By PATRICK CASEY
Jace Fielder threw for 145 yards and a pair of touchdown passes while Azende Rey added 147 rushing yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns as the Walton Braves defeated the Blountstown Tigers 28-14 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium on Friday night in the regular season opener for both squads.
Blountstown took a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game as the Tigers marched 76 yards with senior quarterback Chasen Roulhac hitting wide receiver Jamal Howard with a 35-yard touchdown pass for the score. The Tigers were able to keep the drive alive when punter Derek Eberly took a high snap on his punt attempt 21 yards for a first down after the Braves had stuffed the visitors on the first three downs.
Walton drove from their own 20-yard line on their next possession and was poised to tie the game when Rey had the ball knocked from his possession with the Tigers recovering the football at their own 5-yard line.
Jalen Jones provided a quarterback sack to hold the Tigers and Walton earned good field position on the ensuing punt at the Tigers 41-yard line. Fielder connected with Rey on a 14-yard pass for a touchdown on the last play of the first quarter with Thomas Brack’s extra point knotting the game at 7-all.
Jones would provide another big play on the Tigers’ next possession as he raced in to block Eberly’s punt, grabbing the ball out of the air after a couple of bounces to race the rest of the 39 yards for the go-ahead score.
The Walton offense turned in the next big play as Fielder hit sophomore Juanyeh Thomas over the middle for a perfectly executed 57-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 21-7 at halftime.
Walton tacked on their final score of the night on their first possession of the third quarter as the Braves drove 60 yards in eight plays with Rey scooting in from six yards out for a 28-7 advantage with 5:35 left in the frame.
Both teams moved the ball but ran into trouble, either punting or turning over the ball on downs, until Blountstown put together a 50-yard scoring drive that saw Roulhac dump a 24-yard screen pass to Tristen Burke for the final score of the night with 5:33 left in the game.
The Tigers were held to 140 rushing yards to go with 105 though the air while Walton had 227 rushing yards to go with 145 via the pass. Fielder had a solid night running the ball, going for 82 yards on eight carries.
Seven different receivers caught at least one pass for the Braves with senior Danny Hicks hauling in three passes for 29 yards.
Jones had a pair of quarterback sacks to go with his blocked punt while fellow senior Koleman Truett was a tackling machine for a very aggressive Braves defense that allowed the visiting team to convert only 3-of-13 third down attempts.
Senior Cody Phillips had punt returns of 20 and 29 yards to help the Braves field position as the Braves won their season opener for the second year in a row.
Walton (1-0) will not have to leave the county for their first road game of the year as the Braves travel down U.S. 331 for a match-up with county rival South Walton (1-0). The Seahawks defeated Liberty County 27-7 last Friday night but will be looking to break an eight game losing streak to the Braves in varsity football competition. The Seahawks have never beaten the Braves but played Walton to a 27-17 decision in 2014 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Jace Fielder threw for 145 yards and a pair of touchdown passes while Azende Rey added 147 rushing yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns as the Walton Braves defeated the Blountstown Tigers 28-14 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium on Friday night in the regular season opener for both squads.
Blountstown took a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game as the Tigers marched 76 yards with senior quarterback Chasen Roulhac hitting wide receiver Jamal Howard with a 35-yard touchdown pass for the score. The Tigers were able to keep the drive alive when punter Derek Eberly took a high snap on his punt attempt 21 yards for a first down after the Braves had stuffed the visitors on the first three downs.
Walton drove from their own 20-yard line on their next possession and was poised to tie the game when Rey had the ball knocked from his possession with the Tigers recovering the football at their own 5-yard line.
Jalen Jones provided a quarterback sack to hold the Tigers and Walton earned good field position on the ensuing punt at the Tigers 41-yard line. Fielder connected with Rey on a 14-yard pass for a touchdown on the last play of the first quarter with Thomas Brack’s extra point knotting the game at 7-all.
Jones would provide another big play on the Tigers’ next possession as he raced in to block Eberly’s punt, grabbing the ball out of the air after a couple of bounces to race the rest of the 39 yards for the go-ahead score.
The Walton offense turned in the next big play as Fielder hit sophomore Juanyeh Thomas over the middle for a perfectly executed 57-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 21-7 at halftime.
Walton tacked on their final score of the night on their first possession of the third quarter as the Braves drove 60 yards in eight plays with Rey scooting in from six yards out for a 28-7 advantage with 5:35 left in the frame.
Both teams moved the ball but ran into trouble, either punting or turning over the ball on downs, until Blountstown put together a 50-yard scoring drive that saw Roulhac dump a 24-yard screen pass to Tristen Burke for the final score of the night with 5:33 left in the game.
The Tigers were held to 140 rushing yards to go with 105 though the air while Walton had 227 rushing yards to go with 145 via the pass. Fielder had a solid night running the ball, going for 82 yards on eight carries.
Seven different receivers caught at least one pass for the Braves with senior Danny Hicks hauling in three passes for 29 yards.
Jones had a pair of quarterback sacks to go with his blocked punt while fellow senior Koleman Truett was a tackling machine for a very aggressive Braves defense that allowed the visiting team to convert only 3-of-13 third down attempts.
Senior Cody Phillips had punt returns of 20 and 29 yards to help the Braves field position as the Braves won their season opener for the second year in a row.
Walton (1-0) will not have to leave the county for their first road game of the year as the Braves travel down U.S. 331 for a match-up with county rival South Walton (1-0). The Seahawks defeated Liberty County 27-7 last Friday night but will be looking to break an eight game losing streak to the Braves in varsity football competition. The Seahawks have never beaten the Braves but played Walton to a 27-17 decision in 2014 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.