By PATRICK CASEY
The Walton Braves got three touchdowns from Cody Phillips and limited the Chipley Tigers to 100 total yards in the first half of play as the Braves captured a 42-27 win over the Washington County squad in their 2015 spring football game.
Walton dominated the first half of the game, scoring on four of their six possessions in the first half, with Phillips providing a touchdown of more than 90 yards on a fumble return with less than a minute to go before intermission for a 36-7 advantage.
Walton got the ball first and moved into Chipley territory only to run out of gas inside the Tigers 30-yard line, failing on a fourth down play to keep possession of the football.
The Braves defense held the Tigers in three plays and got the ball back on a punt with the host squad marching 55 yards for the first touchdown of the contest as Azende Rey ran in from 10 yards out for a 6-0 lead with 6:41 left in the first quarter. Rey suffered a leg injury on the touchdown run and was removed from competition for the rest of the night after totaling 52 yards on the ground in two possessions. The injury was not believed to be serious.
After a short Chipley punt, quarterback Jace Fielder hit Grady Williams with a 38-yard pass for a quick touchdown with Phillips running in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead.
Chipley finally got the offense going on their third possession of the night as they moved into Walton territory only to have a Houston Morris pass picked off at the goalline by Walton defensive back Juanyeh Thomas.
The Braves did not hold onto the ball for long as a Fielder pass was caught and fumbled by Williams moments later with the Tigers pouncing on the loose pigskin at Walton’s 26-yard line.
This time the Tigers cashed in as running back Adrian Sims scored on a 1-yard plunge to trim the lead to 14-7 with 9:47 to go in the first half.
Walton needed less than two minutes to respond as Phillips turned in a couple of big runs while also adding a 23-yard reception with a 2-yard plunge finishing off the drive by the senior-to-be. Phillips added his second two-point conversion of the night for a 22-7 lead with 8:08 to go in the half.
Chipley was quickly forced to punt once again on their next possession with the Braves marching 60 yards for their fourth offensive touchdown of the night as Phillips scored from a yard out for a 28-7 lead.
The Tigers marched 60 yards on the ensuing possession to the Walton 5-yard line when a mix-up at the line of scrimmage on a snap resulted in a loose football that was scooped up by an observant Phillips for a 93-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a 36-7 halftime lead.
Chipley punted on their first possession of the first half and reserve quarterback Thomas Brack flipped a shuttle pass to Thomas, who proceeded to race 65 yards for the Braves’ final touchdown of the night at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter for a 42-7 lead.
Neither team was able to do much for the rest of the third quarter though Chipley had success against the reserves in the fourth quarter as running back Javon Graham got loose on runs of 39, 49 and 46 yards to trim the final score to 42-27.
Fielder finished the night 7-of-9 for 124 yards with a touchdown pass while also running for 27 yards. Phillips finished the game with 41 rushing yards while Williams hauled in three passes for 53 yards and a score.
Walton’s defense was impressive in the first half, forcing Chipley to punt the ball three times while creating two turnovers. The Tigers struggled to throw the football, completing only 2-of-9 passes for 22 yards with a costly interception.
Walton dressed out 44 players while Chipley had 43 players on their roster but dressed only 34 for the game.
Walton will now begin their summer workout program with fall practice beginning in early August. The Braves will host the 2015 Kickoff Classic against Panama City Mosley on August 21 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium.
