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Raiders’ battle ends short

By Mike Zima Correspondent
Posted 11/24/20

ORANGE PARK – Two touchdowns by De’Andre Robinson and 110 rushing yards from Jojo Restall were not enough to overcome Menendez’s multi-faceted ground game as Orange Park fell 41-24 in a Region …

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Raiders’ battle ends short


Posted

ORANGE PARK – Two touchdowns by De’Andre Robinson and 110 rushing yards from Jojo Restall were not enough to overcome Menendez’s multi-faceted ground game as Orange Park fell 41-24 in a Region 2-5A quarterfinal on Fri., Nov. 20, ending the Raiders’ turnaround season.

“We struggled to stop the run all year,” said Orange Park head coach Tom MacPherson, whose Raiders surrendered 493 rushing yards. “We are not very big up front.”

The teams combined for 42 points in a wild first quarter. In a sign of things to come, Menendez quarterback King Benford raced 79 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. Benford, who gained 218 yards on 28 carries, had scoring runs of eight and 21 yards on the next two Falcons possessions, and totaled four scores on the night.

But the Raiders kept pace. Robinson took a kickoff on the left hash mark, started up the middle, cut to his right and, hurdling a diving tackle attempt by Menendez kicker Bryce Addison, went 90 yards to the goal line after the first Falcons touchdown.

Two plays after he converted a fourth down with a four yard gain, Restall took a handoff off right tackle, bounced it outside and ran 19 yards to the end zone to bring the Raiders within 21-14. On their next possession, three Robinson runs covered the final 30 yards of an 80 yard drive as Orange Park tied the game at 21.

Christian Bartley’s 34 yard field goal accounted for the only points of the second quarter, sending Orange Park into the intermission with a 24-21 lead.

Then came the critical sequence. The Raiders took the second half kickoff and mixed in a couple of Tavien Wilkerson passes with runs by Restall to reach the Menendez eight yard line. But Falcons freshman safety Julian Quintero cut in front of a Tyrone Roberts slant route and intercepted Wilkerson’s next pass in the end zone. Taking over after the touchback, Benford capped an 80 yard march with his fourth touchdown of the night. Instead of a two-score lead, the Raiders found themselves down 28-24, and would not score again.

“The interception was a big momentum swing, but the bigger thing was letting them come out and go on an 80 yard drive,” said MacPherson, who noted that the Raiders had held the Falcons scoreless in the second quarter.

Menendez slot man Tabias Brown took a jet sweep 63 yards for a score later in the third quarter, and essentially iced the game with a touchdown run from eight yards out with 7:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“When we get down, we tend to stay down,” said MacPherson, who vowed to work on the Raiders’ mental toughness in the offseason.

The Falcons left the door open for a miracle when a punt snap flew over the head of Addison, who had to fall on the ball at the Falcons eight yard line. However, after a holding penalty set the Raiders back 10 yards, Wilkerson’s fourth down pass fell short of Cam Griffieth in the end zone. Menendez ran out the final 2:34.

“If we had gone up 10 [at the beginning of the third quarter], maybe they could not have run the ball 50 times in a row,” MacPherson observed.

Indeed, on a rainy night, the Falcons ran the ball 71 times, throwing only two passes. Running back Duane Graham complemented Benford with 179 yards on 32 carries.

After starting 0-4, the Raiders won four of their final six games, with both losses coming against Menendez. MacPherson is optimistic for 2021, and welcomes the opportunities that will be provided by a full off-season of conditioning and weightlifting. Wilkerson and Restall will be back, along with Griffieth and sophomore receiver Nolan Chambers.

“There is no doubt we made huge strides,” he said. “We have a good nucleus coming back next year, and I have got some really good [assistant] coaches.”

Menendez improves to 5-5, and will travel to Dunnellon for a Region 2-5A semifinal on Friday, November 27.