By PATRICK CASEY
Walton overcame a sluggish first quarter with a 91-yard touchdown bomb that sparked a 29-point second half as the Braves earned a 43-6 District 1, Class 4A victory over Panama City Rutherford on Friday night at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium on Hall of Fame night.
Walton’s Cody Phillips stopped a Rams drive with an interception midway through the second quarter and senior quarterback Jace Fielder connected with Andricus Moore on the next play with a perfect throw down the visiting team’s sideline to give the host squad a 7-0 lead with 6:49 to go in the first half. Moore, who had only caught one pass in the first four games, became the first Walton player in at least 25 years to have a reception over 90 yards as well as a scoring pass of that distance.
Those two plays sparked Walton to add another touchdown before intermission as the Braves held the Rams deep in their own territory after Fielder had drilled a 57-yard punt to pin the Bay County squad at their own 6-yard line. Phillips took a short punt to the Rams 30-yard line and Fielder connected with Danny Hicks on a 17-yard scoring pass with a minute left to push the lead to 14-0.
Walton dominated the second half, so much so that their offense ran only three offensive plays over the final 24 minutes. Rutherford’s first punt of the third quarter wound up in the hands of senior Jalen Jones who worked his way 64 yards to the endzone with barely a Rams defender getting close enough to touch him to give the home team a 21-0 lead.
After another short punt, Azende Rey raced 40 yards for a touchdown to stretch the advantage to 28-0.
Rutherford’s next possession saw Braves sophomore Juanyeh Thomas intercept a deep pass and return the ball 68 yards for a touchdown, the fourth time Thomas has accomplished a pick-six in his last four games. Thomas Brack added his fifth extra point of the night to give Walton a 35-0 lead and trigger the Mercy Rule, a running clock for the final 14 minutes of the contest.
Rey added a 43-yard scoring run on Walton’s next possession, finishing the night with 146 yards on just 13 carries to run the deficit to 43 points for the Rams.
Rutherford put together a 78-yard drive on their next possession with Zidkijah Kirts scoring from 12 yards out for the final points of the contest.
Fielder finished with 107 passing yards and a pair of scoring strikes with Moore grabbing a pair of passes for 96 yards. Walton’s defense did not allow a pass completion to the competition and surrendered only 222 rushing yards with most of that total coming against the Braves’ reserves on the Rams final drive.
Walton honored their third annual class of the Walton Sports Hall of Fame at halftime as Randall Infinger, Charles Carlan, Tanya Moseley Durham and Davonn Fields were inducted along with the members of the 1968 Walton Braves football team.
Rainy weather threatened to put a damper on the game and festivities but the game was played rain-free with a strong enough breeze to make conditions cool on the field for the contest.
The win over Rutherford gives the Braves a 3-0 lead in the history of the series with Walton owning wins over the Rams in 1987 (26-6 on the road) and 1988 (22-12 at home).
Rutherford returns to Tommy Oliver Stadium to host Arnold this week before a district contest with East Gadsden on Oct. 15 that could clear up the playoff picture with Walton playing at Marianna the following night.
Walton(5-0) will host Gulf Breeze(2-4) on Friday night at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Walton overcame a sluggish first quarter with a 91-yard touchdown bomb that sparked a 29-point second half as the Braves earned a 43-6 District 1, Class 4A victory over Panama City Rutherford on Friday night at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium on Hall of Fame night.
Walton’s Cody Phillips stopped a Rams drive with an interception midway through the second quarter and senior quarterback Jace Fielder connected with Andricus Moore on the next play with a perfect throw down the visiting team’s sideline to give the host squad a 7-0 lead with 6:49 to go in the first half. Moore, who had only caught one pass in the first four games, became the first Walton player in at least 25 years to have a reception over 90 yards as well as a scoring pass of that distance.
Those two plays sparked Walton to add another touchdown before intermission as the Braves held the Rams deep in their own territory after Fielder had drilled a 57-yard punt to pin the Bay County squad at their own 6-yard line. Phillips took a short punt to the Rams 30-yard line and Fielder connected with Danny Hicks on a 17-yard scoring pass with a minute left to push the lead to 14-0.
Walton dominated the second half, so much so that their offense ran only three offensive plays over the final 24 minutes. Rutherford’s first punt of the third quarter wound up in the hands of senior Jalen Jones who worked his way 64 yards to the endzone with barely a Rams defender getting close enough to touch him to give the home team a 21-0 lead.
After another short punt, Azende Rey raced 40 yards for a touchdown to stretch the advantage to 28-0.
Rutherford’s next possession saw Braves sophomore Juanyeh Thomas intercept a deep pass and return the ball 68 yards for a touchdown, the fourth time Thomas has accomplished a pick-six in his last four games. Thomas Brack added his fifth extra point of the night to give Walton a 35-0 lead and trigger the Mercy Rule, a running clock for the final 14 minutes of the contest.
Rey added a 43-yard scoring run on Walton’s next possession, finishing the night with 146 yards on just 13 carries to run the deficit to 43 points for the Rams.
Rutherford put together a 78-yard drive on their next possession with Zidkijah Kirts scoring from 12 yards out for the final points of the contest.
Fielder finished with 107 passing yards and a pair of scoring strikes with Moore grabbing a pair of passes for 96 yards. Walton’s defense did not allow a pass completion to the competition and surrendered only 222 rushing yards with most of that total coming against the Braves’ reserves on the Rams final drive.
Walton honored their third annual class of the Walton Sports Hall of Fame at halftime as Randall Infinger, Charles Carlan, Tanya Moseley Durham and Davonn Fields were inducted along with the members of the 1968 Walton Braves football team.
Rainy weather threatened to put a damper on the game and festivities but the game was played rain-free with a strong enough breeze to make conditions cool on the field for the contest.
The win over Rutherford gives the Braves a 3-0 lead in the history of the series with Walton owning wins over the Rams in 1987 (26-6 on the road) and 1988 (22-12 at home).
Rutherford returns to Tommy Oliver Stadium to host Arnold this week before a district contest with East Gadsden on Oct. 15 that could clear up the playoff picture with Walton playing at Marianna the following night.
Walton(5-0) will host Gulf Breeze(2-4) on Friday night at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.