By PATRICK CASEY
The South Walton Seahawks scored two touchdowns over the final 11 minutes of the fourth quarter as they rallied for a 28-21 victory on their home field over the previously undefeated Baker Gators. Baker entered the contest with a 9-0 mark, winning their last 20 regular season games despite an opening round loss in 2013 in the Class A playoffs. South Walton held an 8-1 mark and wanted a win over the Gators to avenge a 42-33 decision in Baker in 2013 and to finish the regular season with a 9-1 mark, which would be the best in school history.
Baker used their first possession of the night to take the lead as the squad moved 65 yards in 13 plays as their running attack controlled the clock with junior quarterback Jon Beck capping the drive with a 3-yard run for a 7-0 advantage with 5:43 left in the opening period.
South Walton went to work as they put together a 76-yard drive that needed nine plays to post a score with Alex Smith hauling in a 14-yard pass from Johnathan Ortner for a 7-all tie at the 3:25 mark.
Beck threw an interception on the Gators’ next possession as Austin Garofalo snagged the errant throw and returned it to the Seahawks 45-yard line. Donnie Grosskopf provided a 25-yard run to move the ball into Gators territory but the drive stalled at the 13-yard line with Garofalo missing a 31-yard field goal try to keep the contest tied.
Baker came back with an 80-yard march that ate up nearly half of the second quarter with senior tight end Jonathan Gatewood catching a 3-yard pass from Beck for a 14-7 lead.
South Walton moved into Baker territory again on the next possession but was stopped by the Gators defense on downs at the 32-yard line. South Walton returned the favor as they backed Baker up to their own 21-yard line and forced a punt that traveled only 17 yards, giving the Seahawks the ball at the Baker 38-yard line. Two first downs later, Joe Ledo-Massey powered in from 15 yards out on a pass from Ortner to knot the score at 14-all.
Baker got one more chance to put points on the board as they moved from their own 20-yard line to the Seahawks’ 25 but sophomore kicker Josh Springle missed a 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half.
Baker continued to rely on their running game to move the ball and use up the clock as their first drive of the second half produced a 73-yard drive that needed 10 plays to recapture the lead as junior running back Austin Davis got loose on a 17-yard run to hand the Gators a 21-14 advantage.
After the two teams traded punts, South Walton put together an impressive 94-yard drive that needed just over two minutes to tie the game once again. Ledo-Massey provided several powerful runs while Ortner scrambled for a pair of big gains. Grosskopf capped the possession with a 28-yard scamper that knotted the score at 21-all with 10:47 to play.
Junior fullback Montae Barto provided the next critical play as he fumbled away the ball at the Gators 43-yard line with Garofalo pouncing on the loose ball for the Seahawks.
South Walton went to work, needing six plays to cash in as Ledo-Massey added a 13-yard touchdown run to put the host squad ahead 28-21 with 5:56 left in the game.
The Gators were on the move again on their next possession when another fumble, this time from quarterback Jon Beck, wound up in Garofalo’s hands once again with little time left in the game.
South Walton moved to the Baker 28-yard line before the Gators stopped them on fourth down but with just a handful of seconds left, the Okaloosa County team was unable to mount a scoring threat as the game came to a close.
The Seahawks ran for 179 yards while Ortner threw for 150. Ledo-Massey had 80 rushing yards with Grosskopf adding 71. Alex Smith led the team with four catches for 43 yards as he became the first Walton County receiver to pass the 1,000-yard receiving mark in county varsity football history.
Baker pounded out 275 yards on the ground to go with 57 passing yards but three turnovers were more than the squad could overcome.
South Walton sacked Beck three times in the game with Ortner going down five times as both teams’ defenses kept the other from making a gain of more than 30 yards on any single play in the contest.
South Walton (9-1) will host Port St. Joe (8-2) on Friday night in a first round playoff contest with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. in the Class A tilt. The Seahawks will look for revenge for last year’s 45-21 road playoff loss to the Sharks that ended the squad’s season with a 7-4 mark. Baker will host Graceville in a rematch of the season opener played between the two teams in Graceville, a 30-27 win by the Gators.
