Gainesville edges Trinity Catholic
OCALA — Gainesville running back Kyree Edwards scored the game’s only touchdown on an 11-yard run late in the first half, and the Hurricanes' defense forced four turnovers in a hard-earned 7-3 win over Trinity Catholic on Friday night at Dunlap Field.
The win improved Gainesville to 2-1 on the season.
"It was by no means pretty but it's better to be working to get better on this side instead of the losing side," said Hurricanes coach and former Florida Gator standout Dock Pollard. "We won two games each of the last two years and we've already matched that. Our calling card is our defense and it's good to learn how to win again. We lost 38-7 to Trinity Catholic last year, so to get a win on Dunlap Field against a John-Brantley-coached team, who is my mentor and helped me get to where I am right now, feels good."
The loss dropped the Celtics to 0-2 overall.
"It's a new year and we've got a lot of new players and new faces but that's no excuse," Brantley said. "We have to do a better job offensively and I'm the head ball coach and it starts at the top, so I can't blame anybody but myself. We're going to come back on Monday and work to become a better football team."
Gainesville opened the game with a three-and out and was forced to punt.
Trinity Catholic took over on its 47-yard line and ran the ball effectively with Beau Beard and Brice Summerall picking up first downs. Quarterback Cole Gonzales scrambled for nine yards and a targeting penalty moved the ball to the Gainesville 11.
The Class 6A Hurricanes' defense stiffened and sophomore kicker Justin Arroyo came on to boot a 32-yard field goal to give the Celtics a 3-0 lead with 2:23 left in the opening stanza.
GHS had trouble moving the ball with any consistency against a swarming Trinity Catholic defense the entire first half. The Hurricanes didn't cross midfield until midway through the second quarter and were forced to punt.
Trinity took possession inside its 10 with under three minutes left in the first half. A first-down pass by Gonzales went off the hands of the receiver and was intercepted by Gainesville's Kendrick Newton at the Celtics' 11.
The Hurricanes scored in one play as Edwards ran up the middle untouched for an 11-yard scoring scamper. Edwards, a hard-running junior, finished with a team-high 53 yards on 12 carries. The extra point by Cooper Badics gave Gainesville a 7-3 lead with 2:28 remaining in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Trinity Catholic returned it 99 yards for a touchdown, but a holding penalty negated the score.
Neither team could muster any points in the second half. Trinity Catholic was able to move the ball as Gonzales, who completed 16-of-27 passes for 105 yards, had some success through the air, but the senior signal-caller was stung by four interceptions.
The Class 3A Celtics' rushing attack was paced by Gonzales, who gained a game-high 136 yards on 14 carries, with most of his success coming on designed quarterback runs.
Trinity Catholic's Kayden Mccarson picked off a pass by Gainesville quarterback Ryan Nolan at the Hurricanes' 48 late in the third quarter to give the Celtics excellent field position.
But a Gonzales pass was intercepted by Gainesville's Newton at his 15 and the junior defensive back returned it all the way to the Celtics’ 42.
The drive fizzled and the Hurricanes punted the ball.
Trinity Catholic had two more possessions in the fourth quarter. The first one reached the GHS 23 before a fourth-down touchdown pass was ruled to have been caught out-of-bounds by the receiver.
The Celtics last opportunity to pull out the win reached the Hurricanes' 27, where Trinity Catholic faced a fourth-and-four with just over a minute remaining to play.
After calling a time out, Trinity Catholic's Beard, who gained 34 yards on 11 carries, ran the ball, but he came up about six inches short of the first down to give the ball back to Gainesville.
The Hurricanes ran out the clock to seal the physical victory. Gainesville is at Matanzas High next Friday night.
The Celtics will host Tampa Carrollwood Day School next Friday.
"Nobody's going to feel sorry for us," Brantley said. "We're going to see which way this team wants to go. There is enough talent here to win games, our coaches need to do a better job of coaching and our players have to do a better job of playing and executing."