Indians rally to beat Williston
Published: Friday, October 12, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 12:00 a.m.
WILLISTON — On a two-game losing streak and down at the half, Fort White was searching for something to change momentum.
“A loss would have been devastating,” Fort White junior running back Tavaris Williams said.
Williams provided the spark, rushing for 205 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead Fort White (4-2) to a 23-14 comeback win over Williston.
Williams' 56-yard TD run on the second play of the fourth quarter gave Fort White a 16-14 lead. Later in the fourth quarter, Williams added a 12-yard TD run to give Fort White some a much-needed cushion.
“He turned it on for us,” Fort White coach Demetric Jackson said. “We always knew that he had it in him. When he gets a step on somebody, he's hard to catch.”
Williams overcame an early lost fumble during a flat Fort White first half. The Indians trailed 14-3 at halftime. Fort White helped Williston with two first-half turnovers.
“We just came out with no emotion, no spirit,” Jackson said. “We were coming off a bye week, but I thought we had a great week of practices.”
Quarterback David Heinkel and receiver Damien Strange provided a lift for Williston (2-4) early. Heinkel found Strange on a 33-yard TD pass to give Williston an early 7-0 lead. Strange added a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter to extend Williston's lead to 14-0 in the second quarter.
But the Red Devils could not overcome a penalty-filled night. Williston was flagged for 11 penalties for 110 yards.
“We have a lot of guys playing on both sides of the ball,” Williston coach Jamie Baker said. “We're asking a lot from them right now,”
When asked if the fatigue contributed to the penalties, Baker responded: “I'll never use fatigue as an excuse for penalties.”
Fort White cut Williston's lead to 14-9 in the third quarter on a 5-yard TD pass from quarterback Andrew Baker to receiver Trey Phillips. That set up Williams' fourth-quarter heroics.
“Our team needed someone to step up and make a play,” Williams said. “And I was able to make a play tonight.”
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