Trouncing at the Bay: Pensacola Catholic bounces Gulf Breeze with wire-to-wire victory

The patriotic scene at Dolphin Stadium was initial festive from a rivalry game.

The Gulf Breeze student section was draped in red, white and blue while the players donned their special Blue Angels jersey. Lastly, the school put on a booming fireworks display at halftime.

But by night's end, with home fans quietly heading for the exits before the final whistle, it was the visiting side making the most noise.

Powered by an unrelenting defense and battering running game, Pensacola Catholic controlled the Battle of the Bay from the opening kickoff, cruising to a 38-17 victory over the Dolphins.

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It's the second straight win for the Crusaders in this rivalry, as they won last year at home by the same score.

"In a game like this, it's emotional for both sides. That's why it's an exciting game," Catholic head coach Matt Adams said. "I told (the players) before the game that you got to play fast and play hard, but you have to play smart; don't let your emotions get to you. Just do your job, don't try to do anything more. If you let your emotions get to you, you end up trying to do too much and that's when big plays hit you on either side of the ball. But proud of them for playing within their emotions, playing hard and finishing out it the second half."

Entering the locker room up by just seven points, the Crusaders stormed out to the gates with two touchdowns within the first eight minutes of the third quarter.

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Beginning the second half by recovering an onside kick, junior athlete Nigel Nelson capped an eight-play, 51-yard with a 5-yard score out of the Wildcat for his second touchdown on the night.

Seemingly making plays everywhere on the field. the junior athlete had quite the night. Getting the brunt of his carries once starting running back C.J. Nettles, who opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 41-yard run, went down with a leg injury, Nelson finished unofficially with 98 yards on 11 carries.

"It's feels good (to beat Gulf Breeze)," said Nelson, who also had an interception. "It wasn't really about us. They were doing a lot of talking online and we were trying to show it on the field. We did less talking and we came out and proved them wrong."

Catholic started its next possession pinned on its own 1, but Nelson got the team out of danger with a 16-yard scamper. That would start the longest drive of the night as the visitors marched 99 yards and extended its lead thanks to a 9-yard run by LaDon Johnson.

While the offensive front allowed the Crusaders to move the ball at will, the defensive front was just as menacing. Dolphins quarterback Battle Alberson was sacked seven times and tossed two interceptions.

"It's always a good game between us, but we came out and hit them in the mouth," Catholic junior defensive end Jeremiah Shelby said. "The coaches did a good job game-planning this week. We just came out more physical and that's what it comes to. Good luck to them and the rest of the season."

The hosts had most of their positive plays late in the first half, with Gavin Quenneville providing the spark. The senior athlete had catches of 35, 30, 17 and 21 yards over the Gulf Breeze's final two possessions prior to halftime.

Those receptions set up points as Jake Frazetta get the home team on the board with a 1-yard plunge before Leland Arnette closed the second quarter with a 21-yard field goal.

However, with the undersized lineman struggled to keep Catholic at bay, the Dolphins couldn't get the stops they needed or make plays, particularly offensively, to make it competitive.

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"(Catholic) is a great team. We knew had to play out best game and the kids came out and fought hard," Gulf Breeze head coach Jeff Gierke said. "In the second half, these teams with bigger offensive and defensively lines start wearing on us. We got to get something going on offense because our team goes as our offense goes. We just couldn't get it going that whole second half and they just ran it right at us and wore us down."

The Dolphins dropped to 2-4 this season. They'll head to central Florida to play at 6 p.m. CST Thursday at Tohopekaliga. Pensacola Catholic plays at 7 p.m. Friday at Walton.

The Crusaders will need a huge week of preparation for their District 1-2S battle. But before that, Adams has one thing on his mind with an impending cold front set to hit the region.

"My wife told me that she wants a big bowl of chili with the cold weather coming in," he said with a grin. "So I'm going to cook her a bowl of chili this weekend and then we'll get to work after we get the chili hot and game plan for Walton."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Football: Pensacola Catholic batters Gulf Breeze in Battle of the Bay win