Spring football: What we learned about South Fork in dominating night vs. Olympic Heights
STUART – The South Fork High football team scored in every quarter, including 28 points in a wild second quarter, and went on to a 68-20 victory over visiting Olympic Heights in a spring football game Friday night at Joebud Staggs Stadium.
The Bulldogs set the tone with touchdowns on their first two possessions, including a 75-yard screen pass from Calum Fritz to Tony Jefferson on the second play of the game. Fritz then hooked up with Omar Mejia on a 9-yard flip pass less than 3 minutes later.
Two more Fritz passes in the second quarter, a 79-yarder to Mejia, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and a 25-yarder to a wide-open Jefferson down the middle of the field opened a 28-0 lead.
Olympic Heights finally got its offense going, scoring all 20 points in the final 4:02 of the second quarter. Quarterback Hunter Gilman hooked up with Nick Dapolito for 6 yards, Jeremiah Pierre for 75 and David Gutierrez for 25 on an untimed down on the final play of the half.
In between, Fritz threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Senmaj Henry and bullish runner Janarro Sumpter ran for a 9-yard score.
South Fork linebacker Matthew Pascual got the only defensive touchdown of the game, a 30-yard interception return.
A 45-yard yard touchdown pass from Dylan Edwards to Mejia made it 60-20 and started a running clock with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Edwards also connected with Jefferson for a 22-yard score in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring and give the scoreboard operator a rest.
Olympic Heights takeaways
When the Lions gave Gilman time, he was able to find receivers. Displaying toughness throughout, Gilman was 6-of-11 for 156 yards in the second quarter and 9-for-18 for 187 yards in the game. He also rushed eight times for 30 yards and earned the respect of the South Fork coaches. “We had a couple of good plays and moved the ball a little bit,” Lions coach Derrick Cayard said. “When he got the time, he could make the plays and run down the field. He got some touchdown passes.”
Olympic Heights showed fight throughout the game, even though it was down double digits from the early in the first quarter. “I liked they didn’t give up,” Cayard said. “We just have to learn how to execute more and keep our composure. We have to understand it’s a four-quarter game”
If there was one area of concern, it was the Olympic Heights defense. “We have to swarm to the football,” Cayard said. “Understand on defense that we have to be a unit.”
Cayard is in his first season as head coach after serving as defensive coordinator. “I’m still excited for the future,” he said. “It was a great spring game. We’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously, but there’s bright things looking ahead.”
South Fork takeaways
Fritz also had a monster second quarter, completing 6-of-7 for 230 yards. Overall, the rising senior went 11-for-19 for 387 yards and five touchdowns in 2 ½ quarters. The Bulldogs had three receivers crack the century mark in receiving yards. Mejia led the way with six catches for 251 yards. Jefferson caught four balls for 127. Deonte Wright was right behind with four catches for 126 yards. In addition to rushing five times for 64 yards, Sumpter added five 2-point conversion runs. “They’ve been working hard,” said South Fork coach Antwan Blatch, who credits new offensive coordinator Peter MacDonald for calling the plays. “Pete’s doing a great job with them. He’s a great addition. He brings a new element to the offense.”
Defensively, Maddox Weiner, John Coleman, Pasqual, Davion McDonald, Michael Fabry all had tackles for a loss in the first quarter. McDonald recorded a sack. Erik Kieft picked off a pass in the fourth quarter.
Blatch had plenty to be happy about, but was most proud of the effort. “The kids played hard. They just played extremely hard, and I’m proud of the way they played,” he said.
It was by no means a perfect game. “We’ve got a ton to clean up,” Blatch said. “Just the little things, the details of each play we run. And playing to the whistle, and tackling, definitely tackling.
“But I’m proud of the spring they had. They worked their tails off. This is well deserved, good momentum into the summer.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Fork vs. Olympic Heights spring football game: What we learned
