Senior night could not have gone any better for the Ponte Vedra football team as it did en route to a 28-7 victory over district champion Fletcher on Friday night.
“It was such an emotional night,” Senior running back Mikey Stephens said. “I just had the best time of my life out here.”
Emotions were running high for everyone involved as not di the did they get the win on senior night, but it was also the first time the Sharks won this year in front of their home fans.
“I’ve been playing football for a long time, and for this to be my last home game is kind of sad,” Senior defensive back Mason Flores said. “I remember being a freshman like it was yesterday. You really do have to try and cherish every moment because it goes by just like that.”
The night started with a fury for the Sharks as junior linebacker Trooper Price stepped in front of an intended pass to the left side line on the Senators’ opening drive.
The Sharks’ offense went to work as starting quarterback Nathan Bunkosky connected on a perfectly thrown to Wyatt Rogers and followed it up with a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior Luke Pirris who fought through tacklers on his way to the end zone to give the Sharks a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter the Sharks forced another turnover, this time it was Flores who picked off a pass that set up the offense in the red zone.
“Our defense and senior leaders did a great job tonight,” Flores said. “Everything just went our way.”
Shortly after the interception, sophomore Ryan Smith took a handoff and used his speed to get around the corner for a 6-yard touchdown run as the Sharks led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Bunkosky broke free for a touchdown run to extend the lead 21-0 at halftime.
Although the Sharks were unable to preserve the shutout following a Senators touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, the group put forth a marvelous performance that included several Fletcher possessions that ended with three and outs and turnover on downs.
One of those defensive stands came late in the game with Fletcher driving deep into Sharks territory but surrendered the ball after senior defensive back Colin Nettles broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down.
“I’m just really appreciative of this senior class and their families and how they’ve handled themselves,” head coach Steve Price said.
It was fitting that Bunkosky put an exclamation point on the night by punching in a 2-yard score off left tackle for his third touchdown in the contest.
“With us having that bye week, we’ve really been focusing on getting our reads in practice and that’s what helped tonight,” Bunkosky said.
Ponte Vedra will wrap up the regular season on the road against county rival Creekside.
