Kings of the County again: Jensen Beach crushes Martin County 42-0
· Yahoo Sports
JENSEN BEACH — The Jensen Beach High School football team chanted "Jensen County" in unison after the game while gathered on a wet and muddy field at the Birdcage.
For the previous two years, the Falcons walked off the field after their regular-season finale having to accept the bitter taste of defeat against their biggest rival. Their loss last season to Martin County High was particularly excruciating after they allowed only one touchdown but still relinquished the lead in the game's late stages.
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But thanks to an explosive midgame stretch, Jensen Beach can once again call itself the king of the county.
The Falcons erupted for 35 points in less than a 12-minute span en route to demolishing the Tigers 42-0 and regaining the Fergie Ferguson Trophy on Friday night at Jensen Beach High School.
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Coupled with an early-season victory over South Fork, Jensen Beach defeated its county rivals by a combined margin of 65-3.
"It all goes back to offseason conditioning, mindset, working hard, creating a goal for yourself and the team, coming together and understanding what it takes to win games. ... Tonight was just a culmination of everything," Falcons head coach Tim Caffey said. "The kids wanted it. They waited 365 days for this."
Amid rough weather and field conditions, it didn't appear either side would crack the scoreboard, but the home team got on the board right before halftime. Junior quarterback Dre Lott found fellow junior Gage Wilson on a fade pattern for a 7-yard touchdown pass, completing a 13-play, 84-yard drive with 5.2 seconds left in the second quarter.
As the rain picked up, the game snowballed from there.
After forcing a Martin County three-and-out, the Falcons (8-2) struck on their first offensive play of the second half as Alex Thornton burst through the line of scrimmage, bounced outside and outran the defense for a 51-yard touchdown run. The senior athlete then recovered a fumble on the Tigers' first play of the ensuing drive. That led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Lott to make it 21-0 after just 2:33 had elapsed in the third quarter.
Martin County (5-5) went backward on its next possession and punted. Jensen Beach capitalized when Thornton scored again on a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a six-play, 85-yard drive. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when they started their next possession at their own 1-yard line following a muffed kickoff return, resulting in another punt.
With favorable field position, the Falcons needed just two plays to trigger a running clock when Lott connected with Wilson again, this time on an out route for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 13.8 seconds left in the third.
"It feels good (to win)," Wilson said. "It took all of us, and it's good because some of our seniors never got to win this trophy. And (Martin County) talked a lot of crazy stuff, so we came out here ready to play and ready to do what we had to do to get this game over with."
Tyrie McFadden is one of the Falcons seniors Wilson was referring to. The senior athlete delivered the longest play of the night with a 68-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.
This story will be updated.
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Kings of the County again: Jensen Beach crushes Martin County 42-0
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