Atlantic’s Joshua Mansfield recovers three Indian fumbles
Dan@BcTelegraph.com
Port Orange Atlantic’s (4-0) Joshua Mansfield recovered three Keystone Heights fumbles Friday night, and the Sharks turned five Indian turnovers into a 41-6 win at Keystone Heights (2-4).
Keystone lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions, one of which Atlantic’s Joey Simpson returned for a third-quarter touchdown. Two of Mansfield’s recoveries gave the Sharks the ball inside the Keystone 3-yard line, leading to touchdowns, and the third ended a Keystone possession deep in Atlantic territory.
The Indians’ only points came on a pair of Ryder Thomas field goals, a 45-yarder in the first quarter and a 42-yarder in the second.
Both teams punted on their first possessions, and an Atlantic punt took a favorable bounce and pinned Keystone at its own 5. On second down, the Indians fumbled a handoff, and Mansfield recovered at the 2. Dwawn Fountain Jr. ran it in on the next play, and Jason Wayne’s extra point gave Atlantic a 7-0 lead with 5:26 left in the first quarter.
After a short Keystone punt and a penalty, Atlantic took over at midfield. On the first play, quarterback Ladarius Snell handed off to Elijah Canidate, who raced down the right sideline for a touchdown. Wayne’s kick made it 14-0 with 3:25 left in the quarter.
Keystone answered on the ensuing kickoff. DJ Hill fielded a squib kick and handed off to Trey Simmons, who broke several tackles and returned the ball to the Atlantic 32. The drive stalled at the 27, and Thomas’ field goal cut the lead to 14-3 with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Atlantic drove inside the Keystone 20 after Markell Killingsworth ran a jet sweep 27 yards before Micah Screen caught him at the 10. But Fountain fumbled after a short catch, and Keystone’s Josiah Bardier scooped up the ball and returned it deep into Atlantic territory.
The Indians gave it right back. Two plays later, Keystone quarterback Connor Mooneyham bobbled a snap, and Mansfield recovered at the Atlantic 21.
Atlantic answered with a botched snap of its own, and a tackle for loss pushed the Sharks back to their own 3, and after a punt, Keystone started at the Atlantic 23. The Indians could not get a first down, and Thomas kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it 14-6 with 4:08 left in the half.
Atlantic’s Giovanni DeLeonibus recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and the Sharks drove to the Keystone 12. On fourth down, Snell’s pass fell incomplete just beyond the reach of Campbell, who had open field in front of him, and Keystone took over on downs. Neither team scored again before halftime.
Keystone’s defense forced a three-and-out to open the second half, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Atlantic punt backed the Indians up to their own 8. On third down, Keystone mishandled the snap, and Mansfield recovered at the 1. Fountain scored on a second-down run from inside the 1, and Wayne’s kick put Atlantic ahead 21-6 midway through the third quarter.
The Indians mounted their best drive of the night on their next possession. Ryland Rozier ran hard between the tackles, a roughing-the-passer penalty against Atlantic gave Keystone an automatic first down, and Mooneyham kept the ball on a quarterback run for another first down. The drive reached the Atlantic 41, but on fourth-and-8, Simpson intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The extra point was no good, leaving Atlantic ahead 27-6 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
Josiah Bardier recovered a Keystone onside kick at the Indians’ 42, but Keystone lost yardage on the drive and punted.
Canidate carried Atlantic into Keystone territory late in the third quarter, and early in the fourth, Snell hit him with a 27-yard touchdown pass. Wayne’s extra point made it 34-6 with 10:01 remaining.
Anthony Pollock intercepted Mooneyham near midfield on Keystone’s next drive. Campbell was injured on the play but walked off the field on his own. Atlantic drove to the Keystone 10 before a fumbled snap, an illegal-shift penalty and three straight incomplete passes stalled the drive, and Keystone took over on downs at its own 19 with 4:14 left.
Colson Johnson took snaps at quarterback for Keystone late in the game, but the Indians could not get a first down and punted.
Snell found Killingsworth for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left, and Anthony Pagan kicked the extra point to close the scoring.
