Hot Potato Bowl: Matanzas pulls within a touchdown late, but falls again to Flagler Palm Coast

La'Darius Simmons' 55-yard touchdown pass to Logan Jacobelli put an end to one of the closest games in Potato Bowl history.

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The 17th annual Potato Bowl game started over an hour-and-a-half late because of lightning strikes in the area. It didn’t end until 11:42 p.m. The play was as sloppy as the muddy field with Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas combining for 29 penalties for 242 yards.

But the end result was familiar — another victory for the Bulldogs, though this one was closer than all of FPC’s previous victories in the series.


The Bulldogs’ 26-14 victory on Friday, Aug. 22, at “the Ship,” the Pirates’ stadium, was FPC’s 14th in the 17-year history of the series. Of Matanzas’ three wins against its larger county rival, two have come on the field (in 2015 and 2016) and one was a forfeit (in 2022 after FPC self-reported an ineligible player).

“This game is for bragging rights, but we knew we were going to win,” said FPC quarterback La’Darius Simmons. “We’re worried about other teams right now, like Mainland, Spruce Creek and DeLand. We’re not really worried about them.”

But while everything seemed to be going wrong for the Pirates — a muffed punt snap at their 1-yard line on their opening possession, which led to an FPC field goal; two lost fumbles; and a second-quarter interception by FPC’s Dwayne Webb — they found themselves trailing by just six points at 20-14 until Simmons fired a 55-yard touchdown pass to junior speedster Logan Jacobelli with 8:30 left in the game.

“That game's on me,” Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said. “I've got to coach better. Our kids played hard. Our kids fought to the very end. Our kids believed they were going to win all week. They showed up in the morning and practiced and prepared like an elite program, like elite players. They had the energy and the mindset to go out and win.”


PIRATES HANG TOUGH

The Bulldogs overcame some injuries early in the game, FPC’s first-year coach, Patrick Turner, said.

“We lost both our tight ends in the first three minutes of the game,” he said. “And we use a tight end on every single play on offense. So, that caused us to make some adjustments. We got up in our I-formation package, we used some defensive players, and that kind of slowed the game down and allowed us to get to halftime to where we could make some adjustments.”

FPC went up 10-0 on a 17-yard touchdown run by Ehimen “He-Man” Ajede early in the second quarter. Matanzas followed with a 75-yard touchdown drive ending with Jordan Schendorf’s 2-yard scoring catch from Cole Walker.

FPC stretched the lead to 17-7 later in the second quarter on Caden Burchfield’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Nolan Caliendo. The Bulldogs made it 20-7 on Garrett Tucker’s 37-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half.

But the Pirates followed with another long touchdown drive, this one for 86 yards that was kept alive by a pass interference penalty against FPC and another penalty against the Bulldogs for 12 men on the field that negated an FPC interception. Matanzas running back Wiley Conner ended the drive with a 1-yard scoring run to make it 20-14.

But Jacobelli's touchdown catch seemed to take the wind out of the Pirates’ sails. Simmons said on the previous play, he saw the receiver was open.

“I was just looking over there, but I didn't throw it,” Simmons said. “The next play, I gave him a nod, and I just threw it to him. I trusted him.”

“It’s kind of like they were on the same page; they were in sync,” Turner said.


FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Turner keeps a goal board that leads to his formula for success. One of the goals on the board is to rush for over 200 yards. The Bulldogs did that with Ajede rushing for 78 yards, Darwin Harris rushing for 72, Burchield for 47 and Simmons for 32. They also won the turnover margin 4-0 — the Bulldogs also fumbled four times but recovered each one.

Both teams struggled with penalties. FPC was penalized 18 times for 153 yards. Matanzas drew 10 yellow flags for 89 yards. Many of the penalties were personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct, not unusual for this chippy rivalry.

Burchfield (86 yards) and Simmons (78 yards) combined to pass for 164 yards. Caliendo caught six passed for 87 yards.

“I wanted to rotate the quarterbacks. They both have different strengths that they bring,” Turner said.

Conner rushed for 79 yards and caught three passes for 42 yards for the Pirates. Walker passed for 124 yards.

“The defense was lights out,” Turner said. “We did a great job except for some foolish penalties. We still got to tighten some things up. But all in all, I love the effort. The defense flew around and did an absolute great job.”

Forrest was also encouraged despite the disappointing loss and a quiet locker room after the game.

“People didn't think this was a rivalry before,” Forrest said. “It's definitely a rivalry now, considering the JV score, a one-score game the last three years. And this was the most competitive (Potato Bowl) game in a long time. I’m proud of the fight of our guys.

“We're not going anywhere,” Forrest said. “We're here for the long haul. This program's on the rise.”

 

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