Wet and Wild: Pensacola Catholic survive the pouring conditions, hang on for win at Escambia

There's nothing more satisfying for a football coach than to be soaked with water or Gatorade in the closing minutes of an impending win.

But this victory shower wasn't exactly what Pensacola Catholic head coach Matt Adams had in mind.

The Crusaders controlled the action on the field Friday against Escambia prior to a torrential downpour soaking everyone in attendance. Once the skies opened up over Emmitt Smith Field, the visitors nearly saw triumph, literally and figuratively, slip from their hands. In the end, Catholic exited a wet and wild affair with a 13-12 win.

"I think both teams were just trying to survive at the end," Adams said. "You can't really put in an offense when it rains like this. I'm glad we had the lead when the rain came and we're lucky to be able to hang onto it. We almost lost it there."

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Pensacola Catholic, who improved its record to 2-0, had a 13-6 advantage when the rain came crashing down with five minutes remaining. The conditions immediately eliminated any opportunity of moving the ball down the field, leaving a bad snap or turnover as either team's only real chance of creating offense. With that, the Gators' wishes were granted.

A snap from midfield back to Crusaders junior running back C.J. Nettles was mishandled. Escambia senior defensive back Tadarius Wright scooped up the fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:17 left.

The home team had a chance to steal the win with a successful two-point conversion, but the team was whistled for a 15-yard celebration penalty after players left the sideline to join Wright. That pushed the point-after attempt to the Crusaders' 17-yard line.

On the ensuing play, Gators senior quarterback Anthony Hall scrambled to his left, but his pass wobbled to the turf, falling well short of the goal line.

"I think we're very undisciplined. We ran all the way down there out of the (sideline) box," Escambia head coach Mike Bennett said. "That's our fault, that's all on me."

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Catholic got on the scoreboard just two plays into the night.

A wide receiver in motion opened up a one-on-one opportunity on the outside for Cayden Jasso. With the sophomore beating his man, junior quarterback Ryan Huff delivered a perfect ball over the outstretched arms of Gators junior defensive back Taiylor Bradsher. Jasso did the rest on a 67-yard touchdown reception.

In the second quarter, Nettles added to the cushion when he reached the end zone on a 13-yard run the second quarter.

Prior to the Wright's scoop-and-score, the Gators' (1-1) only points were aided by a Catholic mistake. A poor snap on a punt set the home team up on the Crusaders' 1-yard line. Three plays later, Hall hit Mason Moore on a 3-yard scoring pass early in the fourth.

Here are three takeaways from Friday's game.

'They were all over the field'

While it's hard to prepare for, given that it's Florida, a massive shower can hit an any moment. There aren't too many players in this state who haven't played in the rain, but for Turner McLaughlin, Friday night's downpour offered up a severe case of deja vu.

Last season while playing for Gulf Breeze, McLaughlin was on the visiting sideline at Emmitt Smith Field when a Week 3 clash with Escambia was impacted by a heavy downpour. The Dolphins were defeated that night, but this occasion produced a different result for the senior linebacker.

"Last year was a similar situation, but this was a lot better outcome," McLaughlin said.

With a sack to force a punt on Escambia's second possession along with multiple tackles for loss and a forced fumble later in the game, McLaughlin, along with the rest of Catholic defense, set the tone from the outset.

Following a 100-yard, three-score performance in Week 1, Gators junior running back Dorrion White did not break out at any point. Meanwhile, the visitors keyed on Escambia's short passing game as tacklers were quick to the ball on passes to the outside.

Early in the third on the only drive where the Gators offense neared the red zone, Catholic senior defensive lineman Desjon Robinson jumped on top of a fumble for a takeaway.

"They were all over the field," Adams said of his defense. "They didn't give up much room up front, those guys were after the quarterback all night long. The secondary kept every one in front. (The Gators) have a lot of speed out there, but we were able to keep them away from big plays. Hats off to all of them, that was a team defensive effort right there."

McLaughlin added: "You have certain things that you key in on no matter what the conditions are. As a team, we came out and we shut them down. We knew that if it was going to rain tonight and if we shut down the run, we'd shut down the whole offense."

Early boost

Arguably Pensacola Catholic's best offensive weapon, senior wide receiver and Arkansas State commit Jayvion Showers did not play due to a hamstring injury.

The Crusaders were without their playmaker on the outside, but got contributions from others.

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Jasso and freshman wide receiver Geno Cunningham made multiple grabs to help extend drives and keep the ball out of Escambia's hands. The visitors didn't muster much offense, but those two helped produce just enough.

"I thought we had some opportunities to score a few times, but just had some miscues. Overall, it was big for us to come out and get a lead early and have a little momentum going our way," Adams said. "I'm happy for Cayden and the (offensive) line did a good job for a big win."

Flat

It wasn't simply that Catholic jumped ahead and played with intensity. Escambia was stick in the mud from the opening kickoff.

The problems seemingly multiplied with every drive as penalties and mistakes derailed the hosts.

A late hit out of bounds extended a Catholic drive, which resulted in Nettles' score. Just before halftime, White had a 50-yard touchdown catch wiped off the board due to a holding call. Several bobbled and high snaps often turned manageable distances into third-and-long. That was all during dry conditions.

After a slow start, Escambia's defense did its part. The Gators stopped Nettles short of first-down yardage on a fourth-and-1 in the first half. The Crusaders didn't have many first downs in the second half, but it was all too little, too late.

"Our defense played a hell of a game," Bennett said. "We had chances to score. Their defense played a hell of a game, just like I knew was going to happen. But being undisciplined and not being able to kick the extra point hurt us. We had a chance to tie it up, but everyone leaves the sidelines. That's crazy."

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 outlasts Escambia in wet and wild affair