told them they were seniors now and put the leadership role in their collective hands.

"Hopefully this leaves a bad taste in their mouth that they don't like," Turner said. "I think it's a little different than last year. We're right there on the cusp, right there on the edge on how far they've come. They've laid the foundation for everybody else going forward. It's going to be fun to watch over the next three or four years."

The Rams took the opening drive 50 yards in 12 plays, burning nearly seven minutes off the clock. Joshua Benjamin, who finished with 153 yards rushing on 23 carries, finished the drive with a 2-yard scoring run on fourth and goal to make it 7-0 after the first of four Elijah Dressel extra-point kicks.

Near the end of the first quarter, Ar'Terrian Godfrey muffed a punt attempt at midfield and Eastside's Jaquez Whitehead jumped on the ball at the Rams' 49. On the next play, Benjamin took a handoff, cut right and went untouched to the end zone for a 51-yard score, making it 14-0.

The Panthers got their only first-half score on the next drive, marching 65 yards on six plays and culminating in a 9-yard Offord run as White nailed the extra-point kick.

After the halftime break, the Panthers came out strongly and on the second play from his 30-yard line, Offord connected with tight end Trenton Williams (three catches, 99 yards) on a bomb down the Panthers sidelines. He took the ball the rest of way for a 70-yard score to tie it up at 14-all.

After Elijah Campbell II blocked a punt attempt on the next Eastside possession, the Panthers were set up at the Rams' 35. Four plays later, Valentine bulled his way into the end zone with a little help from Panther linemen for an 11-yard touchdown to give Palatka the 21-14 lead, which it took into the fourth quarter.

With 8:32 left in the game, Eastside took over after an Offord punt at its 30. After a holding penalty – one of 15 infractions against the Rams – pushed the Rams back to the 22, quarterback Adrian Curtis (9-of-15 passing, 150 yards) connected with receiver Daijon Johnson in stride for a 63-yard strike to the Palatka 15. Benjamin found a hole on the next play and scored to tie it at 21-all with 7:40 left.

Offord made his only passing mistake of the night on the next possession as Victor White intercepted him in front of Valentine and headed back the other way for a touchdown, only to have it called back to the Eastside 45 due to a blocking-in-the-back penalty.

No sweat, though. Eastside's Antoneo Wilson out-jumped defender Lequan Wright for a 40-yard TD strike to give the Rams the lead back with 2:56 left in the game.

Offord finished 5-of-8 passing for 145 yards and one TD pass, his 13th of the year.

"Every loss hurts, but knowing we were that close and how hard they fought, it stings," Turner said. "It stings for sure."

The Rams will travel to Starke to face Bradford in next week's regional semifinal after the top-seeded Tornadoes blew through Port Orange Atlantic, 42-0, on Friday.

Eastside 28, Palatka 27

Palatka              0    7  14    6—27
Eastside          14    0    0  14—28

First Quarter
GE—Benjamin 2 run (Dressel kick), 5:05.
GE—Benjamin 51 run (Dressel kick), :19.

Second Quarter
Pal—Offord 9 run (White kick), 9:47.

Third Quarter
Pal—Williams 70 pass from Offord (White kick), 11:12.
Pal—Valentine 11 run (White kick), 7:56.

Fourth Quarter
GE—Benjamin 15 run (Dressel kick), 7:40.
GE—Wilson 40 pass from Curtis (Dressel kick), 2:56.
Pal—Valentine 84 kickoff return (pass failed), 2:40.

                              Pal         GE
First downs                 13              12
Rushes-yards           36-97     36-173
Passing yards            145          150
Comp-Att-Int             5-8-1       9-15-0
Return yards              129           90
Punts-Avg.                3-27.3      1-27.0
Fumbles-Lost              3-1          0-0
Penalties-Yards         6-46     15-136

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Palatka: Offord 15-52, Fells 12-20, Valentine 7-37, Wright 1-(-6), Evans 1-(-6). Gainesville Eastside: Benjamin 23-153, Byrd 9-28, Curtis 4-(-8).
PASSING—Palatka: Offord 5-8-1-145. Gainesville Eastside: Curtis 9-15-0-150.
RECEIVING—Palatka: Williams 3-99, Wright 2-46. Gainesville Eastside: Johnson 3-84, Wilson 2-55, Bishop 2-3, Byrd 1-5, Carr 1-3.