JACKSONVILLE – After a sloppy, back-and-forth, and hard-fought battle, Middleburg came away with a 17-7 road win against Episcopal during the Preseason Classic at Jangro Stadium last Friday night.  

It all started with a Middleburg field goal late in the first quarter after a Broncos’ drive stalled at the 28-yard line, but 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior kicker Kaleb Robinson came in clutch with a 45-yard field goal, 

The Broncos put the contest away with 5:42 remaining in the second quarter with a “pick six” interception by sophomore cornerback Vondarius Lane on a Nate Blair pass to extend Middleburg’s lead to 10-0. 

Episcopal’s offense was off and on most of the game, but the Eagles had a brief burst when Blair took a draw play up the middle for a touchdown with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter.  

After a Broncos punt, Episcopal had a drive that nearly took the entire third quarter. The Eagles’ offense seemed like it would stall again, but a Blair completion to Omar Dixon went for a 30-yard pick-up. Less than a minute later,   

Then, with 5:09 in the third, Frank Owens picked up 14 yards to advance to the 1-yard line on a run to the left. But Middleburg responded with a score. It all started with a big rumble up the middle from converted middle linebacker Kendric O’Neal. Head coach Ryan Wolfe called his name multiple times at running back, and it was a good decision, as the Eagles struggled to stop him. 

A 59-yard pass from O’Neal to Jaydan Jenkins essentially put the game away. The senior waited in short range for the sneak attack delivered from quarterback Carson Stewart, a junior with a big arm that had his struggles at times but also turned in an impressive performance. 

The drive was set up by the Broncos’ defense, who stopped a hot Eagles offense that had just marched right down the field for a score right in their tracks. Sophomore outside linebacker Keensdee Roseme delivered a crushing blow with 2:15 remaining in the third with a hard tackle of Blair, who was left with neither his helmet or the football. The Eagles maintained possession but not the game. After the Broncos scored at the end of the quarter, backups took the field. 

Wolfe said the Broncos experienced some first-game “jitters” and growing pains, but having a game film to analyze should be a plus heading into the regular season.  

He said the defensive line played especially well, including BJ Carter, Tucker Cody and middle linebacker Austin Cruce. Defensive backs could have played better overall, but Wolfe said he isn’t worried about the unit. “Those are just things we have to fix,” he said.  

O’Neal’s snaps at running back not only paid huge dividends. 

“I think that he found his way to (becoming) our running back,” Wolfe said. 

Middleburg will play at Hawthorne Friday night in its regular-season opener.