The Newberry football team jumped on Williston early and built a three-touchdown lead in the first half.
The host Red Devils shut out the Panthers in the second half but couldn’t dig out of the hole as Newberry held on for a 28-14 win on Friday night.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach (Robby) Pruitt, we knew he was going to have them ready to go, but we didn’t play particularly well tonight,” said Newberry coach Ed Johnson. “Too many penalties, taking points off the board, and I’m disappointed with how our defense performed tonight. I think we gave up too many chunk plays. That Wing-T is hard to defend but we felt like we can be better than that.”
The Panthers (7-2), who won their sixth straight game, failed to convert a fake punt on their first offensive possession. However, after taking over at their own 45-line yard and driving to the Newberry 27-yard line, the Red Devils turned it over on downs.
Newberry drove 69 yards on only five plays, capping the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Collin Dunmore to junior wide receiver Hayden Moore for a 7-0 lead with 3:09 to play in the first quarter.
It was the first of two touchdowns for the duo.
“First off, it all starts with the offensive line blocking well and giving me time in the pocket to throw, so shout out to them,” Dunmore said. “As for Hayden, he’s one of the best receivers in the district. He makes my job easy when he’s on the field.”
Williston (4-4) was forced to punt on its next possession and the Panthers put together a 62-yard scoring drive which ended with a 36-yard scoring pass from Dunmore to junior running back Kaleb Woods for a 14-0 lead just eight seconds into the second quarter.
Just over two minutes later, a Williston fumble was scooped up by Malachi Lancaster and returned 32 yards for the score.
“I’m so happy for that guy, man,” Johnson said. “He’s been battling injuries. He’s a senior, first game back in like two weeks so to see him get it and run fairly well, happy for that guy. He works hard. He does it every day so I’m happy to see him have some success.”
The extra point was wide right, but the Panthers had built a 20-0 lead with 9:45 to play in the half.
The Red Devils answered on their next possession, driving 80 yards for the score.
Senior Jamari Williams, who finished with over 130 yards rushing on the night, had runs of 15, 13, 12, and 11 on the drive, which ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by junior Omarian Walker to bring the Red Devils within 13 at 20-7 with 4:33 to play in the half.
However, Newberry drove 80 yards and tacked on one final touchdown just before the half.
Dunmore threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Moore, but the play was called back due to an illegal procedure. But on the next play, Dunmore found Moore on a 17-yard scoring pass with 25 seconds left in the half.
“He stepped up,” Johnson said. “The first one, stepping up in the pocket finding Hayden down the field. He did a really good job tonight except for the one turnover. It really wasn’t his fault but…really good for him tonight to step up and make some plays. They were going to play us cover zero we had to take shots.”
Williston took the second-half kickoff and drove 69 yards down to the Newberry 1-yard line with a chance to cut the deficit in half. But on fourth down, the Panthers’ defense stepped up and kept the Red Devils out of the end zone.
“That was big,” Johnson said. “We felt (we had) a couple of questionable flags thrown on us that drive and it kind of backed us up but our guys bowed their neck, made really, really good plays. Our guys made some really big stops, and it was big. It was big momentum for us even though we gave it right back.”
The goal line stand celebration was short-lived as Dunmore fumbled the ball on a pitch, which was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Noah Robinson at the Panthers’ 3-yard line.
On the next play, Williams ran it in from three yards out to make it 28-14 with 3:13 to play in the third quarter.
The Red Devils had a chance to make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter, but on a 4th-and-1 at the Newberry 10-yard line, Wofford commit Logan McCloud tackled Williams for no gain with 3:11 to play.
Backed up deep in their own territory and facing a 3rd-and-long, Dunmore threw a deep pass to Moore down the right sidelines which the junior leaped up and grabbed for a 43-yard gain to help put the game on ice.
“Great call by Coach Bubba, our OC,” Johnson said. “We knew we didn’t want to punt it and give them a shot, so take a shot and see. We figured they were going to load the box, and we’d get a one-on-one and we always like Hayden one-on-one, so we’re happy to see him finally make a big, long catch tonight.”
The Red Devils (4-4) couldn’t overcome mistakes, and injuries prevented them from having any continuity.
“I’d love to take the football back that they picked up and scored on and then right down here at the end we’re looking to go in and tie the game,” Pruitt said. “We played well and played hard. We moved the ball.”
Williston played without starting quarterback John Jazikoff, who was injured last week in the loss at North Marion (Citra), forcing junior Kyrin Penny into his first start of the season.
“He made a few mistakes, but he did pretty good,” said Williston coach Robby Pruitt. “Heck again, it’s the same thing all year. We had a chance to beat them, we don’t score on the 1-yard line, the 1-foot line…we gave them one touchdown, we lost by two.”
Both teams are back in action next Friday.
Williston, which is still hoping to add a make-good game the final week, will host KIPP Bold City (Jacksonville), while Newberry travels to Trinity Catholic (Ocala).
Monday, Oct. 21
Gainesville 36, Lake Weir (Ocala) 8
Friday, Oct. 25
Buchholz 38, Bartram Trail (St. Johns) 37 OT
Eastside 29, North Marion (Citra) 0
Newberry 28, Williston 14
Vanguard (Ocala) 47, Gainesville 3
Bradford (Starke) 44, Santa Fe (Alachua) 0
Lake Weir (Ocala) 36, Oak Hall 15
Union County (Lake Butler) 38, Hudson 7
Columbia (Lake City) 49, Clay (Green Cove Springs) 13
Fort White 48, Hilliard 0
Bell 17, Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) 9
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 37, P.K. Yonge 0
Branford 35, Jefferson County (Monticello) 22
Suwannee (Live Oak) 42, Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) 14
Keswick Christian (St. Petersburg) 52, Saint Francis Catholic Academy 14
Christ’s Church Academy (Jacksonville) 48, Bronson 0
West Nassau (Callahan) 47, Dixie County (Cross City) 0
Trenton 50, Hamilton County (Jasper) 46
Palatka 40, Keystone Heights 0
OFF – Hawthorne, Chiefland
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