P.K. Yonge Football Falls Flat At Ocala Trinity Catholic

OCALA – The bleachers are mired in a disappointed silence. Many are contemplating aloud whether it was worth driving 50 minutes here to watch a contest that was 28-0 with more than nine minutes left in the first quarter.

The only people who seem to be enjoying themselves are five-year-old Malachi Watts and three-year-old Isla Davis. Nerf football tucked under his left pec, Malachi dashed up and down the first two rows of the P.K. Yonge section of the bleachers. His light-up “Baby Shark” shoes blink as he rocks a hooded long-sleeve shirt of a blue Tyrannosaurus Rex with yellow sunglasses. With Isla gleefully in tow, the two children are blissfully unaware of the product on the field. Boy, were they lucky.

Googling “FHSAA mercy rule” three minutes into a game was upsetting, and discovering no such thing exists in Class 1A High School Football was even worse. When the game mercifully ended, the Trinity Catholic Celtics defeated the P.K. Yonge Blue Wave  49-12. Catholics haven’t beaten anybody that badly since the First Crusade. 

Down 35-6 early in the second quarter, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the Blue Wave (0-9) deep into their own territory, where their drive stalled and the team had to punt. Coach Willie Jackson stood on his own 28-yard line, arms crossed and face stern. The punt rose into the sky out of the back of the end zone and swiftly landed at Jackson’s feet before sputtering out of bounds. He didn’t move. He was numb. 

However, for a man who has had such a successful football life in high school, college and in the NFL, Jackson has not been deterred amidst such a disappointing season.  

“When it comes to coaching,” Jackson says, “you have to coach the kids that you have. I try to get the most out of ’em … I have probably six [returning players] from last year. The rest of those kids, you’re talking about kids that hadn’t played football before. So it gets tough, but you just have to keep plugging away … it’ll get better and better and better. It’s just a building process.”

Despite being down big the entire game against Trinity Catholic (4-4), P.K. Yonge still fought valiantly. Cameron Awuma, in particular, slashed big run after big run to get the Blue Wave into the red zone on multiple drives. 

“He’s a special player,” Jackson said. “It is rough when you’re down, but he has his moments, and the guys responded. It’s tough, but you get to see their spirits … And when they scored the [first] touchdown, you can see everybody got excited, and those are the things you coach for: to make sure the guys are excited and still have hope.” 

P.K. Yonge plays its final game of the season Friday at 7 p.m. at Impact Christian Academy (6-3) in Jacksonville.

Category: High School Sports, Not Latest, PK Yonge High School