Gainesville high school football: Oak Hall topples Bishop Snyder for Week 2 victory
It took an extra week for the Oak Hall Eagles to have their true season debut, but it was worth the wait, as Oak Hall beat visiting Bishop Snyder Friday night, 49-12.
Here are five takeaways from the high school football game.
Game one, take two
Despite its 1-0 record prior to kickoff, Oak Hall only played one quarter the previous Friday night before bad weather shortened its season opener. St. Joseph’s Academy couldn’t return Saturday to resume play, so the Eagles took a win for 12 minutes of work.
Friday night’s contest against Jacksonville Bishop Snyder went the distance, but it took Oak Hall about a quarter to work out the kinks before kicking into a higher gear.
“We hadn’t even had a full warm up,” Oak Hall coach RJ Fuhr said. “Getting into the flow of the game was big. Building some momentum really helped.”
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Eagles dominate recent rivalry
Oak Hall and Bishop Snyder are both independent schools, both competing outside of FHSAA, as members of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference. As members of the SSAC’s AAA 11-man football group, they are destined to face each other plenty more in the future.
But the Gainesville and Jacksonville private schools’ history isn’t very deep. They only began playing in 2019, then again last season in 2021, with Oak Hall winning both. With Friday’s blowout under their belts, the Eagles now boast a 3-0 mark over the Cardinals.
Dakota Brower power
Quarterback Dakota Brower showed off his arm, legs, and leadership Friday night. The sophomore grew three inches and added 20 pounds since being forced into game action last season as a freshman, according to Fuhr. He ran for one score, and had touchdown passes of 29, 45, 15 and one yard, hurting the Cardinals through the air, while also extending plays and possessions by running when needed.
“We have good plays installed,” said Brower. “When I roll out, our guys are open. As the game went on, our offense started to click and our playmakers did a good job of making the most of the opportunities.”
Oak Hall’s got dudes
Depth is going to be a big weapon for the Eagles this year. Six different players scored touchdowns for Oak Hall Friday night. Receiver Carter Dykes was the only player with two scores. The Eagles displayed offensive versatility, as well, enhanced all the more by the number of capable playmakers they boast.
“Our offense is hard to match up with. We’ll go single-wing and then trips. We’ve got some athletes, Fuhr said. “Dakota (Brower) has made some major strides. Carter (Dykes) had a huge game. Neil Ruth is an athlete who makes plays.
Dykes, Brower, Abram Jerkins, Briggs Copeland, Ruth and Dylan Provencher each found the end zone. In all, Oak Hall scored seven times, with four touchdowns coming in an explosive second quarter.
Defense stands up to Snyder
Aside from Cardinals touchdowns early in the first and third quarters, Oak Hall’s defense was well in position to stop runs, pressure the quarterback. Defensive end Tommie Weber had a momentum-swinging sack in the second frame. Weber’s stop caused Bishop Snyder to punt the ball from deep in its own territory.
Copeland scored in two plays, then Ruth caught a TD on the next possession, taking the lead from 21-6 to 35-6 in under three minutes of game time.
“Our defense played really well,” Fuhr added. “We bring the pressure. Our defense came ready to play.”
Oak Hall (2-0) travels to Lecanto to face Seven Rivers Christian next Friday night.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: High school football: Oak Hall gets best of Bishop Snyder in Week 2
