BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph-Times-Monitor General Manager
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—Visiting Ft. White jumped out to an early two-touchdown lead and entered the locker room leading 42-7. However, Keystone Heights (0-2) fought back, scoring 21 second-half points for a final of 49-26.
The visiting Indians relied on their team speed and the arm of quarterback Jayden Jackson, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns.
Jackson’s only blemish for the night was a second-quarter interception picked off by Keystone’s Bryce Hollingsworth in the Keystone endzone.
A 45-yard pass from Baylor Ford to Wyatt Van Zant sparked Keystone’s first score. Two plays later from the Ft. White 20, Cartez Daniels broke tackles and spun his way to the endzone, putting the Indians on the board trailing 14-7 with 1:29 remaining in the first quarter, following Tyler Sapp’s extra point.
Keystone struck again in the third period with a six-play drive highlighted by runs of 7 and 2 yards by Colton Hollingsworth and rushes of 6, 4, 9, and 40 yards by Daniels. The senior Daniels finished the campaign with his 40-yarder, cutting right after breaking the line of scrimmage and stiff-arming a Ft. White defensive back to reach paydirt. Sapp’s PAT closed the home team’s deficit to 49-14 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Keystone retook possession after Talen Messina recovered a Ft. White fumble, and the Indians wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover. Ford connected with Garrison Teague for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The Indians’ two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 49-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Keystone scored one last time as time ran out in the fourth, with Daniels capping an 11-play drive on a 25-yard gallop. Final score: 49-26, Ft. White.
After the game, Keystone coach Steve Reynolds said he was proud of how his team kept fighting after falling behind early.
“It didn’t work out for us the way we wanted,” the coach said, “but I think they played hard. I think Coach Reynolds has got to do a better job of getting them ready to play ball games.”
Reynolds added that Ft. White’s physical play and team speed were more than his squad could handle.
“When you play a Ft. White team, you’re going to get a disciplined team,” he said. “They’re not going to get many penalties. You’re going to play a physical team, so you’ve got to match their physicality, and then you’re going to play a team that will have great speed, and you’ve got to be able to contain that speed. So, those three factors, I think, were the keys to how the game shook out.”
“We’re not playing our best football yet.,” Reynolds continued. “I think our best football’s ahead of us, but we’ve got some good ones coming up.”
Reynolds then ticked off his squad’s upcoming challenges, including an Interlachen team that won 10 games last year and Bradford, who made it to the state semifinals last year, losing to eventual state champion Cocoa Beach.
“So, we’re going to heal up and see what we can do,” he said.
Keystone hosts Bell (0-3) Friday night at 7:30.
