PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – In a game featuring a 200-yard running back, another with 34 carries and several gambles and big plays on special teams and defense, it was a junior tight end who entered Friday with 15 receptions who gave an extra push to Ponte Vedra’s playoff hopes.
Landon Okla had three receptions, all three for scores, including one off a fake punt and a back-breaking 40-yarder at the end of the third quarter, and then he snared a last-hope onside kick to put the finishing touch on the News4JAX Game of the Week.
Truly, it was a great night for Okla and his teammates, as the Sharks built a four-touchdown lead in less than 18 minutes and used the junior — along with some gutsy play calling — to permanently shut the door on fifth-seed Creekside with a 49-36 triumph in the Region 1-4S quarterfinals.
Fourth-seeded Ponte Vedra (8-3) snaps a two-game slide in which it lost by a combined six points. The Sharks’ reward comes in the form of a trip to Gainesville Buchholz next week, to face not only the region’s top seed but Class 4S’s top-rated team in the regional semifinals.
That shouldn’t deter Ponte Vedra as, Okla said, the team felt positive headed into this week, despite coming off losses to Nease by one point and by five last week to the same Creekside (6-5) they toppled Friday night.
“Even when we lose, we keep our heads up on this team,” said Okla, who had another three-touchdown game earlier this season. “Everyone’s a leader. No one gets discouraged. We’re back at 6 a.m. Monday, smiling at adversity and ready to practice, ready to go at it.”
Still, the slide cost the Sharks a district title and likely two spots in playoff seeding. So, even though the mood was upbeat, there was a sense that this needed to be more like the seven-game winning streak Ponte Vedra and not the team that dropped a couple of heartbreakers.
“We had a motto this week: ‘Get back week’,” said running back Brian Case, whose 34 carries went for 172 yards and two of his three touchdowns. “High intensity at practice, probably our best practice week, and the results show on the scoreboard.”
That sort of attitude permeated the team from the players to the coaching staff. Head coach Steve Price had no problems taking a few gambles — five to be exact.
Of course it helps having a workman like Case, who topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season during the game despite coming off sprained ankle. But he played a major role in converting a series of critical fourth downs.
The Sharks’ first four offensive touchdowns came on drives where the team converted fourth downs, as the team went 5 for 5 on fourth-down conversions. Along with a 24-yard fumble return for touchdown by linebacker Maddux Babin for the game’s second score, there was an 18-yard pass from Ben Burk to Case on fourth-and-6, a fourth-and-3 that Case turned into a score and a fourth-and-5 that was made on the way to a 22-yard scoring run by Case.
Less than 18 minutes into the game, it was 28-0 Ponte Vedra.
“We just felt like we had to be aggressive,” said Price, whose team snapped a five-game skid against its county rival. “We didn’t feel that field goals would win the game. They’re really good on offense, and we felt we had to keep our foot on the gas. Huge from Ben Burk, ice water in his veins.
“We just felt, it’s the playoffs, baby, we’re going to let it fly.”
The Sharks were flying past the Knight. But up stepped running back Harrison Garrido. After Case’s third touchdown, Garrido carried on Creekside’s next three plays, gashing Ponte Vedra for 90 of his 233 rushing yards on those carries and two touchdowns, the second coming from 29 yards one play after Parker Herrin blocked a punt.
It was a game again at 28-14.
Still, Price had another gambit to try. With the Sharks facing 4th down on their own 47 and 53 seconds left in the half, Ponte Vedra needed to stop the Knights’ roll. Using Creekside’s punt rush against it, upback Drew Price corralled the snap and tossed to a wide-open Okla over the middle. He made a couple of moves, weaving through the defense and racing into the end zone.
Fourth down conversion No. 4.
“We’ve had that in for a few weeks. We just needed the right opportunity,” Okla said. “Drew Price, myself, the O-line pulled it out. We practiced that play a lot.”
The Knights would not fold. They pulled to within 11, and the Sharks faced third down with 3:46 left in the third. This time, Burk found Okla, who again was wide open over the middle and able to race in for a score. That made it an 18-point lead with little more than 15 minutes left.
Creekside, which had to win its final three games just to make the postseason, never would be closer than it was prior to that pass.
“We did have to dig back this season,” Knights coach Sean McIntyre said. “Our kids fought back tonight, but a couple of critical plays, the punt call and the tight end dump there were two tremendous calls. We got outcoached. Great job by them. When you’re down 28-0 you don’t have much room for mistakes, and we made a few.”
Okla then finished his team’s scoring with a fourth-down fourth-quarter catch — conversion No. 5. After Garrido scored his third touchdown of the game, the ball was in Okla’s hands again. He grabbed the onside kick off a high hop, cradled it and dropped to the ground.
Another week of playoff football was in his hands.
“Oh my, I was a sacred for a second,” Okla said with a laugh. “But we go over every scenario, everything, and it comes my way. But we prepared for this.”
Ponte Vedra 49, Creekside 36
Creekside, 0, 17, 7, 12 — 36
Ponte Vedra, 21, 14, 7, 7 — 49
PV – Brian Case 18 pass from Ben Burk (Evan Redmond kick)
PV – Maddux Babin 24 fumble return (Redmond kick)
PV – Case 5 run (Redmond kick)
PV – Case 22 run (Redmond kick)
C – Harrison Garrido 21 run (Cooper Maurer kick)
C – Garrido 29 run (Maurer kick)
PV – Landon Okla 53 pass from Drew Price (Redmond kick)
C – Maurer 25 FG
C – Sean Ashenfelder 9 run (Maurer kick)
PV – Okla 40 pass from Burk (Redmond kick)
C – Ashenfelder 7 run (pass failed)
PV – Okla 1 pass from Burk (Redmond kick)
C – Garrido 11 run (run failed)
Category: C — PV
First downs: 23 — 23
Rushes-yards: 32-251 — 53-206
Passing: 162 — 205
Comp-Att-Int: 14-32-0 — 13-18-0
Fumbles-lost: 2-1 — 0-0
Penalties-Yards: 5-40 — 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — C: Garrido 21-233, Ashenfelder 9-17, Danny Approbato 1-3, Team 1-(-2). PV: Case 34-172, Burk 11-23, Joey Stephens 4-13, Ryan Smith 1-5, Team 3-(-7).
PASSING — C: Ashenfelder 14-32-0-162. PV: Burk 12-17-0-152, Price 1-1-0-53.
RECEIVING — C: Eros Taufer 5-86, Ashton Reynolds 2-27, Kaleb Taylor-Burch 4-23, Cooper Dixon 1-16, Garrido 2-10. PV: Okla 3-94, Cole Madson 3-46, Griffin Owen 3-25, Smith 2-20, Case 2-20.