Florida High, Wakulla win thrillers, Lincoln drops 70+ on Godby, more | Week 1 Big Bend football

Football season has officially kicked off in the Big Bend, seeing 13 different area football teams in action for Week 1 of the year. While ei area teams fell Friday night, six others rose to the occasion and improved to 1-0 on the year.

In Southwood, Florida High played it close in a rematch of last season's regional title game with Trinity Catholic. Down in Crawfordville, Wakulla walked away with a one-point win over Chiles in an overtime thriller. Over at Cox, Lincoln dropped 70+ points on the crosstown rival Godby.

It was a busy start to the regular season. Here's what went down.

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Florida High 22, Trinity Catholic 19

Florida High - 0, 14, 0, 8 - 22

Trinity Catholic - 3, 10, 6, 0 - 19

It's not every day that the first game of the season feels like deja vu from a game that happened nine months ago. However, at Mike Hickman Stadium Friday night, that was the exact case.

With a young team taking the gridiron for the first time this season, Florida High welcomed Trinity Catholic in a rematch of last season's 3A-1 regional title game. While the Seminoles got off to a shaky start, they were able to find their way, besting the Celtics, 22-19, in a thrilling opening season matchup.

"This isn't your ordinary Week 1 game. These guys are awfully good and have a chance to win the whole thing," Seminoles head coach Jarrod Hickman said. "What an incredible effort by our defense and defensive staff. I'll take the blame offensively. I didn't do a good job getting us into a rhythm early on and getting Jeremy [Johnston] settled down...We just battled through a lot of things."

Things started off little rough on offense for Florida High. Sophomore quarterback Jeremy Johnston was picked off in the late first quarter, and then again in the early second half off of a lateral deep in the Seminoles zone by Brice Summerall. However, it was senior defensive back DJ Barnes on special teams that gave Florida High the jump it needed.

Barnes returned a punt from around the Florida High 25 all the way to the house in a highlight reel run. The next Celtics punt, Barnes returned the ball to the Trinity one-yard line before senior running back Rhyder Poppell scored in the scrum.

"Our senior group was patient," Hickman said. "There was no panic on the sideline and nobody was worried. We've got a really good bunch, especially on special teams. We wanted to give him an opportunity and after that score, he answered it. A lot of guys did really well for him. He was blocked out pretty good."

While Barnes highlighted the offensive/special teams effort, it was the defense that shined Friday night. In the fourth quarter, the Seminoles shut out Trinity Catholic, seeing senior linebacker Ryan Knight make two huge sacks and senior safety Alexander Day make a tip play that prevented a possible receiving touchdown.

The defense flexed big time Friday night and Florida High is looking to roll off of the momentum that it's built.

"Ryan Knight is an incredible football player for us, but I thought our interior linemen held up really good," Hickman said. "Our young linebackers continue to get better and our secondary is a pretty experienced group. The whole effort by the defense, play after play, was really good. It let us work through some things on offense."

Florida High is at Ponte Vedra next Friday, Sept. 2. - Jack Williams, Tallahassee Democrat

Wakulla 25, Chiles 24 OT

Wakulla - 7, 0, 7, 3, 8 - 25

Chiles - 3, 0, 0, 14, 7 - 24

The War Eagles finish on top in a very different result from the last time these two met. Last season, Wakulla walked away with a dominant 42-7 win. This year was a different story.

Senior running back Xavier Blake scored twice for Wakulla and ran in the game-winning 2-point conversion in overtime. Senior wide receiver Samron Brinson made the touchdown grab in overtime, which eventually led to the winning conversion.

Wakulla is at Gadsden County in Week 2. Chiles is at Fletcher.

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Lincoln 71, Godby 6

Lincoln - 20, 28, 7, 16 - 71

Godby - 0, 6, 0, 0 - 6

Yes, you're reading that right. Lincoln dropped over 70 points on Godby in its first game of the season, coming off of a varsity half, preseason win over Panhandle power Niceville. Lincoln scored 48 points alone at halftime. Two programs that are in different places. The win bodes well for the Trojans heading into a challenging schedule.

Lincoln travels to Palm Beach Lakes in Week 2, who feel to Palm Beach Central, 80-0. Godby is at Madison County, who will play Carrollwood Day on Saturday.

