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ORANGE PARK – St. Johns Country Day School got stung twice in less than four minutes at the start of their Sept. 21 game with Florida Deaf and Blind, but fought back behind two scores apiece from quarterback Max Monroe and wideout Cade Walden to win 27-25 in a game filled with momentum swings and rugged play.

“There is a reason why this is always an emotional game for us,” said Spartans coach Bill Sellinger. “I don’t know what it is, but the kids get jacked up to play this team.”

On both sides of the ball, the air game on offense was the striking point on both sides with Florida Deaf getting a quick fumble recovery on the Spartans initial offensive series. The mishap was followed by a deep pass from the Deaf 45 yard line for the first score of the game as defensive backs Patrick Lindholm and Brady Walden fell prey to backfield chicanery.

“They did a nice job selling the fake in the backfield before the throw and we got stung,” said Sellinger. “Their guy got behind them and the quarterback made a great throw.”

Florida Deaf came up with a second turnover on the next Spartan series with an interception setting up an 18 yard scoring pass and a 12-0 lead with 6:33 still in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, St. Johns adjusted their defensive scheme and slowed down the Deaf attack while Monroe and Walden started finding the sweet spot with downfield passes. In the backfield, Troy Myers and Eli Morton started to find slivers between the tackles for gains on the ground as Monroe ended a 12 play drive with a one yard scoring plunge at 6:18 before halftime. The Spartans had just two third downs in the 12 play series with Myers pounding the tackles for gains of six and eights yards and Walden catching a 14 yard pass play to keep the chains moving.

Sellinger started opening up his defensive attack with blitz packages off the corner and the move seemed to alter the Deaf attack as their offense stalled with numerous penalty flags giving Monroe a first down at the Spartan 25 with 2:46 left in the half.

“We wanted to go after them and make them play our game,” said Sellinger.

Monroe would find Walden on the Spartan 22 with a sideline pass that Wilson wiggled his way through a bevy of Deaf tacklers en route to the end zone and a 13-12 Spartan lead that carried to halftime.

“He’s an athlete, plain and simple,” said Sellinger. “We wanted to give him, Troy, Eli and Max as many touches as we could. They are our main game guys.”

In the third, Myers punched in a 14 yard grind on second and two to the Deaf 45 with Morton taking the ball to the Deaf 28 on the next handoff. A pass to Max Arnold, a tiny freshman all of about five feet tall, got 15 yards with a facemask, but, more importantly, ignited the Spartan sideline.

“He’s the smallest kid out there, but one of the toughest,” said Sellinger. “He always wants the ball and he made a big play.”

Arnold’s play led to a four yard scoring run from Monroe as St. Johns took a 20-12 lead. with 6:51 left in the third.

As the fourth quarter started, Florida Deaf hit a second long scoring pass to put the score at 20-18 and create a bit of angst on the Spartan sideline.

“That’s something we have to coach up some more in practice,” said Sellinger. “Those kind of big plays deflate the defense.”

Morton amped up the Spartan sideline with a near-break kickoff return to the Deaf 44 that put the Spartans in great field position to put some points on the scoreboard.

From there, Morton again struck big on a first down run that put the Spartans at the Deaf 19 yard line where Monroe hit Walden on a slant for a score and a 27-18 lead.

“That was big; Eli went big,” said Sellinger. “With a small squad like we have, one or two big plays like that pump the team up.”

Florida Deaf did not buckle as well on their next drive with a 30 yard pass putting St. Johns up by just 27-25, but it was Walden making the tackle for loss to preserve the two point deficit to win the game.

St. Johns (1-3) next hosts Maclay of Tallahassee on Friday.