PORT ST. JOE – It was the defense that got Port St. Joe to the Class 1A semifinals, but in Friday night’s matchup with Vernon, the Tiger Sharks dominated in every phase to move to within a win of a championship.
Port St. Joe got two touchdowns each from Jarkeice Davis and Cole Cryderman and another dominant effort from its defense to roll over the Yellow Jackets 35-0.
With the win, the Tiger Sharks move on to next week’s 1A title game in Orlando to face Hamilton County, an 18-12 winner over Dixie County on Friday.
“We’re awfully excited about it,” Port St. Joe coach John Palmer said. “Our guys came out with a lot of focus and determination and executed with emotion and intensity all night and did a real good job.
“I’m awful proud of the kids and proud for the community. We’re all pretty jacked up about the opportunity that we have.”
The Tiger Sharks (11-2) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a 6-0 road win over Blountstown in a game that was scoreless through three quarters.
After one quarter against Vernon, it seemed another low-scoring defensive slugfest could be in store, but a crucial sequence to end the half swung the game in Port St. Joe’s favor and changed the momentum for good.
After a 13-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Davis put the Tiger Sharks up 6-0 with 1:13 to half, Port St. Joe got it right back when Jak Riley picked off a D’Vonta O’Neal pass along the sideline with 57 seconds on the clock.
On the very next play, the Tiger Sharks scored on a flea-flicker pass, with quarterback TJ Williams finding a streaking Davis wide open down the seam for a 31-yard score and a 12-0 halftime lead.
Palmer said the end to the half was a critical moment for his team to seize control of the game.
“It was a real big momentum shift for our team,” Palmer said. “We got a big turnover and TJ and Jarkeice hooked up on a big play at a big moment for us.”
The Tiger Sharks added on to the 12-point lead into with a six-play, 64-yard drive to start the third quarter. Williams connected with Aaron Paul for a 31-yard TD to make it 18-0.
A 34-yard field goal by Cryderman put Port St. Joe up 21-0 with 1:57 left in the third, but Vernon finally found some momentum offensively with Tristan Porter coming in at quarterback and hitting a 12-yard pass on third-and-9 to Austin Brown to spark a drive.
A 41-yard run by Darrius Peterson and a 13-yard rush Ryan Malloy set up the Yellow Jackets (11-2) with first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, but the opportunity was squandered when Vernon fumbled at the 1 and the ball was recovered by Cryderman.
Cryderman tacked on two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away, finishing with 81 yards on 13 carries. Davis led the Tiger Sharks with 117 yards on 23 carries.
Williams completed 2 of 4 passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Peterson led Vernon with 66 yards on seven carries, and Malloy added 37 yards on seven tries.
O’Neal, who was spectacular in last week’s win over Baker with four total touchdowns and 170 yards rushing, was kept in check by the Port St. Joe defense, rushing for just 6 yards on 10 carries and completing 2 of 7 passes for 47 yards.
It was an impressive defensive effort against a team that came in averaging 40 points per game, but it’s nothing new for a defensive unit that now has six shutouts on its resume in 13 games.
“I think our defense all season has been our focal point in terms of determining how well we play and the success we have,” Palmer said. “Vernon has a lot of explosive players and coach (Bobby) Johns does a great job with them, so we knew we would have to play very well on that side of the ball.”
Up next for the Tiger Sharks is a matchup with Hamilton County. The two teams will face off Friday in Orlando at 6 p.m. CST.
While Palmer said he hasn’t seen much of the Trojans, he knows it will take another big-time effort to walk away with a championship.
“I think we’ve got a lot of work left to do,” he said. “I know they’re a spread attack, they have a lot of athletes and a lot of speed, and they throw it around a good bit. It’s going to be a tough challenge.”