By: Jeff Doke

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Frederica Knights followed up their defeat of defending GISA Class AAA State Champions Valwood with a defeat of defending GISA Class AA State Champions Memorial Day.

The Knights took their unbeaten record to 5-0 with a 23-3 victory, sending the Matadors to a 1-3-1 overall record.

For the second week in a row, the game got off to a rough start for the Knights. After Memorial Day won the toss & deferred to the second half, the normally sure-handed RB phenom Jashawn Sheffield fumbled the opening kickoff, giving the Matadors first & 10 just outside the red zone.

The Knights defense held, keeping Memorial Day from the first down and limiting them to a field goal. Those three points would turn out to be the only points the Matadors would score all night.

On the next series, sophomore QB Gaven Williams led the team to a 3 and out series, leading some in the stands to worry that it could potentially be a long night under the oaks.

Sophomore WR/DB Jaylin Simpson quelled those fears on the next defensive series, posting a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown.

For the record, this is the second week in a row that the Knights have had a 55-yard pick-six. Sheffield, who had the 55-yard interception & touchdown in the Valwood game, added a two-point conversion to Simpson’s touchdown after a Memorial Day penalty on the extra point try.

The Simpson interception was the first of five turnovers on the night for the Frederica defense.

“Our defense has been creating turnovers” said Head Coach Brandon Derrick after the game. “No one is giving them to us, we’re going out there and taking them.”

The score remained at 8-3 until the final minute of the first half, when Williams connected with junior WR Chris Myrick on a 29-yard touchdown throw. Fullback Rett Thompson added another two-point conversion after another Matadors penalty, taking the Knight to halftime with an 18-3 lead.

“(Gaven) made a beautiful throw. We executed the two-minute offense about as good as anyone could have, and we did it in less than thirty seconds” said Coach Derrick. “That was a big momentum swing going into the half like that.”

The momentum seemed elusive in the second half again, as Frederica spent the entirety of the 3rd Quarter on their own side of the 50 yard line.

“Our defense is solid. Our offense is there, we’re just not making the plays at times” Coach Derrick elaborated. “We dropped a couple of big ones tonight.”

The Knights offense finally got on the board again in final minutes of the 4th quarter when Williams connected on his second touchdown throw of the night, connecting with Simpson on a near perfect post pattern in the back corner of the end zone. Junior PK John Mitchell Brock added the extra point, keeping him from having his first scoreless game since a 43-0 shutout loss to Robert Toombs Christian Academy during Week 5 of his freshman year.

Although RB Jashawn Sheffield was held without a touchdown for the first time this year, he was able to provide some crucial yardage on the ground, including two bruising 30 yard runs on 3rd down – once in the 2nd Quarter and again in the 4th.

Standout plays tonight came from several Knights, including a massive 52 yard punt from sophomore Patrick Brunson and back-to-back tackles behind the line of scrimmage from senior OLB Antonio Heyward. Heyward also recovered a critical 4th quarter fumble inside the 5 yard line, forced by sophomore DE Camron Gardner.

Next week, the Knights travel to Dublin to take on the 2-2 Trinity Christian Crusaders. The Knights have an all-time record of 1-1 against the Crusaders, most recently a 34-0 shutout at home last year.

“(Trinity) is going to be a disciplined team” said Coach Derrick. “They run a Wing T offense, and they run it really well. On offense, we might just have an edge on speed, we’ve just got to figure out where they’re going to be and block them. We’ve gotta find ways to win, and right now we’re finding them.”