By Beth Jones
The Pirates scored early and often on Friday night when they hosted Duval Charter School. The Fernandina Beach High School football team (4-0) won 56-6, leaving the Panthers still searching for their first win of the season.
“I’m happy with the strong start we have had,” said Blake Willis, head football coach at FBHS. “The offense was clicking in both phases Friday. Fred (Jones) and Traivon (Martin) both did a great job reading the blocks up front and finding the holes for them to run through.
“Aydin Poe did a great job of getting on top of the coverage to get open and get a couple touchdowns for us in the air.
“Defensively, Kalani (Tucker) had another good stat line at defensive end for us, and OJ (Swift) added to his interception total for his career. OJ had been down about not getting an interception yet this season, but he fixed that Friday.”
Swift opened the scoring with a 60-yard kickoff return. The Panthers responded with their lone touchdown, an 84-yard TD pass.
The Pirates took over from there. Martin scored on a 14-yard run, and Poe reeled in a pair of 36-yard TD passes from Ian Miller. Hudson Kenner was four-for-four on the point-after attempts. The Pirates led 28-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Miller found Ethan Watts for a 15-yard TD pass to spark the scoring in the second quarter. Beckham Rohe ran in from 5 yards out. Jones added a 2-yard TD run, and with Kenner’s three PATs, the Pirates were up 49-6 by halftime.
Martin scored the lone TD of the third quarter, on a 13-yard run. Kenner kicked the point-after to cap the scoring in the game, which was shortened by a running clock in the second half.
Miller completed 13 of 19 passes for 216 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Poe was on the receiving end three times for 90 yards and two TDs. Rohe had three catches for 49 yards, Watts had five for 42, and Khordel White and Jake Holbrook had two receptions each for 35 and 23 yards, respectively.
Jones led the ground attack, with 11 rushes for 71 yards and a TD, and Martin had five carries for 51 yards.
Tucker had five solo tackles and a pair of quarterback sacks. Garrett Beckstrom had four solo stops. Rohe had three tackles and an assist, Poe had two tackles and two assists, Tanner Duffy had two tackles and three assists, Eugene Manning had a pair of tackles, and Cayden McKinstrie had a tackle and five assists.
Duffy and Swift intercepted passes.
The Pirates are back home Friday with Fort White. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Pirate Field.
“This week against Fort White should be a really good tell for what this team is going to be capable of this year,” Willis said.
FBHS is home for the third Friday in a row on Sept. 19, when they host Santa Fe for homecoming.
bjones@nassaunewsline.net
Congratulations! Do It Again!