BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Keystone Heights High School’s football team held visiting Dixie County scoreless for a half and held the Bears to less than 30 yards on their final four possessions in a 14-6 on Sept. 20.
“Our kids went out and played hard — prepared and then got after it,” Keystone Head Coach Steve Reynolds said. “It was great to see them go out and get a win, especially in that fashion. They showed their toughness.”
The Indians (2-2) were coming off two straight losses in which they were outscored 83-0. Reynolds said he told his team before the Dixie game, “Stop worrying about what people are saying or what they think. Stop worrying about making a mistake. Stop worrying about what happened on the last play. Go out and execute and play because you love each other. That’s all I wanted them to do tonight.”
Keystone, which travels to Starke to play District 5-2A opponent Bradford (4-0) on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m., did just that. The Indians squandered a couple of scoring opportunities, but still made the plays they had to for the hard-fought win.
“With the injuries we’ve had and the things we’ve had to deal with, they really stepped up,” Reynolds said. “I’m so proud of them. It’s a good group of kids.”
The Indians got off to a quick start in putting an end to their eight-quarter scoring drought, marching 73 yards and scoring on the game’s opening series. The key play of the drive was a 24-yard pass completion from Jackson Parmeter to Colton Hollingsworth that enabled Keystone to overcome a holding penalty on the first play of the series and pick up a first down on a second-and-23 play.
Zane Leger had five carries for 33 yards on the drive, gaining first downs on runs of 11 and 7 yards. Hunter Crumpton also picked up a first down on a 9-yard run to the Dixie 18-yard line. Hollingsworth caught a touchdown pass of 17 yards with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter. Tyler Sapp kicked the extra point to put the Indians up 7-0.
Parmeter finished 6 of 10 passing for 92 yards, with Hollingsworth being the lead receiver with two catches for 41 yards.
Kyle Perkins recovered a live ball on the ensuing kickoff, putting the Keystone offense right back on the field at the Dixie 26. After a couple of runs by Leger netted 6 yards, Parmeter found Tallon Campbell for an 11-yard gain to the 9. Keystone would advance to the 5-yard line before a high shotgun snap resulted in a loss of 15 yards. The Indians lined up to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 20 and were able to draw the Bears offsides. Sapp then attempted a 32-yard field goal, which was no good with 1:40 left in the first quarter.
The Bears (2-3) finally got their offense on the field and put together a drive that consumed more than eight minutes. Dixie drove from its own 20 to the Keystone 43, mostly on runs by Jaheim Taylor and Mister Williams. A play on which the Bears were penalized for an illegal block and Keystone flagged for a dead-ball personal foul resulted in a second-and-1 play from the Keystone 38-yard line. Defensive lineman Jackson Herman brought pressure against quarterback Drew Pleasant and batted a pass down. On third down, Colton Hollingsworth tackled Javan Wilson for no gain.
Dixie successfully went for it on fourth down, with Pleasant keeping the ball for a 10-yard gain. The Bears gained just 1 yard over the next two plays, with Andrew Wilson stopping Taylor for no gain and Hollingsworth limiting Kameron Ozment to 1 yard on a pass play. Pleasant then threw two straight incompletions as Dixie turned the ball over on downs.
The Bears failed to cross midfield on their second drive, but found success on their third, which began the second half. Runs of 12 and 6 yards by Pleasant moved Dixie into Keystone territory, while a personal-foul penalty resulted in a first down at the Indians’ 32-yard line. Williams ripped off two runs of 8 yards each before Pleasant got loose for a 7-yard run to the 9-yard line. An 8-yard run by Taylor set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Williams that capped the 66-yard drive at the 8:29 mark of the third quarter. A fumble on the two-point play was recovered by Keystone’s Perkins, resulting in the Indians still holding the lead, 7-6.
Keystone’s offense got a big play from Layton Wright, who made his first reception of the season for a gain of more than 30 yards to the Dixie 22. The Indians couldn’t cash in, though, as the Bears recovered a fumble at their own 23.
Dixie crossed midfield on its second series of the half, but the drive stalled. Tackles by Perkins and Wright held the Bears to minimal gains, while two illegal-procedure penalties also hurt Dixie, which eventually punted.
The Indians began their second drive at their own 40. After three runs by Hollingsworth, Parmeter converted a fourth-and-1 play with a 3-yard run to the Dixie 48. A fumble put Keystone into a long-yardage third-down play, but a penalty for pass interference gave the Indians a first down at the Dixie 35. Three straight runs by Leger netted 11 yards and gave Keystone a first down at the 24. On third-and-8 from the 22, Leger went up the middle and broke free from the pack for a touchdown with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter. Sapp added the PAT for a 14-6 Keystone lead.
Reynolds said the play on which Leger scored had resulted in some big gains in past games and admitted he and his coaches were hoping to get just a big chunk of the 8 yards needed for a first down and set up a fourth-and-short play.
“Luckily enough, we popped it,” Reynolds said, adding, “Great run by Zane. Great blocking up front. Great blocking by the fullback, Kyle Perkins, on that. He had a killer block.”
Leger finished with 98 yards on 22 carries.
The Indians’ defense held the Bears to 27 yards the rest of the way, with Dixie also assessed approximately 50 yards in penalties on those final four possessions.
Dixie faced a third-and-16 play on their first drive following Leger’s touchdown run, but benefitted from a pass-interference call that set up fourth-and-1 at the Dixie 48. The Bears went for it, with Williams taking a direct snap. He fumbled the ball and scooped it back up, but he was held inches short of the line to gain by Perkins and Luke Bacorn.
Parmeter broke up a pass play on the Bears’ next possession, which also included an 8-yard sack by Leger. On fourth-and-18, Herman and Leger teamed up to drop Pleasant for a 2-yard loss.
That gave the Indians the ball at the Dixie 17. Keystone gained just 3 yards over the next three plays and sent Sapp out to attempt a 31-yard field goal. Parmeter, who holds for kicks, had to corral a high snap, which allowed Dixie’s Ozment time enough to get through the line and block the kick with 1:33 to play.
Dixie was down to its last chance on offense. On first down, Pleasant was chased from the pocket by Wright and forced out of bounds by Hollingsworth for a 1-yard loss. After a penalty for delay of game, Pleasant was sacked by Bacorn for a 6-yard loss. Pleasant threw an incompletion on third down and was then intercepted by Parmeter on fourth down with 21 seconds on the clock.
