By: Rich Bontrager

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Friday night, on Saint Simons Island, fans were treated to an almost perfect rematch of last year’s playoff season-ending loss to Valwood.

Not only was it scoreless at half-time like last year, but it was scoreless through regulation.

The game began with high emotion and back-to-back turnovers. First, Jaylin Simpson of the Knights intercepted Valwood’s Quarterback, Caleb Burns. The very next play, Frederica’s QB

Denver Anthony lost the ball as Valwood stripped it from his hands.

The rest of the game became a war in the trenches of the front lines. While both teams

struggled to find any offensive rhythm, both defenses played extremely well.

Cameron Gardner (Sr., 6’1, 210) of Frederica made his presence known on several occasions, including a goal line stand that forced the Valiants to turn the ball over on downs.

Head Coach Brandon Derrick praised his team for playing, “a hard-fought game.”

Throughout the game, the Knight’s offensive line struggled to keep Valwood from breaking

through and getting into the backfield. With the Valiants breaking the line regularly, Frederica

found it hard to get any consistent passing or rushing game going.

At half-time, the Knights had only managed one first down.

The second half started with Frederica receiving the opening kickoff and putting together a solid series of plays until QB Jaylin Simpson took a hard sideline hit and an injury forced his removal from the game. Injuries mounted for the Knights all evening and forced the team to adjust to mostly a running attack.

With the game tied at 0-0, late into the fourth quarter, Frederica’s Head Coach called for a long pass toward the end zone and it appeared to have been caught but was waved off by the

referees at the two-yard line.

Penalties filled much of the second half, which caused setbacks

to both team’s momentum.

The high emotion of calls affected several of Frederica’s players and resulted in two penalties that cost them 30 yards and another stalled out drive.

In overtime, Valwood received the ball first and scored with starting QB Caleb Burns

connecting with Willie Robertson for a touchdown. The extra point counted making it 0-7.

The Knights finally scored on Isaiah Jackson’s 16-yard run, making the score 6-7.

Head Coach, Brandon Derrick, chose to go for the win and attempt a two-point conversion rather than kick the extra point and be tied once again. Valwood’s defense stopped the attempt and gave Frederica another difficult loss.

Not only did the Knights suffer their second loss of this early season, but the team also has injuries to assess and heal before going on the road to face Bethlehem Christian Academy next Friday night.