By PATRICK CASEY
The South Walton Seahawks put up 21 points in the first half against district foe Blountstown, then held on as the Tigers second half rally came up short, to capture a 28-14 district win at home in Santa Rosa Beach.
South Walton took their first possession of the game and drove 54 yards to take the lead as Ben Balfanz hauled in a 5-yard pass from senior quarterback Johnathan Ortner for a 7-0 lead with 6:22 to go in the opening quarter.
Blountstown threw an interception on their next possession as Jeremiah Crittenden snagged an errant pass at the Seahawks’ 35-yard line to set up the host squad’s next drive.
Ortner went back to work, driving the Seahawks inside the Tigers’ 5-yard line only to have a pass deflected and picked off by Anthony Wyrick, who returned the ball to Blountstown’s 29-yard line to end the threat.
The Tigers kept the pigskin for only one play as quarterback Chason Roulhac had the ball knocked out of his hand on a keeper with Joe Ledo-Massey gaining possession for South Walton at the 33-yard line. Five plays later junior running back Donnie Grosskopf cashed in with a 2-yard run for a 14-0 lead with 1:51 to go in the first quarter.
After an exchange of punts, the Tigers drove deep into Seahawks territory only to be stopped on fourth down at the 25-yard line to end the scoring threat.
Ortner hit receiver Austin Garofalo with a 46-yard pass to move into Tigers territory with the sophomore hauling in a 17-yard strike a few plays later for a 21-0 lead at the 4:44 mark of the first half.
The Tigers drove back into South Walton territory with just under two minutes left in the half but were again denied by the home team’s defense as both squads reached intermission.
South Walton’s offense disappeared for a good portion of the second half as the Seahawks punted on their first three possessions without obtaining a first down. Blountstown used their second possession of the third quarter to drive 66 yards in a time consuming march that took 15 plays to see Tristen Burke haul in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Roulhac to cut the lead to 21-7 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
The game tightened further when Ortner tossed his second interception of the night as the Tigers Ayers Hassig set the visiting team up at the Seahawks 19-yard line after a 10-yard return. Blountstown needed only four plays to trim the lead to 21-14 as Roulhac ran in from three yards out with 8:45 left in the game.
The Walton County squad quashed the comeback attempt on the next play from scrimmage as Smith got loose down the home sideline and hauled in a 65-yard scoring pass from Ortner that saw the lead pushed back to 14 points at 28-14 in just 11 seconds.
Blountstown took their next possession and moved inside the Seahawks’ 10-yard line in the final minutes of the game only to cough up their fourth turnover of the night as Nathan Dunham had the ball stripped from his possession with Garofalo recovering the ball at the 5-yard line. The Tigers got the ball back once more, with time for only one play, as the Seahawks earned a key District 3, Class A win to move to 3-1 overall.
Ortner ended the night with 247 passing yards and three touchdown passes. The Seahawks managed only 82 yards on the ground but their defense allowed only 281 total yards, forced four turnovers and stopped six drives into South Walton territory that allowed no points.
Alex Smith had four catches for 128 yards while Austin Garofalo had three receptions for 85 yards. Kyle Lenoir aided the defense with one of the Seahawks’ three quarterback sacks while adding two rushing tackles for a loss.
South Walton will enjoy their bye week this Friday night as the squad has two weeks to prepare for an important district game at Chipley on October 3.
