GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – It’s only fitting a county rivalry should come down to a few inches and a last-second decision to jump.
Middleburg, minus the area’s leading rusher for most of its final possession, drove 75 yards for a touchdown with nine seconds remaining Friday night. Going for two points and a tie, a quarterback roll out to the right started with promise but ended with a mid-air collision between Broncos quarterback Luke Padgett and a host of Clay defenders.
At the last second, Blue Devils end Blake Thompson jumped. That might have been the difference as Padgett came to ground only a few inches from the goal line and Clay preserved a 23-21 victory in the News4Jax Game of the Week.
“We were on the field for a long, long time and our defense was tired,” said Thompson, who also had a sack and a fumble recovery. “We had to stop them. (Padgett) jumped in the air, and me and a couple of other guys stopped him. He was right there. If I hadn’t jumped and hit him, he would have been in.”
It was a difficult end for Middleburg (4-4), which converted a pair of fourth-down plays during a 19-play drive that spanned 6:51. It was more remarkable because, four plays into the drive, the Broncos lost running back Mike Mitchell to injury, and were absent a back who had 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the game. Mitchell now has 1,374 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
But mixing up a few passes, some rushes from Padgett and reverses to Caleb Freytag, Middleburg worked the ball down the field, capping the drive when Freytag took a reverse and went four yards for the score with nine seconds left and cut the deficit to 23-21.
The Broncos had blockers to the right as Padgett rolled out on the two-point try. Blue Devils coach Kyle Kennard expected that.
“We knew they were going to run the Q stretch,” Kennard said. “We adjusted. We slid the front. We set the edge. He cut the ball up, and we had guys there to hit him. I think he got to the half-yard line but it was a heck of a play by our guys.”
At first, Middleburg coach Ryan Wolfe thought he had overtime.
“When the play started, I thought he was going to walk in,” Wolfe said. “But they did a good job. They rallied to the ball, and we’re probably about three inches short.”
Clay (6-2) recovered the onside kick to seal the game.
It was a big victory for the Blue Devils on multiple fronts. Though this was a non-district game, Clay can clinch the 4-5A title next week against North Marion. Failing that, the Blue Devils entered Friday in line for an RPI playoff spot.
A win over its county rival can only help that rating. But it’s also sweet because it was over the Broncos. Clay’s football team prides itself on being the only county team to play all the other Clay County public schools, and the victory gives the Blue Devils a 3-1 mark against in-county rivals with Orange Park ahead in two weeks.
“We talk about how we want to win all Clay County games,” Kennard said. “We treat it as a big deal, and it is a big deal to us.”
Clay looked good at the half, holding a 23-7 advantage. All three Blue Devils touchdowns followed long pass plays, with Billy Mobley passes of 33, 63 and 37 yards going to, respectively, D’Maurion Frazier, Payton Dykas and Frazier again. Those set up a trio of touchdown runs by Chris Goldstein, who exited the game after a hard hit in the second quarter.
Clay added a Tristan Haack 42-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to complete its scoring.
As the Blue Devils scored, Middleburg’s offense battled mistakes. Of the Broncos’ first six possessions, four ended with failures to convert third downs of 11, 29, 20 and 14 yards, which is difficult for a team that has 85% of its offense come from the ground game.
There were also three turnovers, including a pair of picks by Jarvis Lee. Two of the three turnovers came on the first play of the possession, while a third came on third down.
“We’re a style of offense, with the group we have here, that we have to stay ahead of the sticks,” Wolfe said. “When we get into second- and third-and long, that kind of takes us out of our character.”
The saving grace was the second drive of the game, which gave the Broncos their only lead. Five rushes, all by Mitchell, covered 80 yards and ended with a touchdown and a 7-6 lead.
Clay’s offense bogged down in the second half, with big plays from Austin Cruce, who had two sacks and an interception, and Omar Holcomb, whose pick off a deflection set up the final drive.
Middleburg put a 10-play drive together and scored with eight minutes left, with converted lineman Travis McStephenson catching the two-point pass to pull the Broncos within eight. That gave the Broncos a chance after Holcomb’s pick.
But by the slimmest of margins, and one decision to jump, Clay had the victory.
Clay 23, Middleburg 21
Middleburg, 7, 0, 0, 14 —21
Clay, 20, 3, 0, 0 — 23
C – Chris Goldstein 1 run (kick blocked)
M – Mike Mitchell 15 run (Jared Burt kick)
C – Goldstein 5 run (Tristan Haack kick)
C – Goldstein 5 run (Haack kick)
C – Haack 42 FG
M – Mitchell 11 run (Travis McStephenson pass from Luke Padgett)
M – Caleb Freytag 4 run (run failed)
Category: M — C
First downs: 15 — 14
Rushes-yards: 47-221 — 23-71
Passing: 44 — 253
Comp-Att-Int: 4-12-2 — 16-26-2
Fumbles-lost: 3-1 — 0-0
Penalties-Yards: 2-26 — 4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — M: Mitchell 26-153, Freytag 3-33, Josh Senear 4-21, Padgett 13-18, Team 1-(-4). C: Brandon Combs 8-59, Goldstein 7-13, Jaydan Jenkins 2-5, Mobley 5-(-4), Team 1-(-2).
PASSING — M: Padgett 4-12-2-44. C: Mobley 16-25-2-253.
RECEIVING — M: Freytag 3-33, Logan Padgett 1-11. C: D’Maurion Frazier 5-95, Payton Dykas 2-69, David Ford 6-45, Brandon Peavy 2-32, Jarvis Lee 1-12.