J.D. Jones Stadium was packed as Gadsden County High took on Wakulla High on the road in the 2S Region 1 quarterfinals Friday night.
Gadsden County fans and band packed the visitors bleachers, as they made the short trip to Crawfordville to cheer on the Jags. Fueled by the electrifying crowd and the melodies being played by the band, the Jags came out ready to compete against the undefeated 11-0 War Eagles.
Both the War Eagles and Jags enjoyed some early offensive success during the first half, and after trading a few scores, the Jags went into halftime trailing only 14-17. The second half is when a possible upset victory seemed to slip away from the Jags. To start the 3rd quarter, the Jags fumbled the ball deep in their own territory and it was recovered in the end-zone by Wakulla for a quick touchdown and two-point conversion to extend their lead to 25-14.
The War Eagles found the end-zone again on a long pass with just over 2 minutes left in the quarter. Trailing 32-14, the Jags’ offense came back alive and moved the ball down the field on a long drive all the way to the War Eagle 16-yard line before fumbling the ball and turning it back over to Wakulla without scoring any points on the drive.
Wakulla added another long touchdown pass to start the 4th quarter to extend the lead to 39-14. Second half adjustments by the War Eagles proved to be too much for the Jags, as Wakulla scored 29 unanswered points in the second half and went on to beat Gadsden County 46-14.
The Jags ended their 2023 season with a final record of 6-6 under first year head coach Russell Ellington.
Chris Daniels – Gadsden County News Service