PANAMA CITY BEACH — Last week Thursday Bay County football teams suited up and gave us a glimpse of what will come this fall at the spring game classics. Find below the key takeaways for each team as they head into the summer workouts.
High school footballBay County Spring Football Preview: Questions each team needs answered
Football all countyWho made the All-Bay County high school football teams?
Rutherford
The Rams faced Arnold and St. John Paull II. The first offensive drive started with a fumbled snap but the offense recovered and what was apparent throughout the two matchups was the effectiveness of the Rutherford run game. Running backs Roman Holmes and Chazton Scott broke open long runs and made huge gains extending drives.
"We had some good runs trying to get the offense moving a bit and overall I am excited about what our guys put out there on the field," Rutherford coach Albert Floyd said. "This summer we have to get in the weight room and be ready to work."
Arnold
It was interesting to find out what we were going to see from a Marlins team that is under new management with offensive and quarterback guru Jason Griffin at the helm. Arnold did not disappoint, with the passing game shining led by underclassmen quarterbacks and towering wide receivers. The offense did not allow any sacks and was able to sustain long drives.
"It is a testament to our offensive line coach Trey Pettis, he is the best in the state and the quarterbacks have worked really hard to learn what we are doing and I couldn't be more proud of how far we have come," Griffin said. "We have some big, tall receivers, and on top of that they are all freshmen and sophomores so we are young and if they keep on buying in we have a chance to do something special."
Mosley
Mosley's spring game was moved to Arnold's Gavlak stadium as the Dolphins faced off against Florida High and Choctawhatchee. Mosley came out swinging scoring on the first offensive drive and followed it up with a pick-six to jump out to a 14-0 over Florida High. The Dolphins went on to win 28-14 and shut out Chocta 14-0.
"Guys have opportunities to step into a new role and it is good to see new faces making some plays," head coach Tommy Joe Whiddon said. "It is good to see guys like Carson (Griffin) and Sammy (Freitas) who made plays last year pick up where they left off and exciting to see Christian Brown get a pick-six."
Bozeman
On May 13 Bozeman named Bronson Sweatt as the football team's next head coach. The Bucks hosted the spring classic against Port. St. Joe, Vernon and Jefferson. Sweatt said the turnout was great and he obtained a good evaluation of his squad.
"Everything we are going to do is going to be physical offensively and defensively," Sweatt said. "Offensively we lean on what the kids can do and how to maximize that because all things look great on paper until you have to go out there and do it."
North Bay Haven
The Buccaneers defeated Lighthouse Private 34-12 with a strong showing from the offensive core of quarterback Lakota Johnson and running back Jayden Spurlock. Johnson finished the game with a passing touchdown to receiver Landon Summers and a rushing touchdown. Spurlock totaled two rushing touchdowns along with running back Bryant Siegal running one in for a score.
Bay High
The Tornadoes hosted Tate High and were ultimately defeated 49-32. Bay High running back Caleb Toombs totaled over 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The 32 points scored were a positive showing for an offense that only averaged 21 points per game a season ago.
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
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