By PATRICK CASEY
Azende Rey scored six touchdowns and the Walton Braves settled down after a rough first quarter to rally to a 65-48 victory at Baker on Friday night in what is believed to be the highest combined score of a varsity football game in the 95-year history of the program.
Walton trailed 13-0 less than three minutes into the contest as a pair of fumbles allowed the Gators to score two quick touchdowns to grab the early lead.
Rey got Walton on the scoreboard with a 39-yard run on the Braves’ next possession to trim the lead to 13-6 just two minutes later. The two squads traded touchdowns the rest of the quarter with the Gators holding a 27-13 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
Rey added a 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter with the game changing play following two minutes later as sophomore Juanyeh Thomas picked off a Jon Beck pass and returned the ball 30 yards for a score, his third interception return for a touchdown in his last three games. Thomas Brack’s extra point knotted the contest at 27-all with 8:36 left in the first half.
Walton’s defense bottled up the Gators for the rest of the first half with the Braves converting a 3rd-and-33 into a 55-yard touchdown as Kelvic Thompson took a flare pass from quarterback Jace Fielder and raced down the Baker sidelines for the go-ahead score. Walton tacked on another seven points after Baker failed to convert a first down near midfield with Walton earning a quarterback sack of Beck. Fielder directed a 56-yard drive that needed only 52 seconds to score with Rey running in from a yard out for a 41-27 halftime lead.
Cody Phillips picked Beck off on the first drive of the second half, setting the Braves up at the Gators’ 31-yard line with Fielder running in for the score on the next play for a 48-27 lead.
Baker was the next to score, taking advantage of a high snap over Fielder’s head on a punt attempt to take over the football at Walton’s 8-yard line. Montae Barto capped the short drive with a 3-yard run to trim the margin to 48-34.
Walton then put together a 7-play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Brack that pushed the lead to 51-34 with 3:28 to go in the third quarter. After a Baker punt, Walton was at it again on offense, as Rey added another 9-yard touchdown run for a 58-34 lead.
Baker drove 72 yards on their next possession with Barto scoring on an 11-yard run to get the Gators within 58-41 but Rey came right back with a 46-yard jaunt for a 65-41 lead with 8:41 left in the game.
Baker connected on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Dillon Nixon with 4:37 to go but Walton drove deep into Gators’ territory on their final drive using the legs of Cody Phillips to finally run out the clock and take their sixth consecutive victory in the series.
Though Walton had three fumbles in the game they picked off two passes that ended in touchdowns and held Baker to just 29 rushing yards after the first quarter. Jalen Jones and Koleman Truett combined for three quarterback sacks while Rey led the offense with 190 rushing yards. Fielder completed 14 passes for 316 yards, throwing one touchdown pass while running for another.
The two teams combined for nearly 800 yards of total offense and 27 penalties for 248 yards.
Beck threw for 170 yards but had two costly interceptions as the Gators fell to 2-2 overall while Walton moved to 4-0 on the year heading into their bye week.
Walton will host Panama City Rutherford in their first district game of the year on Oct. 2 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium and will honor their 2015 Walton Sports Hall of Fame class at halftime of the contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Azende Rey scored six touchdowns and the Walton Braves settled down after a rough first quarter to rally to a 65-48 victory at Baker on Friday night in what is believed to be the highest combined score of a varsity football game in the 95-year history of the program.
Walton trailed 13-0 less than three minutes into the contest as a pair of fumbles allowed the Gators to score two quick touchdowns to grab the early lead.
Rey got Walton on the scoreboard with a 39-yard run on the Braves’ next possession to trim the lead to 13-6 just two minutes later. The two squads traded touchdowns the rest of the quarter with the Gators holding a 27-13 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
Rey added a 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter with the game changing play following two minutes later as sophomore Juanyeh Thomas picked off a Jon Beck pass and returned the ball 30 yards for a score, his third interception return for a touchdown in his last three games. Thomas Brack’s extra point knotted the contest at 27-all with 8:36 left in the first half.
Walton’s defense bottled up the Gators for the rest of the first half with the Braves converting a 3rd-and-33 into a 55-yard touchdown as Kelvic Thompson took a flare pass from quarterback Jace Fielder and raced down the Baker sidelines for the go-ahead score. Walton tacked on another seven points after Baker failed to convert a first down near midfield with Walton earning a quarterback sack of Beck. Fielder directed a 56-yard drive that needed only 52 seconds to score with Rey running in from a yard out for a 41-27 halftime lead.
Cody Phillips picked Beck off on the first drive of the second half, setting the Braves up at the Gators’ 31-yard line with Fielder running in for the score on the next play for a 48-27 lead.
Baker was the next to score, taking advantage of a high snap over Fielder’s head on a punt attempt to take over the football at Walton’s 8-yard line. Montae Barto capped the short drive with a 3-yard run to trim the margin to 48-34.
Walton then put together a 7-play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Brack that pushed the lead to 51-34 with 3:28 to go in the third quarter. After a Baker punt, Walton was at it again on offense, as Rey added another 9-yard touchdown run for a 58-34 lead.
Baker drove 72 yards on their next possession with Barto scoring on an 11-yard run to get the Gators within 58-41 but Rey came right back with a 46-yard jaunt for a 65-41 lead with 8:41 left in the game.
Baker connected on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Dillon Nixon with 4:37 to go but Walton drove deep into Gators’ territory on their final drive using the legs of Cody Phillips to finally run out the clock and take their sixth consecutive victory in the series.
Though Walton had three fumbles in the game they picked off two passes that ended in touchdowns and held Baker to just 29 rushing yards after the first quarter. Jalen Jones and Koleman Truett combined for three quarterback sacks while Rey led the offense with 190 rushing yards. Fielder completed 14 passes for 316 yards, throwing one touchdown pass while running for another.
The two teams combined for nearly 800 yards of total offense and 27 penalties for 248 yards.
Beck threw for 170 yards but had two costly interceptions as the Gators fell to 2-2 overall while Walton moved to 4-0 on the year heading into their bye week.
Walton will host Panama City Rutherford in their first district game of the year on Oct. 2 at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium and will honor their 2015 Walton Sports Hall of Fame class at halftime of the contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.