Team mash up: There will be a lot of familiarity, energy and excitment in the 17th annual Potato Bowl

Several Matanzas, Flagler Palm Coast football players have been on the other side

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The Potato Bowl has not exactly been a competitive rivalry. Matanzas has won just three of 16 games against Flagler Palm Coast, its more established and larger rival — and one of those wins, in 2022, was a forfeit.

There haven’t been many edge-of-your-seat nailbiters, either. The only times the game has been decided by fewer than 17 points was when Matanzas won in consecutive years in 2015 (by a score of 14-7) and 2016 (14-8).

But when the teams line up for the kickoff at the Pirates’ stadium on Friday, Aug. 22, it will likely be standing room only on both sides of the field.

“It's a rival game,” Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said. “There's a lot of energy. There's a lot of excitement. They got guys on that side that we know, and we got guys on our side that they know. We’re going to have a great crowd. It’s a great event for the county.”

CHANGING UNIFORMS

New FPC coach Patrick Turner will be on the sideline for his first Potato Bowl, but he has coached in a lot of rivalry games over the years, and he knows the drill.


“It’s a big week. We tell the players, ‘Control your emotions and stay off social media,’ Turner said. “It’s less about them, and more about us, because the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.”

Staying off social media will be easier said than done. Kenneth “KJ” Robinson transferred from Matanzas to FPC this year.

“I love everybody over there. It’s definitely a game I’m looking forward to — just playing my old guys, my old coaches, and having fun with them afterwards,” the two-way player said.

Matanzas starting quarterback Cole Walker played at FPC as a freshman and sophomore. He played with Bulldogs quarterback LaDarius Simmons when both were sophomores at FPC two years ago and were part of a three-way quarterback battle. But their history together goes back even further.

“Cole and I have been friends since we were like 12 years old,” Simmons said.

Back then, they trained together with quarterback coach Matt Johnson.

“Him and I had a lot of quarterback training together when we were 11, 12, 13 years old,” Walker said. “LaDarius and I are pretty close friends.”

Both quarterbacks are well-traveled. Simmons played at Father Lopez as a freshman and Halifax Academy last year. Walker was the backup quarterback at Mainland last year and played with Nease during the spring of his sophomore year. He said he’s learned different things at the different schools, but all of the offenses have been similar.

“In my opinion, I think in high school, a lot of plays are honestly universal, like passing concepts, run concepts, RPOs off the run plays, and stuff like that,” he said.

Simmons never played at Matanzas. But another Bulldogs quarterback, Caden Burchfield, was the Pirates’ starter last season. Turner said Simmons will likely start against the Pirates, but he plans to rotate the two QBs.

Simmons said Turner’s offense is custom-made for his skill-set.

“It’s running, running and passing it,” he said. “My dual-threat ability comes out because we throw and I run, so it's pretty good for me. A lot of (run-pass options) and deep action plays to throw the ball to receivers down the field where they can make the plays.”

OPENING THE SEASON

For the first time since 2020, the Potato Bowl will open the season. But that was the COVID year when the season started a month late.

Neither team had the preparation it expected in last week’s kickoff classics. While Matanzas’ game with Jackonsville Episcopal was called at halftime because of lingering lightning in the area, FPC had just one offensive possession and went just a couple of plays into its second defensive possession when the game at Palatka was called.

“With the kickoff classic the No. 1 goal is to get out healthy,” Turner said. “This week it’s for real.”

Matanzas and Episcopal played to a 7-7 first-half tie. Forrest was pleased with his team’s first possession, which ended with a long touchdown run by running back Wiley Conner. After that, the Pirates had some lapses, Forrest said.

“Our guys realize that opportunities aren't guaranteed,” he said. “I feel bad that we couldn't get our JV guys in, because they've been working really hard.”

The JV players will get their chance at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21, when FPC and Matanzas will meet in the spud bowl at FPC's Sal Campanella Stadium.

But the big game is Friday.

“Within the community, it’s definitely a really big game, so it's exciting to play, and especially in Week 1,” Walker said. “It sets the tone for the season.”

Forrest said he doesn’t have a preference for when the two teams play. Last year the Potato Bowl was played in the final week of the regular season.

“Whether you play Week 1, Week 4 or Week 11, it's a game, you're going to play every year,” he said. “But I think it's good to kind of kick off the season with it. It gets everybody ready for a new football season. It kind of gets everything rolling.”

 

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