By: Alex Mathis

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

One down and 3 to go.

That’s the message Brandon Derrick preached to his team after the game. The Knights were able to defeat Tiftarea Academy, 49-36. Frederica now advances to round two of the GISA state playoffs against Heritage High School.

The Knights were coming off of a difficult loss to Edmund Burke Academy. This loss might have been a blessing in disguise for the Knights. The 21-19 defeat got the Knights attention.

Coach Derrick used this moment as a great coaching moment. His Monday speech after the EBA game sparked a different attitude at practice for the last two weeks. Coach asked for more from his team and the Knights stepped up in practice.

The Knights came out of the locker room fired up and it showed on the field. The Knights defense forced a fumble on Tiftarea’s first possession. Isaiah Jackson was able to score a few plays later.

After a huge run inside the 10 by Spence Massey of Tiftarea, the Knights defense was able to keep them out of the endzone. Frederica’s next score came when Jaylin Simpson connected with Jashawn Sheffield for a 59-yard touchdown.

The Knight defense was able to hold Tiftarea’s offense once again on their next possession. Great plays by Rett Thompson, Santana Clark, Cole Hinson, Cameron Gardner, Deke Jernigan, and Harry Veal helped shut down the run. Isaiah Jackson was able to scamper for a 51-yard touchdown on the Knights next possession.

Tiftarea was able to score on their next possession but the Knights answered on the ensuing kickoff with a return for a touchdown by Isaiah Jackson. Tiftarea was able to tack on one more score before the half. The score at the half was 28-14.

The 3rd and 4th quarter saw a lot of offense from both teams. The Knights finished with 454 yards of offense with 363 of those yards coming from the ground.

The offensive line had an amazing game on Friday. They helped open up holes the entire night. This group hopes to do the same thing next week.

The Knights defense played great. They seem to be in position the entire night. A few missed tackles here and a few missed tackles there made this game way more interesting than it had to be. The Knights hope to make those corrections next week before the second round matchup.

Last year the Knights fell to Deerfield Windsor in the second round.

Before the second round matchup, the Knights faced Edmund Burke Academy and Bethlehem Christian. The Knights won both of those game convincingly and went into the second round matching relatively unchallenged.

This year will be a little different. The loss against Edmund Burke and the tough matchup against Tiftarea should keep the Knights focused going into the second round.

Frederica hopes to build off of this past week’s performance. The Knights have been challenged throughout the season. Next Friday will not be any different. The Heritage Hawks will bring their best game to the island. The Knights have to prepare with this in mind.