Entering Sept. 19, Tate football sophomore Tanner Clark had some experience at quarterback in certain short-yardage situations.
That familiarity became vital when the running back was pressed into a lead role.
After starting quarterback Miles Delarosa was injured early in the second half, Clark took charge by finishing a pair of lengthy touchdown drives as the Aggies surged past West Florida, 27-7, before a large homecoming crowd and festive scene Friday at Tate’s Pete Gindl Stadium.
“That was tough,” said Aggies coach Rhett Summerford. “You lose Quarterback 1 (Delarosa) … I’m just so happy about Tanner Clark. He just stepped right in there. He was already tired, just had to take snaps. But we didn’t miss a beat and good job from the offensive line picking up for a teammates.
“He is a little bit of a Wildcat (formation) quarterback and he can throw a little bit, so it’s good. You always prepare for that (injury), don’t ever want it to happen, but we prepared for it.”
In bouncing back from their 3-0 loss Sept. 12 against Milton, the Aggies (4-1) took control to expand a 14-7 halftime lead and provide Rhett Summerford a go-ahead win in the “Summerford Bowl” series against his younger brother, West Florida head coach Wes Summerford.
The brothers split their first two matchups when Wes was the head coach at Northview.
“It’s probably a bigger distraction than the game,” said Rhett Summerford about the emotional aspect of coaching against his brother. “I had radio show (before game) and we’ve been through the hype. You had the jitters the first year we played, and the second year was a little less and this year it was about our team. Because we really needed a win after what happened at Milton.”
Delarosa suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury on the fourth play of the second half when he was tackled on a rushing play.
In the first half, he threw a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore receiver Noah Calderon, who twice broke wide open when the Jaguars (3-2) focused defensive coverage on senior star receiver Elijah West. Delarosa entered the game with 10 TD passes and no interceptions.
Delarosa and Calderon connected on a 68-yard, catch-and-run play with 9:17 left in the second quarter. West Florida answered with an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by senior quarterback Xavier Finley’s 1-yard run.
The Aggies took a 14-7 halftime lead on Delarosa’s 28-yard rollout pass to Calderon with 1:31 remaining.
Tate’s defense and offensive line took over in the second half. Clark capped a nine-play drive with his 5-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Aggies then ate up six minutes of the final quarter with an 83-yard scoring drive that ended with Clark faking a handoff from Jaguars 12 and scoring.
“I’m pretty proud of the boys,” Rhett Summerford said.
Up next: Tate will play at Navarre on Sept. 26 in a District 1-6A game. West Florida has a bye week coming up.
Milton 53, Navarre 27
Florida Gators commitment Kaiden Hall continued to shine in his senior season at quarterback, rushing for four touchdowns as the Panthers (5-0) — the only unbeaten team in the Pensacola area — pulled away from the Raiders at Milton’s Haywood Hanna Panther Stadium.
After going winless last season, Milton has now matched its best start in five years. The Panthers started 5-0 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before finishing 5-2.
Hall, projected as a safety in college, gave the Panthers a 40-13 lead with his fourth touchdown late in the third quarter.
Earlier in the game, Navarre (0-4) scored on its opening drive with a Marquez White touchdown reception. The Panthers answered with the first of Hall’s touchdown runs.
Navarre’s Jack Beyer gave the Raiders a 10-6 lead before the end of first quarter with a field goal. Navarre then blocked a second punt in the game and took a 13-6 lead on Beyer’s second field goal with 10:05 before halftime.
But from there, it was all Milton. Hall tied the game with his run on the ensuing possession. Kyle Paul gave Milton its first lead with a TD run with 4:07 left before halftime.
Hall then switched to defense and picked off a pass, which led to his own TD run with 26 seconds left before halftime. Hall then threw a touchdown pass to Brendan Farish to put the Panthers up 33-13 midway through the third quarter.
Up next: Milton will visit Panama City Mosley in a District 1-5A game on Sept. 26. Navarre hosts Tate on Sept. 26 in a District 1-6A game.
Pensacola Catholic 35, Jacksonville Providence 0
The Crusaders (4-1) turned the long trip to Jacksonville into a shortened game, going up 35-0 at halftime and playing the second half with a running clock.
