West Nassau is ready for a rematch with its biggest rival.
The Warriors handed Umatilla its first loss of the season, pulling away in the second half for a 45-30 win in the Atlantic League State Championship quarterfinals on Friday night.
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West Nassau (11-1) used its battering ram of a ground game of Smo Green, Avery Griffin and Skyler Freeman to put the pressure on the Bulldogs all game. Umatilla (11-1) had given up just 64 points all season entering this game.
Griffin had two rushing touchdowns in the opening half, a short yardage run and a 40-yarder. Green added another short yardage run and Freeman ripped off a 47-yard touchdown run to help put West Nassau in front 25-22 at the break. Freeman and Green added their second scoring runs in the second half.
Umatilla went ahead 30-25 on its opening drive of the second half, but the Warriors were just too much after that.
The win sets up a rematch with rival Fernandina Beach in the Sunshine State Athletic Association’s semifinal showdown next week. It’s a rematch a year in the making. West Nassau beat Fernandina Beach 34-19 in the regular season last year before the Pirates upset the Warriors 24-20 in the playoffs.
Fernandina Beach parlayed that win to a berth in the SSAA championship game against Frostproof.