It was a tough second round of postseason action for the Nease Panthers and Ponte Vedra Sharks, as both football teams suffered heartbreaking defeats.
The Panthers were seemingly searching for a rhythm from the opening kickoff in their 31-14 loss to the Oakleaf Knights, and although they appeared to find it at times with certain deep drives offensively or with crucial sacks on defense but were unable to fully establish it.
The best way to describe it is that it was just one of those nights where the ball did not bounce the Panthers’ way and what worked for them throughout the season was not resulting in the usual success.
As a result, the Panthers were shutout in the first half and trailed 14-0 at the halftime break.
One of the factors that proved tough for the Panthers to come back from was that they lost the turnover battle with a fumbled punt return and two interceptions on the night while unable to force any of their own.
And when the Panthers did force a fumble early in the second half, the ball bounce around for a while on the field before an Oakleaf player came out of the bottom of the pile with it after it looked like the Panthers had possibly created an opportunity.
The Panthers got on the board with a K.J. Perry rushing touchdown from a couple of yards out but the Knights were quick to answer with a one-play drive as Fareed Coleman broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run and just like that the Knights were back up by three possessions, 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Following the loss, Nease head coach Collin Drafts made sure that his players knew that although the loss hurts in the moment it will not be what will define their careers or the season they had.
“At some point, and it may be a while, you’re going to look back and smile at what you were able to accomplish this year,” Drafts said. “There will be a banner up soon in the weight room with this team’s photo and it will say back-to-back district champs and the first undefeated regular season since 2006.”
He asked all the underclassmen to thank the senior class for the legacy they will leave behind and challenged them to carry it on moving forward as they prepare to step into that role next year.
“They are handing over some monumental expectations to the next class,” Drafts said. “It’s a gift from the seniors.”
For the Sharks, they experienced a heartbreaker of their own but in a different form, as they pushed the top-seeded Niceville Eagles to the brink as they jumped out to a lead following a 37-yard touchdown pass from Drew Price to Davitt Doherty and forced a pair of turnovers en route to grabbing a 14-7 halftime lead.
However, the Eagles scored a touchdown in the second half in what became a defensive battle between the two teams and tied the contest late in the third quarter and it eventually went to overtime.
In the overtime period, the Eagles scored a rushing touchdown and took a 21-14 lead, and the Sharks answered with a touchdown of their own but decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win, but a called quarterback run was stopped short and the game ended with the Sharks falling 21-20.
