By PATRICK CASEY
The Walton Braves varsity football team overcame a slow start with 21 second half points to pick up a 35-7 district win at East Gadsden on Friday night to improve to 9-0 on the year.
The Braves took the opening kickoff and drove deep into Jaguars territory only to have senior quarterback Jace Fielder fumble the ball on a fourth down play with the host squad recovering the loose pigskin at their own 11-yard line.
East Gadsden went to their running game, pounding away with senior Stephon Simpkins to move the football 89 yards with Simpkins finishing off the drive with a 5-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
The lead lasted only 14 seconds as Walton senior Cody Phillips dashed 94 yards on the ensuing kickoff return to knot the game at 7-all with 6:01 left in the first quarter.
The Braves put together a 65-yard scoring drive later in the quarter as senior Azende Rey dove in from a yard out to put Walton on top 14-7 for the remainder of the first half. Walton had a chance to add three more points before intermission but Thomas Brack’s 32-yard field goal went wide left with 7:56 to go in the quarter.
The Jaguars ate up more than five minutes of game time on their first drive of the second half but came up two yards shy of a first down on a fake punt attempt, handing the ball over to the Braves at their own 44-yard line. Walton then marched 56 yards to lengthen the lead as Danny Hicks slid off the line of scrimmage and hauled in a two yard pass from Fielder for a 20-7 advantage.
Kaleb Newborn recovered a fumble on the Jaguars’ next possession at the home team’s 18-yard line, setting up an 18-yard reverse that saw Juanyeh Thomas streak in for another score. Fielder added the two-point conversion on a scramble into the endzone to extend the lead to 28-7.
Walton put together a 57-yard drive that saw Rey pound away at the Jaguars defense, eventually scoring on another 1-yard run for the final margin of 35-7.
Dre Matthews was a force on defense for the Walton County squad on the night, racking up four tackles for a loss against the run and a quarterback sack. Newborn and Koleman Truett also added quarterback sacks with Truman Morrison and Kelvic Thompson tallying fumble recoveries.
East Gadsden pounded away with Simpkins for most of the night as he ran for 147 yards but only 42 of his total output came after halftime. The Jaguars wound up with four turnovers and had 11 penalties as they wrapped up the 2015 season with a 1-8 record under coach Corey Fuller.
Walton cornerback Juanyeh Thomas intercepted his seventh pass of the season, returning the ball 26 yards to past the midfield stripe to stop a Jaguars possession early in the second quarter.
Rey finished the night with 170 yards on 23 carries while adding 43 yards on four receptions. Rey now has 1,192 rushing yards on the season and has scored a combined 20 touchdowns with at least two games to go.
Walton earned their first road win against the Jaguars after dropping their last two games in Gadsden County, becoming the first road team to take a win in the five-game series between the two squads.
Walton (9-0) now travels into Bay County for their regular season finale against Panama City Bay High School. The Tornadoes are 8-1 overall and qualified for the playoffs on Friday night as the runner-up in their district with a 35-28 victory over Mosley. Walton will try to claim their first-ever 10-0 season in school history on Thursday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Tommy Oliver Stadium.
The Walton Braves varsity football team overcame a slow start with 21 second half points to pick up a 35-7 district win at East Gadsden on Friday night to improve to 9-0 on the year.
The Braves took the opening kickoff and drove deep into Jaguars territory only to have senior quarterback Jace Fielder fumble the ball on a fourth down play with the host squad recovering the loose pigskin at their own 11-yard line.
East Gadsden went to their running game, pounding away with senior Stephon Simpkins to move the football 89 yards with Simpkins finishing off the drive with a 5-yard run for a 7-0 lead.
The lead lasted only 14 seconds as Walton senior Cody Phillips dashed 94 yards on the ensuing kickoff return to knot the game at 7-all with 6:01 left in the first quarter.
The Braves put together a 65-yard scoring drive later in the quarter as senior Azende Rey dove in from a yard out to put Walton on top 14-7 for the remainder of the first half. Walton had a chance to add three more points before intermission but Thomas Brack’s 32-yard field goal went wide left with 7:56 to go in the quarter.
The Jaguars ate up more than five minutes of game time on their first drive of the second half but came up two yards shy of a first down on a fake punt attempt, handing the ball over to the Braves at their own 44-yard line. Walton then marched 56 yards to lengthen the lead as Danny Hicks slid off the line of scrimmage and hauled in a two yard pass from Fielder for a 20-7 advantage.
Kaleb Newborn recovered a fumble on the Jaguars’ next possession at the home team’s 18-yard line, setting up an 18-yard reverse that saw Juanyeh Thomas streak in for another score. Fielder added the two-point conversion on a scramble into the endzone to extend the lead to 28-7.
Walton put together a 57-yard drive that saw Rey pound away at the Jaguars defense, eventually scoring on another 1-yard run for the final margin of 35-7.
Dre Matthews was a force on defense for the Walton County squad on the night, racking up four tackles for a loss against the run and a quarterback sack. Newborn and Koleman Truett also added quarterback sacks with Truman Morrison and Kelvic Thompson tallying fumble recoveries.
East Gadsden pounded away with Simpkins for most of the night as he ran for 147 yards but only 42 of his total output came after halftime. The Jaguars wound up with four turnovers and had 11 penalties as they wrapped up the 2015 season with a 1-8 record under coach Corey Fuller.
Walton cornerback Juanyeh Thomas intercepted his seventh pass of the season, returning the ball 26 yards to past the midfield stripe to stop a Jaguars possession early in the second quarter.
Rey finished the night with 170 yards on 23 carries while adding 43 yards on four receptions. Rey now has 1,192 rushing yards on the season and has scored a combined 20 touchdowns with at least two games to go.
Walton earned their first road win against the Jaguars after dropping their last two games in Gadsden County, becoming the first road team to take a win in the five-game series between the two squads.
Walton (9-0) now travels into Bay County for their regular season finale against Panama City Bay High School. The Tornadoes are 8-1 overall and qualified for the playoffs on Friday night as the runner-up in their district with a 35-28 victory over Mosley. Walton will try to claim their first-ever 10-0 season in school history on Thursday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Tommy Oliver Stadium.