P.K. Yonge Football Drops to 0-8 After Home Loss
A year of learning and rebuilding for the winless P.K. Yonge football team took its next step last Friday in the Blue Wave’s 60-0 loss against Jacksonville’s North Florida Educational Institute.
The Blue Wave (0-8) faced an uphill battle from the start, missing team touchdown leader Cameron Awuma and seeing sophomore quarterback Willie Spain go down with a leg injury on the first drive.
A hobbled Spain played the second and third quarters before coming out of the game in the fourth.
“We have a very young team, and I’ve been telling them that they have to earn the win and learn how to win,” P.K. Yonge coach Willie Jackson said.
The P.K. Yonge defense proved to be no match for NFEI sophomore running back Jeshi Carter, who came into the game with just 143 yards and three touchdowns on the season, but surpassed both of these numbers in Friday’s game alone.
Carter tallied a whopping 281 yards on just 12 carries, while finding pay dirt five times. These yards also don’t include two touchdown runs of 70+ yards that were called back due to holding penalties.
“He’s a tough matchup and a really good player,” Jackson said. “As someone who played at the next level, I can tell you that he’ll be playing college football.”
NFEI (4-4) also attacked the Blue Wave through the air, with eighth-grade quarterback Braylon Brown tossing three touchdown passes, including two to sophomore tight end Noah Mckenzie.
While it can be tough to find the positives in a 60-0 loss, P.K. Yonge senior defensive back Porter Pedro constantly found himself in the action, leading the team in tackles and breaking up multiple passes.
“Pedro had a great game,” Jackson said. “Despite our struggles, it’s good to know that we’ve got a player who’s executing the game plan. We just have to get all 11 to execute.”
The loss was P.K. Yonge’s final game of the year in front of the home faithful. The Blue Wave would have to pick up a win on the road to avoid a winless season. The Blue Wave’s next shot will be at Ocala’s Trinity Catholic (3-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Category: High School Sports, PK Yonge High School
