- April 19, 2024
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Flagler Palm Coast football coach Caesar Campana is overloaded with running backs, and he’s OK with that.
FPC racked up 217 rushing yards Friday night as the Bulldogs ran past crosstown Matanzas, 42-3, in the first regular season game for both teams.
The Bulldogs (1-0) got on the board just 2 minutes, 17 seconds into the game when Marcel Williams executed a perfect jump pass to tight end Dustin Bowens from five yards out to give FPC a 7-0 lead.
After a swap of possessions, the Matanzas defense earned the first turnover of the game with an interception on a tipped ball.
But on fourth-and-short of the ensuing offensive possession, Pirates coach Keith Lagocki passed on what would’ve been about a 40-yard field goal and decided to keep the offense on the field and go for it.
Pirates junior quarterback Al’Kwazi Spencer lobbed a perfectly weighted touch pass to a streaking Brandon Fagan, but the ball slipped through Fagan’s hands.
It was a turning point for the Pirates (0-1). What could have been a tie game turned into a 14-point deficit when FPC quarterback Colton Boyd connected with Turrel Mathews on the next play for a 76-yard touchdown pass, increasing the Bulldogs lead to 14-0 with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.
Ian Hubbs got the Pirates on the board when he converted a 40-yard field goal with 6:23 remaining in the first half.
At halftime, the Bulldogs led, 14-3.
In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to work the running game. Sophomore running back Jimmie Robinson did most of the heavy lifting. He ripped off two second-half TD runs of more than 30 yards.
Junior running back Devonti Emanuel got on the scoreboard himself when he ran the ball in with about six minutes to go. Emanuel's TD gave FPC its final score, increasing the lead to 42-3.
FPC running backs coach Robert Paxia said having so many dangerous backs helps the offense stay fresh. He said Robinson’s success comes because he knows how to quickly read his blocks.
“Jimmie trusts his keys,” Paxia said. “In the scheme we run, everything is based off reading his keys. Jimmie is a very smart football player.”
Paxia said he has had a 1,000-yard rusher each of his first two years, and he hopes to continue that this season.
“Right now, we run a main two-back system, but I have as many as four guys who I trust I can hand the ball off to,” Paxia said after Friday’s game.
Another weapon is using wide receiver Willie Gardner in short-yardage situations because he’s a completely different runner compared to the other smaller, shifty running backs like Robinson and Emanuel, Paxia said.
Matanzas spent most of the game running the ball outside of the tackles and missing on passes. Spencer had 12 carries for 19 yards and went 2-for-7 for five yards passing the ball. With about eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Lagocki made a change at quarterback and went with sophomore Jeremiah Wilson.
Hurt in part by some drops by his receivers, Wilson went 1-for-12 for 39 yards. As a team, Matanzas went 3-for-20 for 44 yards.
Despite the change at quarterback Friday night, Lagocki confirmed that Spencer is the starter.
"We just needed to make a change," he said. "(Spencer) is still our guy. But, you know, the great thing about having two great quarterbacks like that is you can't go wrong with either one."
De'Undre Lumpkins, the former FPC player, was Matanzas' leading rusher, carrying the ball 11 times for 23 yards.
After the game, a disappointed Lagocki said the loss hurt, especially because it’s a rivalry game.
“It’s guys you see every day, guys you grow up with, families you see in the community every day,” Lagocki said. “We just didn’t get it done. ... I feel bad for the kids because the score isn’t indicative of how good we are.”
Lagocki said the team’s conditioning was “poor,” noting that it’s been about two full weeks since the team last had a real practice because of the weather. He did praise his defense, incluing senior Damon Hayden's three interceptions, for keeping the team in the game. Eventually, Lagocki said, the offense will have to bail out the defense.
Hayden finished the game with eight tackles. Freshman linebacker Jordan Castanheira led the team with 11 tackles; Tyler Perkins had nine.
“The plays were there (tonight), but we just weren’t able to close the door,” Lagocki said.
NEXT UP
Flagler Palm Coast (1-0) will host Seabreeze 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. Last season, the Bulldogs trailed Seabreeze, 21-13, entering the fourth quarter, but allowed 19 unanswered points in the fourth and lost to the Sandcrabs, 40-13.
Matanzas (0-1) hosts Florida Air Academy 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. Last season, the Pirates picked up their first win of the season in Week 2 when they routed Florida Air, 50-13. Coach Keith Lagocki expects Florida Air to be a better team when it comes to Flagler County this year, though.
