North Florida Spoils Oak Hall’s Senior Night
After a 5-0 start to the season, Oak Hall looked poised to continue its hot streak. The Eagles went on to lose three straight games, but were excited to bounce back on Senior Night against the North Florida Education Institute Fighting Eagles.
But it was not to be Friday, when the Fighting Eagles out of Jacksonville went into Oak Hall Stadium and beat the Eagles 46-18 behind the electric play of senior quarterback Caden Loggins and sophomore running back Jeshi Carter. North Florida scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to get the crucial win.
The Oak Hall coaching staff knew it needed to instill some confidence back into the team. With some key players injured, the Eagles were at an all time low.
“I told the guys to believe in themselves and know they can be that winning team again,” Oak Hall coach RJ Fuhr said.
Oak Hall (5-4) started off the game strong by going 75 yards on its first drive. Senior quarterback Aaron Akins connected with 8th-grade wide receiver Andrew Schmidt for the touchdown. A missed extra-point attempt kept the game at 6-0.
Akins (9 of 13 for 137 yards, two TDs) continued to find his receivers open before doing the honors by scoring on a 5-yard run, and, after a failed two-point conversion attempt, Oak Hall led 12-0 early in the second quarter.
However, the Fighting Eagles (5-4) flipped the switch. Loggins got North Florida started with a 48-yard touchdown run and a successful two-point conversion to cut the Oak Hall lead to 12-8
In their next drive, Loggins and Carter connected for a 69-yard touchdown pass. Another two-point conversion gave the visitors a 16-12 lead with five minutes left in the first half.
Oak Hall then regained the lead with 41.6 seconds left in the half after Akins found junior running back BJ Johnson for a 42-yard touchdown pass.
Oak Hall’s 18-16 lead didn’t last long. Three plays later, North Florida went down the field for another touchdown from Carter on a 64-yard scoring pass from Loggins for a 24-16 lead at the half.
North Florida went on to score three more touchdowns: on a 51-yard run by Carter, a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Loggins and a 49-yard punt return. Carter seemed unstoppable throughout the game by combining for 231 all-purpose yards.
Oak Hall kicks off its playoff run Thursday with a 7 p.m. home game against the Winter Park Trinity Prep Saints (5-5).
Category: Football, Gainesville, High School Sports, Oak Hall High School
