Bartram Trail ousts Niceville from Florida high school football playoffs

Riley Trujillo leads the Bears to a second straight tough road victory on the Panhandle

NICEVILLE, FLORIDA – The Bartram Trail Bears made the trek west to the Panhandle for the second week in a row, Friday night, as they took on the Niceville Eagles in the class FHSAA 4S regional semifinals.

Both teams were riding high after the stellar offensive performances they showed last week, and they were expecting to do the same on Friday night. Even though the scoring output was not as high this week, there were still plenty of fireworks to be had. In the end, the Bears won, 28-21, and they will have a rematch with Buchholz in the regional finals next week.

Bartram Trail struck first when Riley Trujillo managed to turn a broken play into a touchdown. The UCF commit scrambled to his right scanning the field for an open receiver, and found De’Andre Caldwell running free in the back of the end zone. It appeared that Caldwell’s momentum was going to take him out of bounds, but he was able to get both feet down in the back corner of the end zone for the score.

Bartram Trail quarterback Riley Trujillo works from under center during the Bears' playoff win at Niceville / Photo by Reed Green

Shortly after, Bartram Trail was looking to go up by two scores, but the Niceville defense forced and recovered a key fumble inside their own territory which kept the Eagles in the game.

Throughout the rest of the first quarter and early in the second quarter, Niceville was able to get key stops which got the home crowd into the game. Niceville responded with its own touchdown when they blocked a punt to make it 7-7 early in the second quarter. However, with six minutes left before halftime, Laython Biddle scored his first touchdown of the game to make it 14-7. The final five minutes of the half were a defensive stalemate, and Bartram Trail held its lead at the half.

The third quarter was a rock fight as neither team was able to do anything offensively.

Later in the fourth quarter, Niceville was able to tie the game with just over ten minutes left when Maddax Fayard punched it in for six. Bartram Trail responded with a score of its own, four minutes later, when Trujillo connected with Caldwell again on a slant route to make it 21-14.

Niceville was able to respond with a touchdown moments later when Kane Lafortune found Fayard, who beat the defensive back on the go route, wide-open for the touchdown.

However, with just over 90 seconds left in the game, Trujillo broke free from the Eagles’ defense and raced down the sidelines for the touchdown to give the Bears a seven-point lead as they moved back in front, 28-21.

Niceville got the ball back with enough time to try and equalize, but Bartram Trail’s defense forced and recovered their own fumble to ice the game as they advance to the next round.

Niceville offense sputters in the first half

The Eagles offense scored 56 points in their victory over Nease after averaging 40.4 points-per-game in the regular season, and they were looking to continue this against Bartram Trail. That was not to be the case as Bartram Trail was able to contain Fayard on the ground while limiting their vertical passing game.

The Bears were also able to win the line of scrimmage for most of the game which put Lafortune under duress all night long.

The Bartram Trail defense (right) slowed down Niceville's high scoring offense just long enough to advance past the Eagles in the Florida 4S state playoffs / Photo by Reed Green

Lafortune, Fayard and the rest of the offense did put together a long scoring drive when they tied it at 14, and it appeared that the offense turned a corner late in the game. Unfortunately, Niceville found its groove too late on offense. The Eagles’ woes in the first half turned out to be one of the contributing factors in the game as they came up short.

Riley Trujillo continues to make plays with his legs

Trujillo once again showed that he is dangerous with his legs. It does not matter if it is a designed run, if he has to scramble for extra yardage, or if he escapes the pocket while throwing to one of his receivers down field. His ability to make plays with his legs is the x-factor for the Bears offense.

When asked about the first touchdown pass to Caldwell, Trujillo said, “You know I got a great group of guys. My o-line was blocking great, gave me some time to scramble out to the right, and I seen him coming across the back of the end zone, and he’s just running free. So, I knew I had to buy a little bit of time. I saw him coming free, ripped it, and I knew he was going to make that catch.”

Riley Trujillo dives for extra yardage against Niceville. The Bartram Trail quarterback is equally dangerous with his legs as he is with his arm / Photo by Reed Green

Practice makes perfect

Every team practices situational football, and this is no different for Bartram Trail. These drills in practice can be crucial for a team’s success especially in the playoffs.

“You know we always do scramble drill you know,” Trujillo said. “If someone’s downfield, they’ll come back to me. If they’re shallow, they’re gonna go deep so that way, you know, it’s giving me a list of options I can go through.”

Trujillo was also able to extend drives with his legs thanks to his elusive speed and agility. This was most evident when he scored the game-clinching touchdown late in the fourth.

His ability to extend plays and drives with his scrambling ability will be crucial in next week’s regional final game.

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green

Photo by Reed Green