Game of the Year? Caleb Nelson nails last-second field goal to lift Pace past West Florida

The latest installment in the Pace/West Florida series may go down as its finest one yet.

The two teams were never separated by more than one score. And on a night that featured long touchdowns, sacks and interceptions, a physical, hard-fought battle was decided by a sophomore kicker.

Caleb Nelson drilled a 28-yard field goal from the left hash with two seconds remaining to lift the Patriots to a 24-21 victory on Friday night from Marlon L. Bullock Field. It was the first game-winning kick of Nelson's prep career.

"It feels really good because we've been working hard as a team," the sophomore said. "One of our themes has been 'brotherhood.' We've been trying to create that atmosphere, and I think we really did it tonight."

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After a third-down sack from junior defensive lineman Chad Melville forced West Florida to punt, Pace had the ball on its 40-yard line with 3:29 left in the game. From there, the visitors went to its bread and butter: quarterback keepers with Nick Simmons.

The junior called his own number on seven of the next 10 plays, including an 8-yard carry to the Jaguars 11, setting the scene for Nelson.

"It feels amazing," Simmons said. "We came off a tough loss last week, so we were grinding week and we were all mentally prepared for this game. ... We came out, executed and stuck with our plan. (Head) coach (Kent) Smith called some good plays."

While it was a perfect ending, it was far from a perfect night for the Patriots, who had three touchdowns taken off the board due to penalties. They also committed three nearly-crushing penalties on the game-winning drive.

Still, one week after stumbling to a 21-7 defeat at home against Lincoln, Pace enjoyed its bus ride home after moving its record to 2-1 this season in exhilarating fashion.

"We'll take it," Smith said with a smile. "After last week, we found out that Lincoln was pretty good, but we didn't do what we had to do. And at times tonight, we didn't, with too many penalties that really hurt us. It wouldn't have to come down to this, but that's the way it goes sometimes."

On the other side of the spectrum, West Florida (1-2) had to settle for the anguish of dropping a nail biter, with many players driven to post-game tears. But Jaguars head coach Harry Lees refused to let his players hang their heads.

One year prior, Pace demolished West Florida in the trenches en route to a 42-14 rout. When he gathered his players following Friday's defeat, Lees gave an impassioned speech in which he beamed with pride over their performance, ending it by saying the loss "does not define our season."

"A lot of people think that Pace is the best team around here or at least one of them. They are physical with a style we aren't really used to and I challenge our guys and they stepped up," Lees said. "We just came up on the wrong side and we had our chances; we should've been up by 10 (points), at least. I'm so proud of our guys, they showed heart and guts because (Pace) is a good football team. They are two classifications above us and we took them to the wire."

Jaguars senior quarterback John Nicholas delivered three touchdowns passes: a 49-yard strike to Josh Spears in the opening quarter, a 13-yard throw to Keith Washington just before halftime and an 8-yarder to Marquez Jones.

Simmons had rushing scores of 1 and 5 yards. He also tossed two interceptions, each to Trevon Knott. Carson Wright picked off a pass for Pace.

Here are four takeaways from a fun night at West Florida High School.

'I knew I could do it'

In his first year as the Patriots' place kicker, Nelson follows in the footsteps of Reice Griffith, a multi-time All-Area performer that currently plays for Division I Mercer.

Last season, Griffith propelled the Patriots to victory with a last-second kick at Choctaw. This time around, it was Nelson's turn to deliver the dramatics.

And he was ready. When asked if he thought the game was going to come down to him, the sophomore provided a one-word answer: "Yes."

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"Caleb did a good job," Smith said. "He and I had a talk yesterday and I told him, 'It's just another another play in the game. It may be a last-second, walk-off field goal, but it's just another play in the game.' ... I was glad he made it, though. It was big for him, he's worked hard at being able to kick."

Nelson walked onto the field with five seconds remaining. Not every kicker has a chance to lift his team to victory, but the sophomore aced his moment, booting the ball just inside the right upright.

"I was just trying to stay calm," he said. "I knew I could do it, I did it in practice.

"I had a lot of emotions and I was just glad that the team could win and I could provide points for them."

Smashmouth Jags

West Florida has a quick-strike offense that's often reliant on moving the ball through the air.

Yet, the team made its biggest statement by putting on its best Pace impersonation.

Following Knott's second interception early in the third, the Jaguars methodically marched down the field with a 15-play, 65-yard drive that milked nearly 10 minutes off the clock. Thirteen of the 15 plays were rushes, as Jones and junior Daviaun Farrish, lined up in a two-back shotgun formation, carried most of the load.

The marathon drive produced five first downs before being capped by a Jones scoring reception to put the home team ahead 21-14.

Lees said the offense had to be cognizant of Patriots linebacker Jackson Ward, calling the senior "a monster." But by splitting the ends out wide and playing the numbers game, an opportunity to pound the ball emerged.

"We just took what they gave us, and that's what we preached," Lees said. "I looked at the film from last year's game and we kept trying to throw it deep. And we shouldn't have, we should've just taken what they gave us. We did that tonight and we made it a game."

"I told Coach Lees it was like how it used to be in the wishbone, and they ate up the whole clock," Smith said. "That's what they had to do to try and keep us off the field."

Patriot poise

With only a turnover and a tired defense to show for in the third, Pace put together a clutch response.

The road team answered a long drive of its own, traveling 72 yards in 14 plays. The drive had two key sequences.

First, Simmons barely kept the possession alive by converting a fourth-and-3 near midfield. The Jaguars offense initially ran onto the field, believing that the defense made a stop, but after the spot, Pace moved the chains. Later, the visitors narrowly escaped another fourth down when Simmons plunge past the goal line on third-and-goal to tie the game midway through the fourth.

"(West Florida) has a really good, physical defense, but our offense just came out on top," Simmons said. "At Pace, we don't quit."

Lights out

The Jaguars appeared on the verge of a two-score cushion when an odd malfunction occurred at an inopportune time.

At the exact moment the ball was snapped for a Cole Willis 31-yard field-goal attempt late in the first quarter, the lights high above the West Florida sideline went out. The snap was mishandled as one side of the field was stuck in the dark.

Play resumed following a 15-minute delay. The Patriots gained possession as the field goal was not replayed.

In a game decided by three points, West Florida's misfortune, while not the reason for the defeat, proved to be costly.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Football: Pace secures exhilarating triumph at West Florida with late FG