3 takeaways from Fort Meade’s Rural FIT championship win over Dixie County

The Miners built a 21-0 lead and held off a late rally by the Bears to win the first-ever invitational playoff

Fort Meade Miners Omari Russell (4) tries to elude Dixie County Bears Javan Wilson (10) in the first half. Fort Meade Miners played the Dixie County Bears in the Florida Invitational Tournament at The Range at HG Morse Stadium in Sumterville, FL on Friday, December 6, 2024. The Miners defeated the Bears 21-13. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first-ever Rural Football Invitational Tournament ended with an entertaining championship game on Friday afternoon at The Villages’ home field, The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium.

Fort Meade dominated the first half and into the early third quarter to go up 21-0, before Dixie County sprung to life with some big plays late and nearly pulled off a stirring comeback. However, the Miners held on for a 21-13 victory.

High School On SI gives you three takeaways from the Rural FIT final between the Miners and Bears.

1. Fort Meade lived in Dixie County territory early

Based on their number of opportunities in the first half, the Miners probably should have built a much bigger lead. They started their first three possessions in Dixie County territory and had nothing to show for it.

The very first offensive play from scrimmage for Fort Meade resulted in a lost fumble after it had gotten the ball at the Dixie County 44-yard line. Then the next possession for the Miners began at the Dixie County 33 thanks to a 3-yard punt, yet they could only gain three yards and ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Another bad punt by the Bears, this one kicked off the back of a blocker, went for minus-17 yards and gave Fort Meade the ball at the Dixie County 27. The Miners gained five yards and settled for a missed 39-yard field goal.

The final two drives of the first half for the Miners started in their own territory but this time they resulted in touchdowns, a 30-yard pass from Jaden McCutchen to Nasier Berrien and a 12-yard scoring strike from McCutchen to Cayden Clark. Fort Meade ran just five offensive plays in its own territory in the first half.

2. Long run by Mister Williams sparked Dixie County

Fort Meade marched right down the field on the opening drive of the second half and made it 21-0 on a 15-yard run by Omari Russell. Dixie County, limited to 11 yards of total offense in the second quarter, needed a shot of adrenaline and got it on its first play of the ensuing possession, a 54-yard run by Mister Williams.

Williams ran the ball five times on the drive for 69 yards, the last yard on a touchdown to finally get the Bears on the board at 5:02 in the third quarter. The senior ended his prep career with 23 carries for 141 yards and twice found the end zone. He had a 2-yard run to make it 21-13 with 6:03 to play in the fourth quarter.

3. In the end, Fort Meade got hot at the right time

It’s not often a team gets to celebrate a state championship with a losing record. But that’s what happened for the Miners, who ended up 6-7 overall.

They started off the season 1-5 and had just two regular-season victories. They were seeded sixth in the tournament, then won four in a row as they advanced through the Rural FIT bracket.

That included a 42-0 win over Taylor, a 33-14 triumph against Franklin County and a 20-19 edging of Wildwood.

The purpose of the FIT was to give a second chance to teams that didn’t reach the state playoffs and both teams in the final certainly made the most of it. Dixie County was 4-6 in the regular season and seeded fifth in the tournament, going 3-1 to finish 7-7.

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