BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Alee Horton threw three touchdown passes and returned an interception for another score in the Keystone Heights High School flag football team’s 26-14 win over visiting Palatka in the quarterfinals of the District 4-1A tournament on April 14.
The third seed Indians (9-7) will travel to Alachua to play second seed Santa Fe (9-1) in a semifinal game on Tuesday, April 15, at 6 p.m.
If Keystone defeats Santa Fe, it would either travel to Starke to play top seed Bradford or host fourth seed Newberry in the championship game on Thursday, April 17, at 6 p.m.
The Indians scored on the opening series against sixth seed Palatka. A reception by Aubre Miller for approximately 40 yards gave Keystone a first-and-goal just past the Palatka 10-yard line. Horton hooked up with Ashlyn Brown for a touchdown pass to put the Indians up 6-0. The conversion attempt was no good.
Miller finished as the Indians’ leading receiver with four catches for 80 yards.
Palatka (3-8) picked up a first down on its first possession, but tackles by Miller and Alyssa Sanford had the Panthers facing third-and-16. Melanie Crabtree pressured quarterback Mikhia Peeples into an incompletion on third down, forcing Palatka to punt.
Keystone’s second series didn’t get off to a good start, with a penalty and a sack on the first two plays. A Horton run, however, set up a third-and-short play. Palatka’s Jhane Fountain tackled Horton short of the first down on a third-down run, but another Horton run on fourth-and-inches picked up the necessary yardage.
Horton, who rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries, gained 16 yards on a first-down run and then completed a 22-yard pass to Miller on the next play, setting up first-and-goal at the 1. Alex Papaiannou caught a touchdown pass, while Horton added a successful run on the one-point conversion attempt, giving the Indians a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.
A tackle by Tatum Hall and a sack by Sanford helped force the Panthers to punt on their second series, but Palatka cashed in on its third possession, thanks to a punt return of more than 30 yards by Fountain. The return, with penalty yardage tacked onto the end of it, gave the Panthers a first-and-goal at the 3-yard line. Fountain caught a pass from Peeples for a touchdown, while Rachel Dodd caught a pass on the conversion attempt, making it a 13-7 game.
Fountain delivered another spectacular punt return, fielding the ball inside her 40-yard line and taking it back to the Keystone 23, giving the Panthers the chance to score with 16 seconds remaining until halftime.
It was Keystone, however, that added to its point total, with Horton intercepting a pass and returning it approximately 70 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the half. Horton’s run on the conversion attempt made the score 20-7.
Palatka failed to gain a first down after its first three plays in the second half, thanks to tackles by Sanford and Ashly McCarthy, but the Panthers went for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 18. Keystone’s defense came up big again, with Brown intercepting a pass and giving her offense the ball at the 17-yard line.
Two plays later, Horton’s pass into the end zone bounced off the hands of Miller, but fell into the hands of Brown, giving her a second scoring catch on the night and putting the Indians up 26-7. The conversion attempt failed.
Horton finished 10 of 19 passing for 148 yards, with Brown making four catches for 53 yards.
Palatka answered with a 10-play scoring drive, which culminated with a 2-yard touchdown run by Fountain. Treasure McGee caught a pass on the conversion attempt, resulting in the 26-14 final score.
The Panthers’ Kennaece Passmore intercepted a pass on the Indians’ ensuing possession, which put the Panthers’ offense at the Keystone 30-yard line. Palatka failed to score, with the Indians’ Miller making two tackles for losses.
