Pensacola Catholic football dominates in FHSAA 1st Round Playoff Win

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The upperclassmen on Pensacola Catholic’s football team remembered this week the empty feeling experienced a year ago, after a stunning, opening round playoff loss against Walton at home.

The Crusaders emphatically ensured that memory was purged, following Friday night’s 48-0 win against Panama City-Bozeman in the Region 1-2A quarterfinals in a game played with a running clock most of the second half.

This time, the team remained on the field at Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium to visit with parents, friends and teammates and savor the moment.

“I would say both sides of the ball executed nicely on every play, gave our all on every down, so it was very good night,” said Catholic junior quarterback Jaylin Brown.

It was also a special night for Crusaders first-year head coach Bobby Clayton. In his coaching travels, Clayton had not experienced a playoff win as a head coach. Until now.

As he paced with anxiety during pregame warmups, his assistant coaches reassured by saying, “It’s going to be okay, coach.”

And it was.

The Crusaders (9-1) scored touchdowns on their first two possessions with long drives. Senior Gavin Lashley then took over the game with an interception that led to a touchdown, an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown, and pulled off a direct snap on a fake punt to set up another score all in the first half.

Midway through the third quarter, the Crusaders scored again to trigger a running clock.

“Coach Clayton did a very good job of just installing that last-year moment into our heads,” Brown said. “So, we came back here (Friday night) and would not let that happen again. We had some chats about the seniors here cherishing their home playoff game.”

Another home playoff game awaits on Nov. 21 when the Crusaders will have a rematch against South Walton, a team Catholic beat 24-13 on October 10 in the Crusaders’ homecoming game. That win clinched the District 1-2A crown. The next meeting determines who advances to the region championship.

“You always hear that saying about it’s hard to beat a good team twice. Well, we’re fixing to find out how good we are,” Clayton said. “South Walton (which beat Freeport 42-3 in its first-round game) will be a great challenge. They are a good team and good program.”

While his players didn’t sense it, Clayton reflected afterward how nervous he felt prior to kickoff Friday.

“My coaches could tell  pregame that I was uptight,” Clayton said. “This is my first playoff win as a head coach. Done it a bunch of times as an assistant coach.

“It really means a lot, these kids pulled together, played their tails off and once I knew we had control of the line of scrimmage, I knew we would be okay.”

Catholic’s 10-play, 80 yard scoring drive on the game’s opening possession was reassuring to Clayton. Another 10-play drive, this one 63 yards, followed for a 14-0 lead. In both drives, Ethan Crandall finished it off with a short touchdown run.

Lashley’s interception on the ensuing possession, along with his 11-yard return to the Bozeman 29, then set up Caleb Willoughby’s touchdown.

It became 34-0 at halftime and the Crusaders were able to play their backup position players throughout the second half.

Here are three takeways from Catholic’s playoff win.

Lashley’s Long-Await Punt Return Score

As Gavin Lashley sped down the Catholic sideline – his teammates celebrated – Lashley’s father Chad, a Catholic assistant coach yelled to Clayton “I think he’s got this one.”

Hold on.

“I was hoping he would have broke through and scored before,” Clayton said. “I think five or six times this year he’s either picked one off or taken a punt to the end zone and it’s been called back by a penalty.

“Then we saw a flag on the field and I was like, you gotta be kidding me!’ but (officials) waved off the flag and so we’re excited.”

The punt return was part of Lashley’s huge night. He intercepted a pass to set up a score and then the fake punt on direct snap led to another.

“We have a little bag of tricks that we do every now and then,” Clayton said with a wry smile. “It’s great for Gavin. He has worked his tail off. He got his first (scholarship) offer this week from  Valdosta State.

“I think there’s a lot more to come for him. He’s been a tremendous player for us. He is the heartbeat of our defense. When he is flying around like he was, the rest of the defense follows suit.”

Return Of Dual-Threat Backfield

The tandem of junior running backs Crandall and Willoughby has produced a nickname of “Splash and Thunder” or the traditional Thunder-Lightning moniker.

“Crandall is definitely Thunder,” Brown said. “He is more the downhill runner. Willoughby can go outside and turn it on. He hits the edge and he can take off.”

The biggest aspect, as Clayton pointed out, is the full strength return of Willoughby following an early season injury.

“It’s definitely good to get lightning back,” Clayton said. “He was back to himself. He is a special kid, because he can do so many things for us as running back or receiver. You can put him in the slot, he has great hands.”

Another Strong Sluder

An injury provided 14-year-old freshman McKinley Studer to start on the defensive line, fresh off the junior varsity team. He became a noticeable force, towering over teammates and adding to the family legacy.

His father, Keith, and uncle Kevin, were both football players. Kevin Sluder went from Escambia High to helping Mississippi State’s defense in 1998 win the SEC West Division title as a 13-game starter. He then went on to play arena football with the Pensacola Barracudas with Bobby Clayton at quarterback.

McKinley spent plenty of time in Bozeman’s backfield Friday and is already bigger than his uncle was in high school.

“He had a great week of practice,” Clayton said. “He understands what his role is. He is just a young guy and you roll the dice when you throw a freshman out there, especially in a big game like this, but he really stepped up.

“He’s going to be begging me to play defensive line but he is really an offensive lineman. In the spring, he is probably coming back on offense.”

Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Catholic football dominates in FHSAA 1st round playoff win

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