BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph-Times-Monitor General Manager
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The Keystone Heights High School football team notched their first win under first-year head coach Steve Reynolds with a 49-0 drubbing of Bell.
The Indians led 35-0 at the half, prompting a running clock in the second half.
The defense and kicking game contributed 14 points to the Indian effort. Just before intermission, defensive lineman Jackson Herman tipped a screen pass, then caught the ball and ran it 48 yards into the endzone.
Bell started the second half with a squib kickoff in an apparent onside kick attempt. But Keystone’s Jackson Parmeter grabbed the ball on a short hop, avoided the oncoming Bell kickoff team, and galloped 50 yards for another Indian score.
Keystone’s defense played a role in the Indian’s first score when Herman recovered a Bell fumble on the visitors’ first drive.
The Indians took over on the Bell 25 and four Cartez Daniels runs of 8, 4, 4, and 9 yards put the boys in blue on the board with 6:05 remaining in the first quarter. Tyler Sapp added the point after touchdown for a 7-0 Indian lead.
Keystone’s next score came in Quarter 2 sparked by a 26-yard pass from Baylor Ford to Darrion Grady. Daniels completed the drive with runs of 8 and 11 yards. However, the extra point failed, and Keystone led 13-0 with 10:57 left in the half.
The visitors from Gilchrist County struggled on the ensuing possession. After a Keystone pass interference play advanced the ball to the Indian 41, Bulldog quarterback Hunter Hilliard could not find an open receiver. Hilliard scrambled for a short gain, was sacked in the backfield on the next play and coughed up the ball while being tackled on the subsequent pass attempt. Keystone’s Talan Messina recovered Hilliard’s fumble, and the Indian offense was in business again.
Keystone’s next drive was marred by a sideline fight that resulted in five personal fouls and one player from each team getting ejected from the game.
When the flags were finally pocketed, the Indians wound up with the ball on the Bulldog 10 and runs by Colton Hollingsworth and Baylor Ford put the ball into the endzone. Sapp’s PAT gave the Indians a 20-0 lead with 6:45 left in the half.
Bell responded by driving the ball from its own 30 to the Keystone 44, but on first and 10, a Bulldog runner lost the ball and Keystone’s Tyler Duncan grabbed it for another turnover.
On the next play, Ford hit Andru Seimer for a 59-yard touchdown pass, and after Sapp’s extra point, Keystone led 27-0 with 4:45 left in the half.
Herman then intercepted the screen pass before intermission and the Indians hit the locker room with a 35-point lead.
Coach Steve Reynolds said after the game that his team made big strides, but he still sees areas to improve upon.
“I think we’ve got a lot of stuff we’ve got to improve on,” he said. “The kids had a great week of practice, put in a lot of great effort, a lot of execution. I’m very pleased with that, but we got a little messy.”
The coach added that he sees the leadership on the team coming through and he appreciates the team’s effort.
“Very excited for them to get their first win this season,” he said.
With Parmeter’s kickoff return to begin the third quarter, Reynolds’s crew had a 42-0 lead.
The Indians’ final score came on a 1-yard plunge by Messina, capping a 10-play drive to close out the third quarter.
