Tiger Sharks finish 5-5, prepare for post-season
It was a dogfight the entire first half last week, as the Port St. Joe Tiger Sharks hosted rival Blountotwn on Nov. 7.
But two aerial touchdown strikes in the second half proved the difference, as the Tigers edged the Sharks 13-9.
In the first quarter, both teams had been unable to sustain drives, pinning their opponent deep in their own territory. Tiger Shark J. D. Becton had picked off a pass, but the Tigers followed with their own interception, and the back and forth continued.
But with just 15 seconds left in the quarter, and the Tigers back just a yard or so ahead of their own goalline, senior quarterback Tristan King fumbled the snap and the Tigers pounced on the ball in their own end zone for a St. Joe safety.
In the second quarter, Port St. Joe scored to go into the locker room with a 9-0 lead.
But in the second half, Tiger sophomore Curt Ellis caught two touchdown passes from senior Tristan King, who was 8 of 15 from the air for 92 yards. The Tigers had 93 yards on the ground, led by Ellis who gained 83 yards on 12 carries.
“When you look at bodies, they are some good-looking kids, they’re definitely faster than us but we were able to contain their speed most of the night,” said coach Tanner Jones. “Right there at the end we had good coverage. It was just a perfect ball and the guy (Ellis) goes up and makes a great catch, and that’s it.
“I thought we played unbelievable, head and shoulders it’s the best we’ve played,” he said. “Offensively we struggled, we missed blocks. It was a great game. I was very pleased and proud of our guys, a great four quarters of football.”
The Tiger Sharks now enter the B bracket invitational tournament, which makes them ineligible for a state title, as a second seed, with Franklin County as a third seed and Wewa as a 12th seed, facing fifth seed Dixie County in Cross City this week.
“That allows us an off week, and we would get to host in two weeks which gives us time to recover after a game like this,” said Jones. “I am a firm believer that any coach who doesn’t want to play in a B bracket, because they think it’s beneath them, is selfish.
“We’ve figured out who we are and we’re playing good football right now so why not go and continue to let our seniors go out and play,” said Jones. “Once it’s over, it’s over. Any coach that doesn’t want to play in the B bracket is selfish because they’re taking a game away from their seniors.
“Every week you get to play, your underclassmen get a little bit better, they get more experienced and they’re only building for the future,” he said. “It bothers me that people dropped out of it because they literally took reps from their seniors who may never play football again in their life.”
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.