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Munroe 28, Terrell County 0

Munroe - 22, 0, 6, 0 - 28

Terrell County - 0, 0, 0, 0 - 0

A lot of news coming out of Qunicy tonight, all ending with another Munroe shutout over Terrell County, 28-0. In its preseason game, the Bobcats blanked NFEI, 40-0. The win means that Munroe has beaten its last two opponents by a score of 68-0.

In addition to the win, senior 4-star safety Makari Vicker announced at halftime his commitment to play football at Oklahoma in the fall of 2023. Munroe is at Leon in Week 2, the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

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NFC 35, Leon 10

NFC - 0, 21, 0, 7 - 35

Leon - 0, 10, 0, 0 - 10

Speaking of Leon, the Lions saw their first action of the season, visiting North Florida Christian. While Leon had a competitive showing in it first game of the year and Tyrone McGriff's first game as head coach, it was the Eagles that were able to walk away with the win.

Despite the loss, Leon kept up with one of the top teams in 1S with a very young squad. Leon hosts Munroe in Week 2. North Florida Christian takes on Marianna at home. Marianna fell to Sneads, 23-22.

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Robert Toombs 36, Aucilla Christian 21

Out in Monticello, Aucilla Christian hosted Robert Toombs to kick off its 2022 campaign. Despite the effort, the Warriors fell short in their first outing of the season.

Sophomore quarterback Joshua Agner went 8-15 passing for 111 yards and one touchdown. Senior running back Jace Grant was held to under 100 yards at 89 on 20 carried and two touchdowns. He'd also record two receptions for 35 yards. Junior wide receiver Eli Conrad had the other score off a 22-yard pass from Agner.

On defense, senior linebacker Gabe Gamalero and Grant had 10 tackles, with Grant causing three fumbles and Gamalero two recoveries. Aucilla Christian is off next week before hosting St. Francis in Week 3.

Taylor County 22, Fort White 17

Taylor County - 6, 8, 0, 8 - 22

Fort White - 0, 10, 0, 7 - 17

Following a preseason loss to Williston, the Bulldogs opened up the regular season with a sound five-point win over Fort White on the road. An early touchdown proved to be the difference in the finish. Taylor County hosts Lafayette, who defeated Dixie County 22-0, in Week 2.

Lowndes 33, Gadsden County 0

Lowndes - 7, 7, 19, 0 - 33

Gadsden County - 0, 0, 0, 0 - 0

The Jaguars opened up their year with a challenge, taking on Georgia AAAAAAA power Lowndes on the road to open up the season. Gadsden County put together a competitive first half, but a 19-point third quarter blew things open for the Vikings. Gadsden County hosts Wakulla in Week 2.

Port St. Joe 39, Jefferson County 8

Port St. Joe - 28, 0, 0, 11 - 39

Jefferson County - 0, 0, 0, 8 - 8

Taking on one of the top teams in the Rural classification, things quickly swung in favor of Port St. Joe and it never looked back. 28 points in the first quarter proved to be too much for the Tigers, falling to the Tiger Sharks by 31. Jefferson County was able to get on the board in the fourth quarter. Tigers are at St. John Paul II next week

Deerfield Windsor 30, Maclay 22 

Deerfield-Windsor - 14, 13, 3, 0 - 30

Maclay - 8, 14, 0, 0 - 22

Rolling off a preseason win over Wewahitchka, Maclay looked to keep things going across the border against Deerfield-Windsor in Albany. Things stayed competitive throughout the first half, but an early touchdown by the Warriors proved to be the edge in the end. Maclay hosts Brookwood in Week 2.

Hilliard 41, FAMU DRS 20

Hilliard - 13, 14, 7, 7 - 41

FAMU DRS - 0, 0, 8, 12 - 20

Another coach getting their first experience at the helm was Alex Williams at FAMU DRS as the Baby Rattlers hosted Hilliard at Chiles. The debut was spoiled as the Red Flashes bested FAMU DRS by 21. Things did start looking up for the Baby Rattlers in the second half, scoring all of their points post-halftime. They host Walton in Week 2.

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Week 1 Big Bend football: Results, photos, highlights from Friday night action