JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With rain and wind beating down intermittently and a soggy field from pre-game downpours, Mandarin had to change its offense to suit the conditions.
On the other side, Fletcher had the perfect player, a big, low-to-the-ground back, for that weather, but the Senators lost him two plays into Friday night’s District 2-6A contest.
The Mustangs adapted better. They switched from their wide-open offense into a grind-it-down system using three running backs to batter visiting Fletcher’s defense. Mandarin converted 10 of 14 third downs and three of four fourth downs on the way to a critical 22-13 victory in the Varsity 4 Game of the Week.
Mustangs coach Toby Bullock called the conditions an offensive coach’s nightmare. But his running back trio of Shaunqueze Foster, Kyree Wilson and Ayden Owens combined for 38 carries for 218 yards.
A good portion of those key conversions happened during a 17-play drive at the end of the first half for Mandarin’s first touchdown, a possession in which Foster grabbed 11 carries. During those seven-plus minutes, the Mustangs made first downs on four of their five third-down attempts and converted their only fourth-down attempt on that drive.
That was capped, on third down naturally, when quarterback Knox Annis hit Tian Wyche for a 19-yard touchdown pass. A two-point run by Malik Morrison gave Mandarin an 8-7 edge, a lead that would not be relinquished.
“You look at every drive, and we didn’t have any three-and-outs,” Bullock said. “The only thing that stopped us were penalties that put us behind the chains, and we’re not able to throw as effectively as normal. We knew what we wanted, we knew what they were going to be in. We just had to execute.”
The Mustangs (7-1, 2-0), ranked fourth in the Varsity 4 Super 10 and the coaches’ poll, executed when needed, and now that sets up a meeting in two weeks with Oakleaf for the district title. The Senators (5-3, 0-2) are out of the race for the title but they still can make the postseason, currently sitting in position for Region 1’s last at-large berth.
But Fletcher might be pursuing the playoffs without 5-foot-9, 220-pound back Jah’myri Jennings, who was injured after a 42-yard run on the second play of the game. Jennings, who has three 100-yard games and eight touchdowns this season, had his left ankle iced and was on crutches by halftime.
“That’s big. That’s our goal line back,” Senators coach Ciatrick Fason said. “It hit us hard. Next man up, and (Jam’ez Williams) had some great runs, but losing your big back is huge.
“(The plan) was to make it a run game (with Jennings). When he got hurt, it changed some things up for us. Have to throw the ball with the ball water-logged and weighing 10 pounds. We tried to make it a trench game, and they did too.”
While Mandarin succeeded in the trenches, Fletcher struggled, converting only once in 10 third-down attempts and failing on all but one of its six fourth-down attempts.
Williams was able to break off some big runs, and he ended up with 95 rushing yards, but the ability to get a few yards in crucial situations deserted the Senators. Fason said those were the times when going from a 225-pound back to a 150-pounder showed the most.
Fletcher had great starting position the entire game and the Senators made it into Mustangs territory every drive except two. Still, they managed only a pair of touchdowns and even failed to score after Jennings’ run to the Mandarin 5.
That would be a common occurrence.
“Our defensive effort is high level,” said Mustangs linebacker Izzy Ratliff, who had a pair of tackles for loss. “We want to keep the standard. Even though it’s raining, and the weather’s bad, football is football, and we came out ready.”
On the other side, it was a great night for Foster, who rushed for 108 yards, scored a touchdown and grabbed a two-point conversion. At 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Foster also was a perfect fit for the rain and the mud.
“It played out great for me,” Foster said. “It let me show how I can run the ball in any type of weather and keep pounding the ball.”
When Foster needed a break, Wilson and Owens stepped in and Mandarin hardly skipped a beat. Bullock had a reliable fallback plan for his offense, which normally is more wide-open.
“They are hard-nosed, get-after-it dudes,” Bullock said of his backs. “They give our defense fits in practice. We weren’t too concerned in this game. We know we can go on the ground. We know we can air it out.”
The game started 16 minutes late because Fletcher’s bus arrived late after being caught in traffic behind an accident. Even with that, and failing to score after Jennings’ injury, Senators defensive back Elijah Keys stepped in front of a pass intended for Mandarin receiver Brysen Wright early in the second quarter for his fourth interception of the year.
Fletcher took over at its 49, and it took three carries for Williams to get the Senators a yard away from the end zone. From there, receiver Joshua Hones took it out of the wildcat for a scoring run and 7-0 lead.
But the Mustangs countered their 17-play drive, capped when Wyche hauled in a third-and-goal pass from 19 yards out for the lead.
Mandarin dominated the third quarter, with Foster scoring out of the wildcat on a fumbled snap and then Annis, hitting key passes when needed, throwing a 19-yard strike to Will Jones. Those drives took eight and nine plays respectively, with the team picking up all five third-down conversions.
Mandarin had a 22-7 lead and, while late turnovers allowed Fletcher to get a little closer, the game was in hand.
“We’re a throw-it-around, RPO you, get-after-you team but tonight it was a ground-and-pound,” Bullock said. “We have a lot of faith in our running backs, a lot of faith in our offensive line. We know we can get on their backs and roll.”
Mandarin 22, Fletcher 13
Fletcher, 0, 7, 0, 6 — 13
Mandarin, 0, 8, 14, 0 — 22
F – Joshua Jones 1 run (kick good)
M – Tian Wyche 19 pass from Knox Annis (Malik Morrison run)
M – Shaunqueze Foster 2 run (kick failed)
M – Will Jones 19 pass from Annis (Foster pass from Brysen Wright)
F – Jones 3 run (pass failed)
Category: F — M
First downs: 10 — 17
Rushes-yards: 35-173 — 44-238
Passing: 29 — 101
Comp-Att-Int: 6-14-2 — 5-13-2
Fumbles-lost: 2-0 — 2-1
Penalties-Yards: 5-25 — 14-114
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — F: Ja’mez Williams 22-96, Jah’myri Jennings 2-45, Cruz James 2-17, Diondre Smith 5-19, Jones 2-4, Team 2-(-8). M: Foster 20-108, Kyree Wilson 9-72, Ayden Owens 9-38, Annis 3-16, Brysen Wright 1-12, Team 2-(-8).
PASSING — F: James 6-13-1-29, Jones 0-1-1-0. M: Annis 5-13-2-101.
RECEIVING — F: Jones 4-29, Smith 1-1, Ryan Preovolos 1-(-1). M: Wright 2-59, Wyche 2-23, Jones 1-19.