Seahawks open with 56-8 blowout
For a team that’s only won two games since 2020, it’s not surprising that the Franklin County Seahawks would be involved in a blowout on the football field.
What was surprising Friday night, is that they were on the winning side of the scoreboard, as they traveled to Bronson in Levy County and handed the Eagles a 56-8 defeat.
After amassing a 50-8 lead at the half, the Seahawks had the benefit of a running clock the entire second half, as they scored their final touchdown, a pick-six interception by Braelin Morris.
“It was nice to win.” said coach John Cooper. “I was really proud of the players for the effort they put out, they’re willing to work. And proud of our assistant coaches too.”
The coach couched his praise with a bit of criticism. “We’re holding ourselves to a higher standard,” he said.. “We have a lot to correct if we want to beat better teams on our schedule.
“We want to be good with whatever we try to execute on the field,” he said. “We want to be able to do both.”
Quarterback Garyson Millender was 3-for-4 for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and carried the ball four times for 30 yards.
Quarterback Owen Juno was 2-for-3 for 66 yards and a touchdown, and carried the ball twice for nine yards and a touchdown.
Offensive back Ta’marion Carr, had one 42-yard rush for a touchdown, snared two catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, and had one punt return for 45 yards.
Offensive back Sadiq Jones carried the ball three times for 59 yards and 1 touchdown, and had two receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Offensive back Eric Smith carried the ball four times for 29 yards, and had one catch for a 53-yard touchdown.
Offensive back Michael Hill carried the pigskin three times for 22 yards and a touchdown, and had one nine-yard reception.
Offensive backs Dre North and Kyle Gilbert each had a pair of carries, for 13 and 20 yards respectively.
Ajaylen McNair had one catch for a two-point conversion.
As a team, the Seahawks were 5 -for-7 passing for 197 yards and three touchdowns, with their ground game tallying 23 carries for 224 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, Michael Hill posted three solo tackles, one assist and one sack, while Ja’michael miller had two solos, one assist, one sack and one fumble recovery. Caden Lewis had one solo, two assists, a sack and a forced fumble.
Cooper said the Seahawks will have their work cut out for them this Friday when they host the 2-0 Bell Bulldogs.
“They’re absolutely huge, they’re talented and they play hard,” he said. “We have to do everything right if we want to beat them.”
He said the Seahawks will be working on their offensive timing this week, and on carrying out fakes, while the defensive squad, which has yet to give up a point in the kickoff classic and last Friday, will be zeroing in on fundamentals.
Cooper said the team will also focus on the kicking game, which has Hill handling kickoffs and extra points, and Jones doing the punting.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.