By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
Third time was the charm for Sheridan. In their third playoff game in four years at Jacksonville’s Jan Crow Stadium, the Yellowjackets finally got one over on the Red Devils, winning 15-10 and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the class 6A state playoffs.
Not only was it Sheridan’s first win in three tries against Jacksonville, it was the team’s first playoff win in 21 years. The fact that the Yellowjackets beat a team they had twice previously lost to made no difference to Sheridan coach Louis Campbell.
“It don’t matter who it was,” Campbell said. “This was Sheridan’s first playoff win in 21 years. It doesn’t matter if it was the Green Bay Packers, we’re just happy to get a win in the playoffs.”
Sheridan’s Dalton Seamon went 66 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds left in the first half to make it 15-10, and that’s how it stayed for the remainder of the game.
Sheridan made plays it needed to make in order to keep drives alive and keep Jacksonville’s offense off the field. That was a goal coming into the game and Campbell was glad to see his team execute that game plan.
“We were able to convert some third downs and just keep hold of the ball,” Campbell said. “The real key though, except for one time early on, we didn’t give up anything cheap. We kept them from making those big plays they’ve been able to make this year.”
Sheridan wasn’t without help. Jacksonville made many mistakes, many of which were at crucial junctures.
The Red Devils were flagged 12 times for 90 yards. Two Red Devils were ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct, as was one Yellowjacket. Sheridan was penalized four times for 30 yards.
“We just made too many mistakes,” Jacksonville coach Rick Russell said. “We thought the game would come down to who made fewer mistakes. Sheridan made fewer mistakes.”
Jacksonville also had 11 plays for negative yardage, many coming on wide receiver screen plays that Sheridan figured out after giving up 62 yards on the first one.
Sheridan’s pass coverage was also good enough to force four sacks. Red Devil quarterback Tirrell Brown usually had time to throw, but struggled to find open receivers. There was also an incomplete backwards lateral that lost five yards and four complete passes for negative yardage.
Those things hindered the Red Devils throughout the first half, but sank them in the second.
Jacksonville had one of its best drives going to start the second half. The Red Devils started at their own 20-yard line and went 53 yards in four plays. Brown rushed for nine, Kevin Richardson broke loose for 18, Brown hit D’Vone McClure for eight, and freshmen Lamont Gause rushed for 18 to put Jacksonville at the Sheridan 27. The Yellowjackets then jumped off side to set up first down and five at the 22-yard line.
From that point until the end of the game, Jacksonville netted -2 yards. On that drive, Jacksonville went from first and five at the 22, to punting on fourth and 31 from the 48-yard line.
The Jacksonville defense played well overall, but couldn’t get Sheridan’s offense off the field at big moments — the biggest coming late in the game. A stop on fourth and 4 would’ve given the Red Devils the ball back with just less than a minute left. Instead, Sheridan went for it, and completed a 24-yard pass to the 4-yard line to seal the victory.
The penalties started on the first drive. Jacksonville was flagged for illegal procedure twice before it could get a play off. The Red Devils overcame the trouble with a screen pass to senior D’Vone McClure that went 62 yards to the Sheridan 31, but they weren’t able to capitalize, failing on fourth and four and turning it over to Sheridan on their 25-yard line.
Jacksonville still got on the board first. Randy Armstrong picked off a Flores pass on the Yellowjackets third play, giving Jacksonville the ball at the Sheridan 16.
Three plays got seven yards, setting up a 26-yard field goal by David Sawrie that gave the Red Devils a 3-0 lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville’s defense forced another punt and started at their own 9, and went backwards from there.
A pass to McClure lost two yards. McClure got the call again on second down, and ran backwards into the end zone where he was tackled for a safety. That made it 3-2 with 1:20 left in the first.
Sheridan got their first lead on the ensuing possession. Going 40 yards in five plays. Four-straight runs by Dalton Seamon followed a 20-yard run by Flores. The last one was good for two yards and the score.
It was the first of three lead changes in the second quarter. The last two were in the final 24 seconds of the half.
Brown hit Kevin Richardson for a 41-yard gain to the Sheridan 14 on third and 9. Brown then hit Cedric Young for 14 and a touchdown with 24 seconds left in the half. Sawrie’s extra point made it 10-9.
Sheridan took over on its own 34. The first play was a shotgun read play to Seamon that had gained very little the whole half, but this time it went for 66 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Seamon finished the game with 20 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Sheridan compiled 261 total yards while Jacksonville gained 242.
