By PATRICK CASEY
South Walton quarterback Johnathan Ortner threw for 313 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half of play, as the Seahawks rolled to a 54-26 Homecoming victory on Friday night at Seahawk Stadium.
The Seahawks jumped out to a 20-0 lead as Ortner hit Sage Roberts, Vinnie Ciurleo and Nick Harris with a touchdown pass each in the first 14 minutes of the contest. Roberts would go on to lead the team in receiving as he hauled in nine passes for 118 yards with his 17-yard reception with 31 seconds left in the half going for his second touchdown and a 34-14 lead.
South Walton’s defense got in on the act as Carter Edwards picked off a Justin Klotz pass on the final play of the first half with Edwards racing 90 yards for yet another score as time expired for a 41-14 lead at intermission.
South Walton running back Zach Reese added 131 rushing yards as the host squad put up 235 yards via the ground on the night to control the clock and the game as the Seahawks improved to 4-2 on the year.
Cottondale’s Norris Calhoun was the only Hornets player to do much damage as he ran for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns with the visiting team never getting any closer than 27-14 with 2:09 left in the first half.
South Walton scored on seven of their 11 possessions during the 48-minute contest and ran up 548 yards of total offense in picking up their second consecutive victory after their bye week.
Sarah McManus was crowned the school’s Homecoming Queen with Caleb Beck earning Homecoming King honors during halftime. The Seahawks posted their first Homecoming victory since the 2010 season.
South Walton will travel to Bonifay to face Holmes County in an important district contest for the Seahawks at Memorial Field on Friday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Holmes County will be hosting Homecoming festivities of their own as they try to earn their first victory of the year after an 0-6 start.