Hurricanes Dominate on Homecoming

Story by: Nick Rubino & Kyle Lander

 

The Gainesville Hurricanes (6-2) rolled past the Ridgeview Panthers (1-7) on Thursday night’s homecoming matchup at Citizens Field with a final score of 49-7.

Offensive Breakout for the Hurricanes

Gainesville High School looked to finish strong in their last home performance of the regular season.

They came out blazing, scoring in the first 20 seconds of the game. Hurricanes running back Kyree Edwards bolted for a 59-yard touchdown as he broke ahead of the pack and headed for the end zone. This would give them an early lead of 7-0.

The Hurricanes’ defense held their own early on against the Panthers. Stuffing every run and keeping their passing game at bay. They contributed heavily tonight, forcing punt after punt and getting the ball back to the Gainesville offense in the first half.

The Gainesville offense clicked on all cylinders tonight. They had a steady balance of pass and run that Ridgeview could not contain. Explosive plays highlighted the first half for the Hurricanes’ offense.

In the first quarter, the passing offense was on display for the homecoming crowd. Hurricanes quarterback Shooby Coleman tossed two touchdown passes in the first. The first one found a wide-open Khamari Frazier for 47 yards as he walked into the end zone.

@Canesville1900 offense doesn’t believe in long drives. This time a 50+ yard touchdown through the air from Shooby Coleman.

1st | 7:39
GHS 14-0 RHS @ESPNGainesville @ThePrepZone @GNVpreps @FlaHSFootball pic.twitter.com/ZvI18ZXXyq

— Kyle (@_KyleLander) October 21, 2021

The next touchdown found wide receiver Brent King for 43 yards through the air for the score. These plays helped Gainesville groove their way to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

A Senior Shines in the Second

Hurricanes’ Senior Ryan Nolan made a huge impact on both sides of the ball in the second quarter.

At the end of a strong Hurricane drive, the team found themselves knocking on the door with a 3rd and goal from the 5-yard line. Ryan Nolan capped off this opportunity with a bulldozing run in order to break the plane.

WHAT. A. TRUCK. Ryan Nolan with an emphatic truck to get into the endzone on 3rd down.

2nd | 6:13
GHS 28-0 RHS @ESPNGainesville @ThePrepZone @Canesville1900 @GNVpreps @FlaHSFootball pic.twitter.com/ge3EABSkMl

— Kyle (@_KyleLander) October 21, 2021

In the blink of an eye, Nolan showed his versatility and awareness on defense as well. As a defensive back he tracked down a tipped pass and intercepted it for a touchdown. He glided down the sideline past the opposing players for the pick-six. These two scores from Nolan pushed Gainesville’s lead to 35-0.

However, the Panthers would not be blanked going into halftime. With late magic and unfortunate events for the Hurricanes, the Panthers wide receiver dodged the falling defensive back, breaking away for a 95-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

This ended the first half 35-7 in favor of Gainesville.

Coach Pollard explained what he told his team at halftime. He emphasized the need to regain focus and be consistent.

Smooth Sailing

After an early defensive touchdown from Hurricanes’ defensive back Kendrick Newton in the second half, Gainesville would increase their lead to 42-7. This score activated a running clock for the rest of the game.

With time ticking away and both teams moving slowly, this game saw only one more score late in the fourth quarter.

The Hurricanes sent their crowd home with one final highlight from Kyree Edwards. Edwards scored on a 35-yard touchdown run to put the final margin at 49-7.

Nearing the end of the fourth here, Kyree Edwards extends the lead with another rushing touchdown. This time a 35-yard one.

4th | 4:49
GHS 49-7 RHS @ESPNGainesville @ThePrepZone @Canesville1900 @GNVpreps @FlaHSFootball pic.twitter.com/OYWXfbsgvg

— Kyle (@_KyleLander) October 22, 2021

Coach Pollard talked about his team’s confidence going forward after tonight’s game.