The Silverdale Baptist Seahawks had every chance to give up against a tough Franklin Road Academy team Friday night.
At the end of the third quarter, Silverdale wasn’t playing like a team down 45-14. The Seahawks kept pecking away, but the Panthers simply slipped away on a slick field and rolled out of town with a 45-28 win in the TSSAA Division II-AA quarterfinals.
“They were not going to leave anything left in the tank,” Silverdale coach Mike Connor said of his team, which finished 9-3. “They were going to finish empty tonight, and I believe they did.”
It was a tough night for the Seahawks on both sides of the ball as third-ranked FRA (9-3) — which will host fifth-ranked Battle Ground Academy (10-2) in a semifinal next week — was able to keep drives going with key third-down conversions and timely plays.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football playoffs)
Down 21-0 midway through the second quarter, the Seahawks got a big catch from Boone Perry to set up a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by running back Tate Standefer and get on the scoreboard. But on the ensuing kickoff, the Panthers’ Jayden Rush was able to cut around the last Silverdale defender and take the football 85 yards for an answering score.
Standefer got another touchdown for Silverdale on its following drive, but again, FRA was able to navigate down the field and hit a 33-yard field goal before halftime and take a 31-14 lead into the locker room.
The Panthers, who ended Silverdale’s season for the second year in a row, kept the Seahawks at bay despite two late turnovers. Seahawks defensive end senior Jaxon Carsten came away with a blocked punt in the fourth quarter, but FRA came away with its third interception of the night a play later.
“We had to play better than we played tonight,” Connor said. “We had opportunities multiple times in the game, and we just didn’t take advantage of them. Bottom line, the team that responds the best when it matters most is the team that will win, and they responded better than we did.”
The game appeared to be over, but Carsten again came away with the football three plays later. The Seahawks would cash in the mistake five plays later behind four straight runs from senior Landon Deitch and a throw-back pass from Perry to quarterback Connor Jenne.
Connor credited his team for showing its character.
“Lincoln Michel played his butt off,” Connor said. “Jaxson Carson … ends up getting two fumbles right there at the end. Most kids who don’t care, they would have just quit. These guys didn’t quit. They had opportunities to quit, but they didn’t. High-character kids.”
He also credited his seniors, who stood at the goal line after the game receiving hugs and thoughts from the rest of the team.
“They’re leaving the program better than they found it,” Connor said. “I’ve had multiple people ask me how I get them to play so hard, and they just play for each other.
“There’s a bright future over here at Silverdale.”
Standefer finished the game with 24 yards on nine carries and the two touchdowns for Silverdale. Deitch carried the ball 23 times for 118 yards and a touchdown in his final game as a Seahawk. Perry had six catches for 79 yards and the touchdown pass to Jenne.
FRA’s next opponent, Battle Ground Academy, was a 34-0 winner over University School of Jackson in the quarterfinals.
Next week’s other DII-AA semifinal has Chattanooga’s Boyd Buchanan headed to Nashville to face reigning state champion Christ Presbyterian Academy in a pairing of 12-0 teams and a rematch of last year’s BlueCross Bowl final won by CPA. They’re also tied for first in the current DII-AA state ranking.
Contact Robert Holder at sports@timesfreepress.com.