Spring football: Martin County starts 'fresh' new group with win over Pahokee

STUART — After allowing an early score, the Martin County High football team stormed back to take a 17-8 victory over visiting Pahokee High in a spring football game Thursday evening.

The Tigers got on the board on the final play of the first quarter on a 42-yard field goal by left-footed John Connolly. 

Martin County took the lead midway through the second quarter on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Manny Louis to Tristin Taylor. 

The Tigers put the game away on a 66-yard pass from Vaughn O’Brien to Paul Hendrix with Connolly’s PAT kick making it a two-score game.

The Blue Devils opened the scoring on their first drive. getting a 10-yard pass from Xavier Mitchell to Uzarus Bozwell. Rashon Brown ran in the 2-point conversion.

Pahokee takeaways

• The Blue Devils moved the ball after their first drive, but failed to score again because of two turnovers in the second quarter and untimely penalties that stalled drives. 
• “We kinda hit a wall on offense,” Pahokee coach Carlos Lammons said. “We’ve got a young group on that side of the ball, a lot of inexperienced. We kinda ran into that.” 
• Connecting on his first five passes, Mitchell completed 10-of-16 passes for 116 yards to six different receivers. Kamari Foreman caught three passes for 32 yards. Defensively, Johnny Kleckley had two tackles for a loss and Demarion Harris had one.
• Lammons liked the effort and competitive spirit of his young group. “I liked we competed,” he said. “We have a senior class of about 10 guys. I can’t be more than happy with the group. They actually did better than we expected. We had two weeks of practice and are going through a coaching change.”
• Lammons returned to the sidelines after a four-year “hiatus.” He said he coached at the youth level before returning. The Blue Devils finished 6-5 last season and lost in the first round of the Class 1-Rural playoffs to Williston. 

Martin County takeaways

• The Tigers graduated 16 starters and 19 seniors from last year’s 5-4 team. “Our effort was amazing,” Tigers coach Rod Harris said. “We’re really starting off fresh with a new group. When you have a program and system in place at all three levels (junior varsity and freshmen), it continues. I can’t be happier with everything tonight.”
• O’Brien completed 9-of-16 passes for 134 yards and ran four times for 14 yards. Louis connected on all three of his passing attempts for 32 yards and rushed three times for 14. Taylor was on the receiving end of five passes for 49 yards. Hendrix caught three passes for 90 yards. Linebacker Kyrus Haston had a big tackle for a loss in the fourth quarter.
• The most impressive drive for the Tigers was their last that took the final seven-plus minutes off the clock with big runs by Hendrix and Louis and a pair of Louis completions. “Pahokee always has a tough five-man front,” Harris said. “Their D-line is outstanding; their backers are good. We called some plays at the right time.”
• Defensive end Caden Glover recovered a fumble at the Pahokee 7-yard line that led to Martin County’s first touchdown. Mike Dunleavy made an interception in the end zone in the second quarter. “After the first drive, the defense kept them off the scoreboard the rest of the night,” Harris said. “Old-school football, defense and special teams and do enough offensively. We’re just going to get better from this.” 
• The Tigers have a weapon in Connolly, who had a couple of kickoffs inside the 5-yard line. “He is outstanding,” Harris said of Connolly, a three-year starter. “People in the area know about him already.”