3 takeaways from Bozeman's thrilling win over Port St. Joe

The Bucks had to score late in the fourth quarter in order to upend the visiting Tiger Sharks

Deane Bozeman competes against Arnold in Panama City, Fla., Sept. 6, 2024. Arnold won the game 42-34, starting the football season 3-0 for the first time in nearly a decade. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) / Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA- In a game that looked evenly matched on paper ended up fitting the bill on the field.

The contest between Deane Bozeman and Port St. Joe, rescheduled from Sep. 24th to Thursday evening, had just about everything you could want in a high school football game. From being a defensive slugfest to a high scoring affair all of a sudden, both teams ended up playing tight to the very end.

It would be the Bucks coming away with the non-district victory over the Tiger Sharks, winning a 21-18 thriller.

High School On SI Florida was on hand for the Thursday night tilt and gives you three takeaways from the game:

1. A hot start fizzled, but Bozeman ended up finishing strong

Deane Bozeman competes against Arnold in Panama City, Fla., Sept. 6, 2024. Arnold won the game 42-34, starting the football season 3-0 for the first time in nearly a decade. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) / Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK

It looked to be the start of a big night offensively for Bozeman just in the opening quarter and then things fizzled off from there. Bucks' quarterback Hayden Gay (9-of-17, 180 yards) looked to be on pace for a huge night through the air, throwing for over 100 yards and a touchdown in just the first quarter. Gay would finish with under 200 yards on the evening. Despite the hot start and the offense simmering down, the Bucks were able to make the plays needed to at the very end trailing 18-14 with three minutes to go. Gay had a long pass that set up Bozeman's go-ahead touchdown run by Jayden Spurlock. One could say that Bozeman snatched victory from what looked like the jaws of defeat breathing down their necks. The Bucks pickup win No. 3 on the season ahead of a tough slate of games down the stretch against Bay, North Bay Haven and Rutherford.

2. Port St. Joe made a pretty impressive near-comeback

Albert Floyd, right, Rutherford’s head football coach, embraces Tanner Jones, Port St. Joe’s head coach, after the game in Port St. Joe, Fla., Oct. 4, 2024. Jones’ player, Chance Gainer, died Sept. 6 after suffering health complications during a game against Liberty County. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) / Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trailing 14-3 for most of the first three quarters of the game, the Tiger Sharks looked stagnant offensively despite their defense keeping them in the game. In the final period, however, was a totally different story for Port St. Joe, as they mounted a comeback effort that fell just short. Donnell Hills had a dazzling 32-yard scamper taken to pay dirt, which brought the Tiger Sharks within 14-11. Eli Harris was the workhorse for Port St. Joe's offense and finished the game with 115 yards on 24 attempts and scored what looked to be the go-ahead touchdown, only to be upended by a late Bozeman score. Though Port St. Joe fell short, they have nothing to hang its heads down about effort wise.

3. Bozeman's Lakota Johnson was the spark plug for the Bucks

Deane Bozeman competes against Arnold in Panama City, Fla., Sept. 6, 2024. Arnold won the game 42-34, starting the football season 3-0 for the first time in nearly a decade. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) / Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK

Though Gay and Spurlock get a lot of the attention at Bozeman, Johnson had himself a strong night alongside his two teammates. Johnson scored the game's first touchdown on a 30-yard strike from Gay. The senior athlete also had a 31-yard end around run, threw a touchdown pass and ended with over 100 all-purpose yards on the night. Now don't get us wrong, the offense moves through the trio of Gay, Spurlock and Johnson, but the latter was certainly the spark plug alongside the two aforementioned players and helped jump start the offense against a feisty Tiger Sharks bunch.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl