'Old-school, smash-mouth football': Pensacola Catholic runs its way into regional title game

Pensacola Catholic football head coach Matt Adams had a simple message to his two running backs, Nigel Nelson and C.J. Nettles: don’t stop moving.

It was the Crusaders’ game plan to run the ball for a majority – if not all – of the game at Walton on Friday.

Of the 48 offensive plays from Catholic, only two of them weren’t runs: an attempted pass from quarterback Ryan Huff, where he was sacked for a limited gain, and a kneel from Huff to end the first half.

Simply put, Nelson and Nettles didn’t stop moving. Along with Vaughn Howard, the trio combined for six touchdowns in the Pensacola Catholic 42-15 victory against Walton at Yates Memorial Stadium on Friday in the Region 1-2S quarterfinals of the FHSAA playoffs.

“I told (Nelson and Nettles), ‘Look we’re going to run hard. If you stop your feet, you’re coming out (of the game).’ They’re both competitors. They want to play,” Adams said. “You don’t have to challenge them very much, because they love to compete every snap.”

Pensacola Catholic had backup plans for its offensive game had the run game not been effective against the Braves – but the Crusaders just kept scoring.

So, Plan A worked?

“It did,” Adams said with a smile. “The guys took some pride in some old-school, smash-mouth football.”

Nelson made his presence known at Walton during the first drive. All eight plays from the Crusaders were direct snaps to Nelson. He totaled 51 yards, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown up the middle of the field, essentially walking right into the end zone just a few minutes into the contest.

While Catholic was forced to punt on its second offensive drive during the first quarter, the Crusaders would not be denied the rest of the game – minus drives where the first half or the game, which finished with a running clock, ended.

Nelson scored a 6-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first half to put Catholic up by a pair of scores. Then he made it three-straight touchdowns on another 1-yard run with a quick dive through the offensive line.

Nettles got his name on the scoresheet during the first Catholic offensive play of the second half on a 67-yard run up the middle of the field, breaking through the Walton defense. Nelson got his fourth touchdown minutes later on a 46-yard run.

Howard closed out Catholic’s scoring on a quick 2-yard run up the middle with 6:28 left in the game. But by that point, the game was all but over.

“This was a strange game plan that we had going into tonight. Whether the guys were starting receivers or whatever position they were, they said, ‘All right, Coach. If we’re going to win, let’s do it,’” Adams said. “That’s what I love about this team. It started with our quarterback. I think he took four or five snaps all night. He was on the sidelines cheering those guys on. … Just to have those kinds of kids, it’s incredible.”

Walton closes out its season with an 11-1 record, its lone loss coming on Friday.

"(The Crusaders) had a great game plan. They didn’t play football like they did last time, they just got the big boys up in there and blocked everybody down,” Walton head coach Keith White said. “They just got everybody waddled up in there and we just didn’t have an answer. They’re a lot bigger and stronger than we are."

Pensacola Catholic (10-2) advances to the Region 1-2S championship game on Friday at Florida High School, No. 3 seed in the region. The Seminoles ended the Crusaders’ season last year with an 18-14 victory in the regional semifinals.

Players exclaimed after the game, “We’re going to Tally, baby!”

“These guys love each other, and I love them. We just enjoy being around each other,” Adams said. “So having a Thanksgiving break with each other is just a blessing in itself.”

'The first game was really a fluke'

The Crusaders knew that Friday's game was theirs to lose.

After falling to Walton, 23-21, in the regular season, the game plan completely changed from the last time Catholic was in DeFuniak Springs. The Crusaders tried to use the pass game a little bit more, but the Braves "shut that down."

That's where the majority-run mindset came into play.

"Coach told us all week that me and C.J. were going to carry the load," Nelson said. "He told the offensive line to get ready to push (Walton's) defensive line all night long, because we were going to run it straight at them."

And run it at them, they did.

Nelson unofficially finished the night with 156 yards rushing, while Nettles added 179 yards rushing. Howard ran for over 50 yards, as well.

"We knew we could come back over here and beat them," Nelson said. "The first game was really a fluke."

"We knew the game plan was going to run the ball," offensive lineman Ryland Bragg said. "We dominated up front all night.”

'Their favorite game plan'

Nettles' and Nelson's love for the running game might've only been matched by Catholic's offensive line.

The big guys up front provided a huge spark in such a run-heavy offense. Bragg, Josh Sluder and others found their way through the defensive line, pushing players back several yards at times to ensure Nettles and Nelson could find space in a hole up the gut or find a gap to the outside.

“They loved this week of practice. … They loved the physicality," Adams said of the offensive line. "This is their favorite game plan they’ve had all year long. They were excited for it.”

Despite the size difference between Walton and Pensacola Catholic, Bragg said there's one key difference about the 2023 offensive line: the level of intensity.

"Coach Adams has believed in us all year. He's believed in the run game all year," Bragg said. "Me and Josh Sluder, we maul them all. Left side, they're mauling people. ... I love them all."

'Assignment and emotion'

Thanksgiving is less than a week away at this point, and the Catholic defense provided a little pre-holiday stuffing against Walton's run game.

The Braves compiled just 126 yards rushing unofficially, with eight of those runs for a loss. The team only mustered three runs longer than 10 yards, including a 29-yarder, a 12-yarder and a 17-yarder. Turner McLaughlin found himself in the backfield several times, or right at the line of scrimmage to hold Walton's running backs to minimal gains.

"Our defensive line had a heck of a push all night, so that's why (the running back) was going backwards in the first place," McLaughlin said.

"Coach McDowell did a great job with the game plan," Adams said. "I felt like we were zoned in every snap that (Walton) ran."

In the secondary, the likes of Nelson, Jayvion Showers and Chrissean Jones limited the air game, as well. Not only did they break up several passes, but some came after big hits when the receiver had the ball for mere seconds before gaining possession.

Walton completed just nine passes on 12 attempts. One of the completions was a 54-yard touchdown as time dwindled in the game.

"It’s just assignment and emotion. … They played with great assignment and great emotion all night long," Adams said. "When you play as a team with a unit like that, you plug all the gaps – and there’s nowhere to go."

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Catholic beats Walton in Region 1-2S semifinals, will face Florida High