Santa Fe falls to 1-8

ALACHUA – Baker County spotted Santa Fe an early 7-0 lead and then used its punishing ground attack to score 47 unanswered points en route to a 47-7 District 2-2A win over the Raiders on Friday night.

The Wildcats (7-2, 4-1) put themselves in great position for the playoffs, while Santa Fe, which continues to struggle, slipped to 1-8, 1-4.

The Wildcats rushed for a whopping 343 yards and six touchdowns, with six different players each rushing for a score. Leading the way was the duo of senior Harold Moore (seven carries, 110 yards, one TD) and junior Reuben Jackson (11 carries, 98 yards, one TD).

“They are just big and strong up front and just try to impose their will upon you, which they did a great job of tonight,” said Santa Fe coach and former UF defensive back Shea Showers. “They had a great game plan. We just didn’t get it done tonight. My hat’s off to those guys. They are a very good team. Our guys did the best they could do.”

On senior night, senior quarterback Frank Snead was basically a one-man show for Santa Fe. He rushed for 132 yards on 14 carries, including runs of 62 and 43 yards, and had another 34 yards passing, giving him 166 of the Raiders’ 194 yards of total offense. Otherwise, the Raiders were stymied by the Wildcats, finishing the game with just seven first downs.

Santa Fe’s only score came on the opening drive of the game, with Snead capping it with an 11-yard TD pass to fellow senior Lane Presnell.

“He’s a real good kid who can throw the ball and run the ball,” Showers said. “Wherever we need him to play, he’s willing to do that. But we had a few guys get hurt in the backfield, so we just tried to utilize him running the ball as much as possible.”

The sloppily played game took two hours and 45 minutes to play, with the teams combining for 31 penalties.

Santa Fe closes out the season next week when the Raiders travel to the other side of the Santa Fe River to take on rival Fort White in the “Battle for the Paddle.”

“It’s a big rivalry,” noted Showers. “A lot of the kids for both teams hang out together or go to the same church, so I don’t really have to do any heavy speeches or anything like that. These guys will be motivated.”