PSJ thrashes Maclay in Fall Classic
There may have been a stray rain shower in Tallahassee this past Friday night, but Port St. Joe brought “the storm” with them as they drubbed the Maclay Marauders 50-37. in the preseason Fall Classic.
Playing his varsity for only the first half, coach Tanner Jones’ high-powered offense led 26-0 after only a quarter. For the game, the Tiger Sharks racked up 352 yards on the ground while throwing for an additional 211 yards, an impressive 553 total yards for the game.
“D.J. Oliver had a heck of a night, with seven carries for 188 yards including a 98-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter,” Jones said.
Aiden Gainer added 87 yards on the ground on only two carries, plus hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass. Quarterback Colin Amison completed 7 of 10 passes for 128 yards and two scores. Oliver, Gainer, and Amison are all seniors.
Jones commended the receivers not only for their routes, but also for doing their jobs as downfield blockers. He also said he was proud that “the linemen played great. It was a great overall performance by the starters, who knew who to block and who to cover (on defense).”
As impressive as this game was, Jones said the team had several areas of improvement to work on before the Marianna Bulldogs come to town Friday night, game time at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
“Marianna will be a great test,” said Jones. “This week, we will have to play four quarters of football. They are big, quick, fast, and well-coached.”
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.