Ocala Christian falls to Florida School for Deaf & Blind in eight-man football

OCALA — A young and injury-depleted Ocala Christian Academy played Florida School for the Deaf & Blind on fairly even terms for the first half of Thursday night's eight-man football game.

But the Crusaders wore down in the second half, as the Dragons controlled the ball and used a punishing ground game that piled up more than 350 yards to pull away for a 52-16 victory.

The win evened Florida School for the Deaf & Blind's record at 4-4 on the season, while the homecoming loss dropped Ocala Christian, which has nine freshman on its varsity squad and was missing seven players, to 2-6 overall.

"We're a little depleted because we've lost some players the last couple of weeks," said Crusaders coach Jim Pierce. "We put up a good fight in the first half but they ran their offense pretty good and they blocked and tackled well. In the final analysis, football comes down to blocking and tackling."

Here are several takeaways from the game.

Both teams like to run the ball

The visitors, based out of St. Augustine, used their size advantage on the offensive line and the elusive moves of senior running back Will Davis to move the chains with regularity in the first half. Davis gained 158 yards on 10 carries. Senior Phoenix Lambirth rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries and scored one of his four touchdowns to give the Dragons a 22-16 lead at the half.

Ocala Christian kept pace as senior Paul Swartout Jr., who rushed for 68 yards, found the end zone from 3 yards out and freshman running back Josh Davis scored on a 62-yard scamper down the left sideline. Freshman Jose Gomez-Devila showed excellent quickness and toughness as he picked up 112 yards on 21 carries for the Crusaders.

Second-half turnovers plague Crusaders

Florida School for the Deaf & Blind scored on its opening possession of the second half as Lambirth capped a five-play, 75-yard drive by bulling his way into the end zone from 5 yards out.

Ocala Christian's first possession of the third quarter ended with a fumble as Swartout was stripped from behind on a long run and the Dragons recovered at their 29-yard line.

Florida School for the Deaf & Blind took advantage of the turnover with a methodical drive down the field with Frantz Valbrun scoring on a short run to give the Dragons a 38-16 lead midway through the third period.

Ocala Christian turned the ball over on downs on its 41 and Lambirth scored on a quarterback sneak to increase the lead heading to the fourth quarter.

There would be no late comeback

Ocala Christian, which had three turnovers, fumbled the ball away on its first possession of the final quarter and the visitors capitalized as Lambirth scored his fourth touchdown of the night to account for the final score.

"The kids played hard and I'm proud of them," Pierce said. "We got worn down and with only five seniors on the team, our young guys are gaining a lot of experience this season."

Next up

Ocala Christian is back in action on Oct.  with a home game against Lakeside Christian Academy out of Clearwater.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Florida School for Deaf Blind tops Ocala Christian Academy 8-man football