The Crusaders showed no effects from the long bus ride, jumping to a 7-0 lead on their first possession when junior Caleb Willoughby scored on a 22-yard run. After the Crusaders defense stopped Providence (1-4) at the Catholic 5-yard line, Catholic answered with a long touchdown drive that ended with a 2-yard rushing score by junior running back Ethan Crandall for a 14-0 lead.
Catholic scored three TDs in the second quarter, including a scoring catch by senior receiver Caden Jasso and a fumble recovery and return by defensive back Gavis Lashley.
Up next: Catholic will play at Freeport on Sept. 26 in a District 1-2A game. Providence will host Jacksonville Cornerstone Academy on Sept. 26.
Booker T. Washington 34, Gulf Breeze 16
Junior backup quarterback Caden Osborne came off the bench and led the Wildcats (3-1) to a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Dolphins on their homecoming night.
Gulf Breeze (0-4) took a 16-14 lead on an interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession, Osborne took over at quarterback and the Wildcats had a length scoring drive on the ground to reclaim the lead, 20-16.
Washington’s defense forced a quick punt and sophomore running back Antonio Lawrence broke off a long TD run to give Washington a 27-16 lead. Osborne finished the scoring by throwing a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Gionni Lewis, who is back from an injury.
Up next: Washington visits Escambia on Sept. 26 in a District 1-4A game. Gulf Breeze will host Niceville on Sept. 26 in a District 1-5A game.
Panama City Mosley 46, Escambia 15
The Dolphins opened up a big lead in the second quarter and went on to power past the Gators in a non-district game at Escambia’s Emmitt Smith Field.
Mosley led, 10-7, after the first quarter and then got a touchdown pass from talented junior quarterback JP Holsombake midway through the second quarter. Mosley’s Samuel Chisolm scored on a run with less than a minute left before halftime and Holsombake completed a two-point conversion pass to Eli Zediker for a 25-7 halftime lead.
The Dolphins (4-1) added 21 points in the second half for the victory margin. Escambia fell to 0-4.
UP NEXT: Mosley hosts Milton on Sept. 26 in a District 1-5A game. Escambia will host Washington on Sept. 26 in a District 1-4A game.
Pace 35, Andalusia (Ala.) 0
After coming off a bye week, the Patriots rolled past the visiting Bulldogs in a game that concluded with a running clock.
It was the second lopsided win for the Patriots, following their 59-6 win at Gulf Breeze on Sept. 5.
UP NEXT: Pace will host Crestview on Sept. 26 in a District 1-6A game. Andalusia will host Opelika (Ala.) Beauregard on Sept. 26.
Holmes County 25, Northview 12
The Blue Devils extended a 13-6 halftime lead against the Chiefs and won a non-district game on homecoming night at Northview’s Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium.
The win improved Holmes County to 2-3. Northview dropped to 1-4.
UP NEXT: Northview will have its bye week on Sept. 26. Holmes County will host Chipley on Sept. 26 in a Rural District game.
Chipley 21, Jay 14
Senior standout Jacobe McKinnie helped Chipley to a 21-0 lead in the second half and the unbeaten host Tigers (5-0) held on in a Rural District game at Philip Rountree Stadium.
The Tigers scored on the game’s first offensive series, set up by a long run from McKinnie that led to a 3-yard touchdown four minutes into the opening quarter.
Chipley senior cornerback Malik Henderson thwarted a Jay drive with his interception at the Tigers’ 13-yard line. McKinnie quickly produced the game’s biggest play, rushing 85 yards for a score midway through the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.
In the second half, McKinnie intercepted a third-quarter pass and the Jay 26, then rushed for a 25-yard score to put the Tigers up 21-0.
Jay (1-3) answered with two scores, but the Tigers held on for the win. .
Up next: Jay will host Flomaton (Ala.) on Sept. 26. Chipley travels to Holmes County on Sept. 26 in a Rural District game.
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola high school football: Tanner Clark fills in at QB to lift Tate past West Florida
Reporting by Bill Vilona, Special to the News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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