The Nease football team will no longer have to hear about how it’s been 11 years since they beat crosstown rival Ponte Vedra, following a 14-7 win on Friday.
“I think this means we’ve turned the page and will start doing the things to put Nease back on the map,” Nease senior lineman Sam Dec said.
The game was tied at halftime and was not decided until Marcus Stokes broke through the offensive line and outran the Sharks secondary for a 53-yard touchdown run with about eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Stokes followed excellent blocking from his offensive line on the play, especially junior Paden Pinder who pulled and got the huge block that sprang Stokes into the next level of the defense.
“I was pulling around and I knew I had to get that block,” Pinder said. “Coach called the play, and the rest of the offensive line did a great job. “I hit him and next thing I knew, I saw Marcus going and I knew we had it.”
For Pinder, to come through with a crucial block to help win such a big game is something he will not soon forget.
“To know that this is the first time we’ve beat P.V. in 11 years, and to just be a bigger part of that means a lot,” Pinder said. “We’ve put in so much work for years and years.”
The victory was full of emotion from head coach Collin Drafts to the players on the sideline and the fans in the stands.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, there was an obvious release of 11 years worth of emotion and euphoria, especially for the Panther seniors, who can now say forever that they were the part of the class that ended the streak.
As one of those seniors, Dec always had a feeling a win over the Sharks was coming from the minute Drafts took over the program three years ago.
“It’s been a good core group of guys since he (coach Drafts) came in,” Dec said. “I knew from the bottom of my heart that one day we were going to do it, because of seeing how this team has developed and how hard they’ve worked.”
The Panthers got on the scoreboard first with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Grant Stevens following a direct snap and led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
However, the Sharks responded behind a beautifully thrown ball by sophomore quarterback Benjamin Burk that was hauled in by junior wide receiver Wyatt Rogers despite a defender in tight coverage.
The Burk to Rogers scoring strike tied the game at 7-all at halftime and was the only scoring outside of the Stokes run.
Both defenses played well throughout the night and did well to stymie the offenses on multiple occasions.
