ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – When Mandarin needed big plays Thursday night, there was no shortage of star players to step up for the Mustangs against St. Augustine.
They all seemed to play some role in eking out a victory in the Varsity 4 Game of the Week.
In a battle of two of the area’s best teams, Mandarin scored twice in the fourth quarter in a 1-minute, 17-second time frame to rally past the host Yellow Jackets. The defense then made one final stand as Mustangs pulled out a 27-21 non-district victory.
Brysen Wright had a 39-yard punt return with little more than four minutes left in the game to set up the go-ahead score by Shaunqueze Foster, his second touchdown of the night. Tian Wyche made four big catches, two for touchdowns, and the defense came up big at several stages.
“That’s the definition of grit, toughness, effort,” said Mandarin senior defensive lineman Izzy Ratliff, whose interception off a Kindrid Outland batted pass closed out the game in the waning minutes. “That’s a great team, and we came out and balled hard.”
That almost wasn’t enough.
St. Augustine coach Brian Braddock said that a play here or there could have changed the game. But there were numerous big plays.
Heading into the final six minutes of the contest, the game had already had a Mustangs fumble by Foster at the St. Augustine 15 late in the first quarter and a goal line stand by the to start the second half, including a stop on 4th-and-goal from the 1 when Mandarin prevented Durell Preston from crossing the goal line.
“All of our kids said we were in the end zone,” Braddock said. “Of course they will, but they were pretty upset.
“The call’s the call, you know? Those things happen. We‘ve had some calls go our way this year and some balls bounce our way. I told our kids we’re not going to focus on those things. If that happens, you’re going to pick apart every call. We’re just going to focus on what we can do.”
The Yellow Jackets got a stop of their own on fourth down, this time at the Mustangs 42, and that set in motion a frenetic final 11 minutes of the game.
St. Augustine (9-1), ranked second in the Varsity 4 Super 10 and coaches’ poll, grabbed the lead following that fourth-down stop. On a 3rd-and-20, Brenton James hit Somourian Wingo across the middle, and Wingo raced into the end zone for a 33-yard score and 21-14 lead with 10:20 left.
But Mandarin (9-1), ranked fourth in the Super 10 and coaches’ poll, answered with a 14-play drive that ate up almost six minutes. Along the way, the Mustangs converted a fourth down and three third downs, using the running of Foster and Kyree Wilson.
Finally, Knox Annis hit Wyche in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game with 5:10 remaining.
“They call me Birdman,” said Wyche, a senior who had four catches for 134 yards, including another touchdown. “I go up and get it. Great passes from Knox.”
Wyche credited the defense with really winning the game. While the Yellow Jackets moved the ball well in the second half, the defense followed the Wyche touchdown by recording its fourth three-and-out of the game, but the first since the opening minutes of the second quarter.
That set up Wright, who fielded the punt, pushed down a would-be tackler and took off for 39 yards to the 23-yard line. On the next play, Foster ripped through the left side and into the end zone for the lead.
“Means everything,” said Foster, who rushed for 114 yards and had the game’s first touchdown as well as the last. “I point toward my linemen. They had me. Even though I messed up in the first quarter (with the fumble), they told me they had my back and to keep my head up and keep running. My teammates had my back.
“That’s a real good team, they beat us last year, and we came back this year and got them.”
If that wasn’t enough, the defense snuffed out St. Augustine’s last gasp, which was important, as a penalty and high snap combined to make for a failed point-after, meaning the Yellow Jackets could have won the game with a touchdown and successful conversion.
But Outland, the 6-foot-3 defensive lineman, swatted a James pass. Ratliff, a senior, cradled the ball. A couple of first downs on the ground and Mandarin sealed the game.
“Just find a way to win the game,” Foster said “Find that chemistry and push through the adversity.”
While no titles were at stake, it wasn’t just another non-district game to close the season. The Yellow Jackets were aiming for their second unbeaten regular season in three years and, more importantly, the top seed in Region 1-4A, as they entered the contest as second in the region behind Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee.
A victory over Mandarin likely would have pushed St. Augustine ahead of Choctawhatchee and given the Yellow Jackets home field through perhaps the state semifinals.
But Braddock acknowledged the road to the state championship likely now runs through Fort Walton Beach.
The Mustangs entered second in Region 1-6A and third in the state so, as the players mentioned, perhaps beating a team the caliber of St. Augustine could push up Mandarin’s seeding.
Either way, everyone involved acknowledged that it was great preparation for the postseason, facing off in such a hotly contested finale. It was the type of game that even the losing team takes something away from it.
“Tough game,” Braddock said. “I just told the kids, you’re always upset when you lose, but I’m overwhelmed with optimism and pride at how tough our kids are.”
(4) Mandarin 27, (2) St. Augustine 21
Mandarin, 14, 0, 0, 13 — 27
St. Augustine, 7, 7, 0, 7 — 21
M – Shaunqueze Foster 6 run (Ermin Mehmedovic kick)
SA – Durell Preston 4 run (Moses La Prees kick)
M – Tian Wyche 48 pass from Knox Annis (Mehmedovic kick)
SA – Somourian Wingo 17 pass from Brenton James (La Prees kick)
SA – Wingo 33 pass from James (La Prees kick)
M – Wyche 24 pass from Annis (Mehmedovic kick)
M – Foster 23 run (kick blocked)
Category: M — SA
First downs: 20 —14
Rushes-yards: 44-165 — 21-82
Passing: 220 — 192
Comp-Att-Int: 11-19-0— 14-27-1
Fumbles-lost: 1-1 — 0-0
Penalties-Yards: 11-115 — 4-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — M: Foster 19-114, Kyree Wilson 9-32, Ayden Owens 6-29, Annis 8-(-4), Team 2-(-6). SA: Preston 18-97, James 3-(-15).
PASSING — M: Annis 11-19-0-220. SA: James 14-27-1-192.
RECEIVING — M: Wyche 4-134, Brysen Wright 4-62, Foster 1-16, Will Jones 2-8. SA: Wingo 4-90, Anderson 3-55, Caiden Smith 4-21, Dexter Baker 1-21, Julio Santiago 1-8, Preston 1-(-3).