3 Takeaways: Flagler Palm Coast rides "Elephant" to first win in Fish era
PALM COAST — A sly smile revealed just how much Flagler Palm Coast coach Daniel Fish enjoys his “Elephant” formation, dotted by 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end Colby Cronk.
And yet, as much as the Bulldogs love their short-yardage power package, it still pales in comparison to the one the team found itself in during the closing seconds of Friday’s game against Bishop Moore.
Senior quarterback Caden Gonzalez, the team’s newly minted starter, took two straight shotgun snaps and fell to a knee, closing out Fish’s first win at FPC in the Victory Formation as the Bulldogs rung up a 28-14 win over the Hornets at Sal Campanella Memorial Stadium. FPC improved to 1-1 after an opening 33-13 defeat to Suwanee and a subsequent bye week.
Cronk, who holds offers from the likes of Pitt, Wake Forest and USF among others, scored three touchdowns and registered two sacks, both on pivotal second-half third downs, and spearheaded a defensive effort that held Bishop Moore (0-3) to less than two yards a carry (26 rushes for 51 yards).
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Soaked after a celebratory Gatorade bath, Fish took a moment to reflect on a long offseason and a long couple of weeks for the Bulldogs, a program hit hard by transfers after former coach Robert Paxia departed the program last spring.
“It’s really special, and it’s not about me at all. It’s all about them,” Fish said. “These kids went through a lot in the offseason and were dealt not the best hand. They didn’t pout, they didn’t shy away from the challenges they were going to face, they didn’t run and go to a different school. They stuck it out here because they love it here.
“We understand we’ve got a lot of doubters after we lost a lot of really talented kids. But these kids really took it personal, the things that were being said about them and some of those guys leaving.”
Cronk is certainly one of those players. So is fellow junior Marcus Mitchell, who grinded out 25 punishing carries, breaking tackles and carrying defenders 138 yards along the way.
The two have helped set the tone all offseason and whether its Mitchell (5-9, 225) out of the spread, or Cronk — lining up behind fellow bruisers Ethaniel Laupepa (6-1, 215) and Tra’vell Adams (6-foot, 285) among others — they have established a standard of physicality that is difficult to stand up to over four quarters.
“We came back in that bye week and we put in work,” Cronk said. “We grinded. We didn’t put our heads down. We made sure that wouldn’t happen again and I love that. Hard work pays off.”
Here are three takeaways from FPC’s first win in the Daniel Fish era.
Gonzalez secures starting quarterback job
After rotating three quarterbacks in the team’s loss to Suwanee, there was no such timeshare on Friday with Gonzalez taking every snap — at least those Cronk didn’t take.
And for the most part, he played well, hitting 8 of 14 passes for 108 yards and no interceptions. Particularly, he showed a nice rapport with junior wideout Mikhail Zysek, who was on the receiving end of seven of those completions for 100 yards.
“He came out and performed really well toward the end of that game against Suwanee, and we saw something in him, and we saw the guys really gravitating toward him,” Fish said. “We made it an open competition that first bye week, he solidified himself as a one. It was competitive this week, but he kind of ran away with it.
“He was making all the right plays in practice, and I’m a big believer in what you do on the practice field translates to the game field.”
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Young team makes clutch plays
With the bulk of the team comprised of 11th graders, and behind a quarterback that hadn’t played organized football prior to this season, FPC flashed some big-time moxie when it needed to.
After taking a 7-0 lead with an opening 14-play, 80-yard march capped by a 3-yard run from Cronk, Bishop Moore drove to the FPC 30 before quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen was picked by Ayden Peterson. The Bulldogs made the Hornets pay again a little later, capitalizing on a shanked, 0-yard punt with Cronk’s second touchdown to take a 14-0 advantage early in the second period.
Jurgensen would settle in, eventually throwing for 221 yards, hitting on 22 of 33 passes. And he had his chances in the second half.
With the score 21-14, Bishop Moore took over on its own 30-yard line but went three-and-out, thanks to Cronk’s second sack on a third-and-9. FPC took over at its own 43 after a punt and put together the death blow, traversing 57 yards with Cronk plowing in from 7 yards out with just 4:27 remaining. The Hornets drove back to the FPC 23, but a fourth-down throw was batted down in the end zone and the Bulldogs were able to run the clock out from there.
All told, FPC piled up 233 rushing yards with freshman Ehimen Ajede adding 80 on 10 rushes including a 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 21-7.
Potato Bowl, Matanzas loom
Crosstown rival Matanzas had scheduled game at Deltona postponed due to field conditions. The game will be made up on Oct. 2.
But shortly after the final horn sounded on Friday, FPC officially set its sights on the Pirates and the Potato Bowl.
“We’re looking forward to it, very much so, I’ll tell you that much,” Cronk said. “It’s going to be fun.”
Fish didn’t shy away from it either, bringing it up in the postgame huddle with his message being met by loud hoots and hollers from Bulldogs players.
“You don’t have to motivate these kids for this kind of game,” Fish said. “Those guys have done an awesome job building that program, and they’re a much-improved team from the last couple of years, and I know they’re hungry to get after us.
“But I know a lot of our guys have really taken it personal, hearing a lot of the praise and noise that’s been going on from that direction, and I’m excited to line it up and play against them.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Palm Coast beats Bishop Moore for first football win under Fish
