Indians scalp Dolphins in opener
Fourth quarter field goal lone points in 40-3 loss
BY JASON THOMPSON Gulf Breeze News jason@gulfbreezenews.com

Regrouping Coach Chris Nemith (center) talks with his players after their 40-3 loss Friday at Choctaw. The Dolphins host Pace Friday.

A few missed opportunites from the Dolphins, plus a lot of chances taken advantage of by the Choctaw Indians made for a 40-3 thumping Friday in Fort Walton Beach.

The loss was the third straight season opener for the Dolphins by the Indians, who got four touchdowns from running back Lekendrick Ingram - two on the ground and two in the air.

"What I saw in their faces...showed me what type of character our kids have," said coach Chris Nemith. "They represented the warrior mentality. They gave it all they had."

The 'quarterback controversy' that had developed after Kyle Schnackenberg got injured last week in Choctaw was erased after the team's first possession.

Schnackenberg started the first two plays, throwing a 12- yard pass to Alex Duntz on the second one. Thomas Dorsey got in for a play, scrambling for two yards after fielding a low snap. Schnackenberg reentered and played two plays before the Dolphins had to punt.

Jason Thompson/Gulf Breeze News Shutout gone Michael Mann (14) holds for Thomas Farmer's 27-yard field in the Dolphins' 40-3 loss at Choctaw Friday.

Gulf Breeze got it back after a Choctaw player ran into punter Austin Santiago.

With the team's new 'Titanic' set, which included defensive players Eric Agricola and Brandon Van Camp in the backfield as blockers, Justin Hurd picked up a first down on a fourth and one run.

Hurd was one of the few bright spots Friday, running for 117 yards on 15 carries. Another bright spot was the offensive line, who didn't allow a sack (against a defense that included future LSU TIger Chris Martin) until the final minute of the game.

Schnackenberg picked up a first down on a 12-yard pass to Stuart Franklin. After Rhys Rinke was stopped on a run, Dorsey entered the game. But the Dolphins would turn the ball over on a fumbled exchange.

Ten plays later, Choctaw was in the end zone to make it 7-0. A pair of offsides penalties against the Dolphins aided the drive, which included a pair of third down conversions.

In what would be the stat of the game, Choctaw converted eight of its 12 third down opportunities, compared to only 2-for-11 for Gulf Breeze.

Gulf Breeze went three and out on its next series, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Franklin on the Indians' opening play of their next series. Afirst down run to the Choctaw 30-yard line was negated on a block in the back penalty and the Dolphins had to punt three plays later.

Six plays later, Choctaw had a 14-0 lead. The touchdown play included a missed quarterback sack, a missed tackle on Ingram near midfield and another at the 10-yard line. The PAT with 10:58 left in the first half made it 14-0.

The Dolphins got inside Indian territory with passes of 19 and 16 yards to Cody Warford. But three penalties in a four-play stretch would forced GBHS to punt again.

Afour-yard punt put Choctaw in business at the Dolphin 45- yard line. The Indians converted on a third and 15 play before Ingram caught a ball near the 10, eluded three Dolphin tacklers and scored to make it 21-0 with 6:38 left in the half.

The Dolphins' first third down conversion came on its next drive when Hurd ran for nine yards on third and five. A 21-yard catch from Franklin put GBHS at the 20, but four plays later, Farmer missed a 33-yard field goal to the right.

The Indians added a field goal right before the half (from 30 yards), after Choctaw converted a fourth and seven with a 26-yard pass.

Choctaw, who deferred the kickoff to the second half, went 77 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown to open the second half. Again, the Indians converted on two third downs to keep the drive alive. Quarterback Jace Blanchard completed five of his six passes in the drive and finished the game with 337 yards passing. The extra point was no good, making it 30-0 with 8:07 left in the third.

The Dolphins' next drive included a leaping, twisting, 29- yard one handed grab by Warford. "I had to watch that over and over on film, Nemith said. "I've been coaching a long time and have never seen a catch like that."

Another big third down conversion, a 49-yard catch on third and three, led to a 19-yard field goal by the Indians with 8:52 left in the game.

From that point, Dorsey and freshman Michael Mann were the quarterbacks. Mann threw what appeared to be an incompletion to Justin Hurd, but was ruled a lateral that Choctaw picked up and ran in for a touchdown with 6:48 left.

The Dolphins foiled the shutout bid with a 27-yard field goals from Farmer with 3:37 left in the game.

Gulf Breeze hosts Pace Friday at 7 p.m. - a team they've beaten once in the last 15 years.