By PATRICK CASEY
South Walton quarterback Johnathan Ortner threw for 251 yards and five touchdowns as the Seahawks rolled to a 53-12 road victory on Friday night at Hornet Field in Cottondale.
The Seahawks jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter as Ortner connected with senior receiver Alex Smith on a 56-yard touchdown pass for the first score with running back Joe Ledo-Massey scoring from two yards out later in the quarter for the early advantage.
Cottondale trimmed the lead to 13-6 as sophomore Javontai Hall got loose on a 25-yard run with 9:23 to go in the second quarter to get the host squad within one score in front of their Homecoming crowd.
South Walton dominated from that point on. The Seahawks put up four touchdowns over the next six minutes, taking advantage of fumbles on three consecutive possessions by the home team to deflate the festivities for the Cottondale fans as the score was 41-6 at the half.
The second half was played with a running clock for the final 24 minutes of competition as Ortner tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the night to Ben Balfanz in the third quarter for a 47-6 lead.
Hall broke off an 81-yard touchdown run with four minutes left in the third quarter for the only highlight of the second half for Cottondale.
Ledo-Massey ended the scoring for the night with a 15-yard run with just under 10 minutes to play, scoring for the third time in the game for the final margin of 53-12.
Receiver Jireh Crittenden hauled in touchdown receptions of 14 and 29 yards in the contest as South Walton scored on eight of their 10 possessions in the game. The Seahawks elected to not tack any more points on the scoreboard after Blayze McBrayer picked off the only pass attempt of the night by the Hornets as he returned the errant throw to the Cottondale 5-yard line.
South Walton(5-1) will host Holmes County(1-4) on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Seahawk Stadium in a district contest that could earn the host squad a home playoff game in November with a win.
