Port St. Joe’s defense holds strong in victory over South Walton

SANTA ROSA BEACH, FLORIDA- With multiple injuries in the first half to South Walton Seahawk quarterbacks, Port St. Joe was able to control the second half and pull out a 20-10 win on the road.

On a chilly night in the Hawk’s Nest, the Seahawks hoped to bounce back from a two-game losing streak against the Tiger Sharks Friday night.

South Walton came into the matchup with a 4-3 record that included some very solid performances against good teams. When their defense shows up, Port St. Joe is hard to beat.

The Tiger Sharks needed their defense to show up Friday night against a Port St. Joe offense that includes two Power 5 commits in DJ Oliver (University of South Florida) at running back and Lajuan Zaccaro (Navy) at wide receiver. After last year’s record breaking season for the Seahawks, this was a must needed win to send them back to the postseason.

The Seahawks recovered a pooch kick on the opening kickoff from senior Zander Cobb and immediately drove down the field to score on a 10-yard Carson Hawk touchdown run. It was a fast and furious start for South Walton and the spark the defense needed.

Thru the first two quarters of play, the Seahawks defense was able to keep Oliver at bay, allowing yards but never the long runs he is known for. Led by linebacker Gavin Garrity (2 tackles for loss, one interception), the Hawks consistently kept the Tiger Sharks in tricky third down situations that forced them into throwing the ball. South Walton was able to make big plays to keep the ball out of Zaccaro’s hands.

The Seahawk offense was able to strike fast and moved the ball well in the first quarter, that was until Hawk was forced to leave the game after taking a hit while playing defense. Hawk put up 45 yards passing and 20 rushing with a touchdown in the first quarter.

His departure left the offense struggling to sustain drives and on the last drive of the half, the Seahawks were placed in a much worse position when quarterback Wells Bettenhausen went down with a concussion after a big gain scrambling down the sideline. Going into the half, the Seahawks held a 10-7 lead but without a healthy quarterback to lead the team in second half.

Sophomore Cannon Page stepped in relief of Bettenhausen and marched the offense on the first play of the second half. Page has not seen a snap under center all season long.

Page (son of former SMU quarterback Dave Page) was able to avoid pressure and convert on a few third downs on his feet, but was unable to connect on any passes through the entire second half.

The Port St. Joe defense however, was able to frustrate the Seahawks the entire second half, holding them scoreless and allowing their offense the opportunity it needed to flip the scoreboard.

Led in the second half by a steady diet of DJ Oliver, the Tiger Sharks were able to grind down the Seahawks Defense. Oliver is a big back, weighing in at 237 pounds and is 6 foot tall and has the ability to wear down any defense. Oliver was able to rack up 119 yards on 15 carries and the game’s final TD.

More importantly, the threat he created opened up the rest of the Port St. Joe offense to move the ball effectively on the ground. Quarterback Devin Cuttino racked up 65 yards and a touchdown on the ground and runnijg back Prince Jones Jr. added another 87 yards.

The first turnover ended on a fake punt that led to an interception by Kellen Speights that was returned 50 yards to the South Walton 15-yard line and led to the go-ahead touchdown, also caught by Speights. After a quick three and out on the next Seahawk series, the Tiger Sharks opted for a pass that was intercepted. Down 13-10, the Seahawks were able to orchestrate a 4th quarter drive that found them on the Port St. Joe 15-yard line and knocking on the door for the go ahead score.

The quarterback injuries proved to be a key factor however, and a fumbled snap recovered by Tiger Sharks ended the Seahawk momentum. Port St. Joe was able to put together a long drive after that fumble and Oliver capped off the drive with a 6-yes touchdown to end the scoring for the night.