By PATRICK CASEY
South Walton quarterback Johnathan Ortner threw for 353 yards and five touchdowns as the Seahawks earned a 49-13 road victory over Panama City Bozeman on Thursday night in Sand Hills to finish District 3 of Class A with a perfect 4-0 record while improving to 8-1 overall.
Receiver Alex Smith had a big night as he closes in on a 1,000-yard receiving season as he hauled in five passes for 144 yards with touchdown receptions of 22, 26 and 33 yards to turn the game into a 42-7 blowout by halftime.
Joe Ledo-Massey caught the first scoring pass of the night, a 7-yard strike to give the Sehawks the early lead with defensive lineman Beau Sheidy falling on a fumble in the endzone to push the lead to 14-0 seconds later.
Jireh Crittenden earned the next score with a school record 90-yard touchdown reception for a 21-0 lead less than eight minutes into the contest.
The Seahawks defense gave up only 216 yards of total offense to a Bucks squad that fell to 0-9 on the year with the loss. South Walton harassed Bozeman quarterback David Elmore most of the night as he completed only 11-of-25 passes for 117 yards while being sacked three times.
South Walton will wrap up the regular season with an intriguing home game against the 9-0 Baker Gators on Friday night. Baker has won the last three meetings with the Seahawks and holds an 8-3 record against South Walton. The two teams have met annually since the Walton County squad began varsity competition in the sport in 2003.
The Seahawks have a chance to post their first nine win regular season if they can knock off the Gators this week and could see Baker again this year if both teams advance in the Class A playoffs.
The battle between the two district champions is set for 7 p.m. at Seahawks Stadium.
