“I felt good tonight. This is my last year and I am going to run as hard as I can every game”, said Senior RB Matt Story. That is exactly what he did Friday night. His determination to run hard helped lead the Keystone Heights Indians (4-1, 2-1) to a 28-0 victory.
The Indians traveled to Callahan to take on the West Nassau Warriors (1-4, 1-2). This was a game that had playoff implications in store for the winner. The Indians looked to get back on track after a difficult loss to Fernandina Beach last week (23-21).
The Indians came out with one thing in mind; control the line of scrimmage, offensively and defensively. The first play from scrimmage would be a tell tale sign of the type of night it would be for the Warriors. Story started the night off by shedding would be tacklers on his way to a 30-yard gain. Following a 3-yard loss by Story’s backfield counterpart, Greg Taylor, Story got free for a 9-yard run.
The two running backs would continue to share the work load, as they have all season and rushed for a combined 76 yards on the scoring drive. Taylor would take it in from the 6-yard line. The pivotal play of the drive came on a fourth and three inside of the Warriors' 35-yard line. Coach Chuck Dickinson elected to go for the first down instead of attempting a field goal. Story broke loose for 21 yards on the gutsy call.
The Indians' defense was able to hold the Warriors to a short offensive possession. The drive lasted a little over three minutes and only six plays. Once the Indians got the ball back in their hands, they controlled the clock for the next four minutes. Once the second quarter started, Story and Taylor continued to run over and through the Warriors defense. Following another four minutes of ball control offense, Taylor scored from six yards out.
Defensively for the Indians, they were led by Cameron Yarbrough. The junior defensive end forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, had an interception, and threetackles for losses. He also found time to contribute on offense. Yarbrough had the only reception of the game for the Indians.
Following the game, when asked if he would like to get the ball more offensively, Yarbrough said, “It doesn’t matter to me, as long as we are winning. We are a team of unselfish players. Winning is all that matters to us.”
One minute into the second half, Yarbrough would cause and recover a fumble inside the Warriors' 50-yard line. On third and three, Taylor had his best run of the evening, breaking three tackles on a gain of 32 yards. Following Taylor’s impressive run, Story got his first touchdown of the contest.
The Warriors were able to get some momentum on their following offensive possession. This would be the most time consuming drive the Warriors would have all evening, three minutes and four seconds. Not only did Warriors quarerbck A.J. Higginbotham take a hard hit from Yarbrough on the drive, but he also threw an interception to him.
Once the Indians defense put the ball back in the offenses hands, they were able to control more than nine minutes of the fourth quarter. With only 1:57 left in the game, Story scored his second touchdown.
The running game has been the key to victory for the Indians all season long. Taylor finished the night with 96 yards on 17 carries and 2 touchdowns. Story had 158 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. If not for a holding call, Story would have rushed for 204. He had a 46-yard run called back.
The Indians were able to get a very important win this week, and they accomplished it on the road. They will now go back home to face Bolles of Jacksonville. This will be the biggest challenge for this team so far this season. Dickinson realizes his team will have to play an almost perfect game to beat Bolles.
“They are a tough team," he said. "We will have to play smart football. Offensively, we need to control the line of scrimmage, run hard and not turn the ball over. Defensively, we need to tackle well and cause some turnovers. We will have to earn everything we get from them.”
KH 7 7 7 7
WNW 0 0 0 0
KH TAYLOR (28) 6 YRD RUN, MILLER (80) PAT
KH TAYLOR (28) 6 YRD RUN, MILLER (80) PAT
KH STORY (22) 10 YRD RUN, MILLER (80) PAT
KH STORY (22) 3 YRD RUN, MILLER (80) PAT
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