VERO BEACH — Citing the desire to play an opponent before the regular season begins, the Okeechobee High and Master’s Academy of Vero Beach football teams met in a scrimmage Friday to kick off the season.
The Brahmans scored on both possessions in the second half to post a 14-10 come-from-behind victory over the Patriots at Master’s Academy.
“This helps a ton. These scrimmages are huge,” Master’s Academy coach Stephen Boyer said. “I can’t imagine going into next week without having this scrimmage. We would be extremely rusty and nowhere near as prepared as we will be.”
The teams played 12-minute quarters in the first half and a 10-minute running clock in each quarter of the second half. The teams went through special teams situations, but there was no blocking on kickoffs, extra-point attempts or field-goal attempts.
There was, however, plenty of pad-popping hitting.
“I’m proud of their effort,” Okeechobee first-year coach Antwan Blatch said. “We’ve got to get into shape. They got down early and didn’t quit. They believed in what we were doing and eventually we came out and started to pop late.”
Overcoming an interception on a tipped pass on the first play of the game, Master’s Academy came back and scored on its next two possessions. Capping a nine-play drive, freshman quarterback Jackson Fromag connected with sophomore Banks Swearingen for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
After Swearingen intercepted a pass on the Brahmans’ second play, the Patriots drove to the Okeechobee 9-yard line before senior Burt Lockhart booted a 25-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
“A tipped-ball interception on the first play of the game didn’t affect the kids,” Boyer said. “We stopped them in four plays and got the ball back. Even with a young team, it shows growth and maturity, which is promising.”
Using halftime to regroup, the Brahmans kept the ball for the entire 10 minutes of the third quarter. Sophomore quarterback Christopher Sneed scored on a 3-yard sneak.
After holding Master’s Academy to a three-and-out on its first possession of the fourth quarter, Okeechobee went 65 yards in 10 plays. Freshman Elijah Gordon scored on a 12-yard run. Senior John Immerfall kicked the second of his two PATs to make it 14-10. Sneed then iced the game with an interception on the final play of the scrimmage.
Okeechobee takeaways
1. The Brahmans used different offensive skill players in the second half. The left-handed Sneed played quarterback, and Gordon was the featured back. Gordon carried 17 times for 97 yards. Sneed completed 4 of 6 passes for 34 yards, including three completions to senior running back Ashton Mobley for 27 yards. Sneed also rushed twice for 8 yards.
Mobley was the primary back in the first half, gaining 17 yards on nine carries. Noah Hazellief (1 of 3, one interception, minus-1 yard) and Wyatt Hazellief (0 of 1) played quarterback in the first half.
“We want to be up-tempo,” Blatch said after Okeechobee graduated its top five running backs from a year ago. “We slowed down a little bit in the first half to get acclimated. But after halftime, they came out with a little more fire. They got after them and finished it off. We wanted to see everybody tonight. We wanted to see as many as we could and see what we really have because next week is live. It’s full go next week. So we definitely wanted to see what we’ve got moving forward.”
2. Okeechobee’s defense received tackles for loss from sophomores Nehemiah Minondo, Ayden Martinez and Raymond Massey and sacks from Martinez and Massey.
3. The Brahmans finished 3-7 last season under William “B.J.” Prior, who stepped down to take a job in Wisconsin. Prior went 11-28 in four seasons at Okeechobee. The Brahmans were 1-3 in Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4A-District 14 play.
Okeechobee opens the regular season Aug. 14 at Glades Day and plays Aug. 21 at Suncoast before its first home game Aug. 28 against Space Coast.
As for what’s next for the Brahmans, Blatch said: “Prepare for Glades Day. We’ve got five days to prep for them and get rollin’.”
Master’s Academy takeaways
1. Fromag went 7 of 13 for 105 yards in the first half. Swearingen had four receptions for 55 yards, while senior Joshua Namvar had two catches for 28 yards and junior Troy Borcheller added two receptions for 22 yards.
“We have to work on conditioning, but every team in the league has to work on that,” Boyer said. “Ultimately, I’m extremely pleased. Our first half was solid with our starters. In the second half, they fought their backsides off.”
2. Senior Burt Lockhart and sophomore Colton Shirley combined for a sack. Sophomore Jesse Stone, senior Cortez Ramirez, sophomore Nicholas Polly and Swearingen recorded tackles for loss.
Boyer didn’t mind Okeechobee’s up-tempo approach in the second half, but it took its toll on Master’s Academy’s limited roster and emphasized the need for better conditioning.
“Good for us for conditioning,” Boyer said. “But overall, when you have a smaller roster, it can have an effect on you, which is smart on their end. It helps us coaches and players understand the importance of conditioning, which they do. But now they’ll really understand.”
3. Master’s Academy went 3-9 last season in its first year playing 11-man football. The Patriots lost their first five games before beating Oxbridge Academy and St. Edward’s during the regular season.
Master’s Academy won an SSAA playoff game against Sarasota Christian in overtime before losing to Cambridge Christian in the second round.
The Patriots open the season with road games at Oxbridge on Aug. 14 and at The Master’s Academy of Oviedo on Aug. 21 before returning home to face Boca Raton Christian on Aug. 28.
“We’re going to dig into film hard because more than half of our roster has never played,” Boyer said. “The fact they got reps on the field means there’s a lot of teaching ahead. Obviously we’ve got to hit the weights, condition and tune up a few things. But we’ll be buried in film to help get them coached up.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Football: Scrimmage answers questions for Okeechobee, Master’s Academy
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
