Sandalwood-Nease high school football takeaways: Saints' Jordan Bean leads rushing charge

Jordan Bean didn't need many words to sum up the way his Tuesday night began.

"Pretty amazing," the senior Sandalwood running back said.

It took only three rushes for Bean to top the 100-yard mark in a rare edition of Tuesday high school football, and only one game for Sandalwood to rebuild its confidence in a 51-31 victory at Nease.

The Saints' ground attack ultimately churned out more than 300 yards, 261 of them on the legs of Bean, to halt their losing skid in a game pushed back by Hurricane Ian and take the sting off a month of frustration.

"We've been on the wrong side of the last two games. We doubled Fletcher in yardage and missed an extra point on the road, a couple turnovers late in the game. Raines, we score the [apparent] winning touchdown and it gets called back again," Sandalwood coach Adam Geis said. "You've just got to keep playing."

Stats leaderboard: Northeast Florida high school football statistical leaders after Week 5

Monday night roundup: Bolles, Baker County, Middleburg among Northeast Florida victors

First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bolles' Jillian Candelino races to region cross country record

No, the Saints aren't 4-1. But they're within a game of .500 at 2-3, and with both District 1-4M games (against Atlantic Coast on Oct. 13 and Mandarin on Oct. 27) still to come, Sandalwood's future is looking up.

For Nease (1-5), hopes of building momentum into Friday's rivalry clash with St. Augustine came crashing down in one three-play sequence.

"You just can't start the game the way we started the game," Nease coach Collin Drafts said.

BEAN SNAPS INTO ACTION

His first three carries: 20 yards around right end, 60 yards for a touchdown and 48 yards into Nease territory. He finished the fourth quarter with 148 rushing yards, pushing Sandalwood to a 22-8 lead, and gained 215 in the opening half.

For a while, Bean seemed to have a shot to threaten the Duval County public school record of 429 rushing yards, set by Sandalwood's Maurice Wells in 2003.

Bean wasn't able to keep up that kind of pace, but he still ended up with more than 11 yards per carry (261 on 22 rushes) for his second consecutive 200-yard performance. He rushed for 225 on Sept. 23 against Fletcher, and also picked up a pair of 200-yard games in his junior year.

With that kind of ground assault, Sandalwood quarterback Baylor Hayes only attempted seven passes on the night, and fullback Mike Daniels and all-around athlete Jhamari Harvell plunged for two more scores apiece around the goal line.

"We've always been a power running football team," Geis said. "I think we're one of the last teams left that really is a power running team."

RALLY FALLS SHORT FOR STOKES, NEASE

Super 11 quarterback Marcus Stokes didn't let Nease go down without a fight. The University of Florida commit lived up to his dual-threat billing, rushing for two touchdowns and connecting on a score to Da'Von Patterson, while receiver Maddox Spencer caught six passes for 93 yards before halftime.

Stokes (13 of 25 attempts for 154 yards) also rushed for 76 yards, while Cam Smith gained 91 and Patterson ran for 81.

After an 87-yard marathon march that chewed up more than six third-quarter minutes and sliced the Saints' lead to one score, the Panthers looked like clawing back into the contest.

Instead, Sandalwood stamped out the rally. Jamel Bailey returned a failed onside kick into the red zone, Brody Jennings intercepted a pass, C.J. Allen ranged across the field for more than a dozen tackles to contain Nease's ground game and Sandalwood racked up 22 consecutive points to squash the Panthers' chances.

"We've just got to take advantage of those opportunities when we were in the red zone," Drafts said. "We had two trips with no points, and that could be the difference right there."

SANDALWOOD SET FOR TURNAROUND?

Bean is now a member of the career 2,000-yard club, and he's not finished yet.

"Defenses know we're a run-first team and know that's our strong point," Bean said. "When I see that, I see the hole, I took advantage of it."

For both Sandalwood and Nease, the turnaround is speedy with rivals in view.

Nease heads to Foots Brumley Stadium to take on longtime rival St. Augustine in a game the Panthers must win to retain a chance at a .500 regular-season record, while Sandalwood faces Arlington foe Parker.

On paper, the schedule sets up favorably for the Saints: Following one-win Parker, they'll face winless Atlantic Coast and then a Riverside team that has dropped its last four. That all builds up to a potential district decider at the Corral in Mandarin.

It's a test the Saints now face with renewed confidence.

"We lost three back-to-back and we were sick of losing," Bean said. "If we'd lost this game, I don't know what would've happened. But we came out, fought hard and played with each other."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX, and sign up for the First Coast Varsity newsletter at https://profile.jacksonville.com/newsletters/first-coast-varsity/.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football: Sandalwood, Jordan Bean meet Nease, Marcus Stokes