Bartram Trail throttles Nease, remains in control of District 1-8A

Bartram Trail uses two scoring spurts to win 11th straight over Nease and improve to 7-0.

Sandwiched between highly important games with Ponte Vedra and Oakleaf, the Nease game could easily have been a trap game for Bartram Trail.

If it was, they didn’t play like it.

The Bears scored 31 unanswered points en route to a 52-22 win over visting Nease on Friday night.

When Nease came out of the second half with 15 straight points to cut the deficit to 31-22, the Bears didn’t seem worried at all. Bartram Trail responded with 21 of their own to close it out.

Bartram Trail has won 11 straight over the Panthers. Early on, Nease (1-6, 0-3) came out looking like a team still in the playoff mix. The Panthers drove 69 yards in nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead on Joe Nieves' 2 yard run barely four minutes into the game. It was the last lead the Panthers would hold.

Two possessions later, the Bears answered with Eric Weatherly 25 yard touchdown run, tying the game at 7-7 five minutes later.

After fumbling the ball away on its opening drive, Bartram Trail scored on its next four drives to take a commanding 24-7 lead nearly into half, thanks to two touchdown runs from A.J. Jones III (1, 2) and a 25 yard field goal by Will Grieg.

With Nease driving, and appearing on its way to potentially score before the half, Tre’Vez Johnson made sure it didn’t happen. Johnson picked off Nieves, weaved his way through the Panthers offense, breaking it down the sideline for a 66-yard pick six on the final play of the half to give the Bears a 34-7 halftime lead.

Despite the deficit, Nease came out of the locker room with a different mindset. After forcing a quick three and out, Nease blocked a punt. Chase Dexter scooped up the loose ball and returned it 12 yards for a score, cutting the lead to 31-14 a minute into the third quarter.

Six plays later, Nieves found Kyle Bazler wide open for a 8-yard touchdown toss cutting the lead to 31-22, after Nieves ran in the two point conversion nearly a minute later. Two minutes into the second half and the Panthers had cut the lead to nine.

That’s as close as the Panthers would get. Jones scored his third touchdown of the night on a 31-yard scamper. Quarterback Chad Dodson added a 15 yard score and Dodson connected with Zach Rhodes for a 42-yard strike to close it out.

The Bears may have produced 52 points, but the defense did its share. Johnson picked off two Nieves passes and recorded a fumble on a fourth down play.

Bartram Trail head coach Darrell Sutherland knew his team had to remain focused coming off a big win over Ponte Vedra last week and with an even bigger game against Oakleaf next week.

“Every team in our county is a really good football team and we have seen them and know they can make a lot of explosive plays,” Sutherland stated. “That coaching staff is doing a good job and you can see what they are doing there and building. ...We knew we had to come out and play our best game.”

Bartram Trail travels to Oakleaf (5-2, 1-1) next Friday with a chance to clinch the District 1-8A title with a win. Meanwhile Nease hosts St. Augustine (4-3) in a nondistrict game.