ORLANDO – Freshman running back Kelvin Taylor’s record day Friday gave Glades Day High School a sixth Florida High School Athletic Association state football championship.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Taylor rushed for 213 yards on 42 carries and scored four touchdowns, the last on a 3-yard run in overtime, to lift Glades Day of Belle Glade to a 27-20 victory over Warner Christian (South Daytona) in the FHSAA 1B state championship game at the Citrus Bowl.
It was the second title for head coach Pete Walker and sixth state title for the Gators (12-2) to go with titles in 1980 (A), ’82 (A), ’(86), ’95 (2A) and 2006 (1A), tying Glades Day with fellow Belle Glade high school Glades Central, Lakeland, North Florida Christian (Tallahassee), Pahokee and University Christian (Jacksonville) for second all-time with six titles, three behind Jacksonville Bolles.
It was the straight championship loss for coach Andrew Price’s Warner Christian Eagles (12-2), who fell to Jupiter Christian 49-14 in the Class 1B championship game last season.
Following Taylor’s overtime touchdown, teammate J.T. Thornton secured the victory when he intercepted a second-down pass by Warner Christian quarterback Shelton Willis. He was immediately mobbed by his teammates.
Taylor, the son of former Florida Gators great and NFL (Jacksonville-New England) All-Pro running back Fred Taylor, finished off a remarkable four-game run in the playoffs. In the four victories, he rushed for 1,158 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Taylor, who won all-state honors last season as an eighth-grader, tied the state championship game record of 42 carries set by Barney Jones of Jefferson County (Monticello) against Frostproof in the 1972 Class 2A state championship.
Taylor’s 42 carries also were six plays fewer than the Warner Christian total (48 – 24 rush, 24 pass) which produced 289 yards, five more than Glades Day. The Gators gained 226 of their 284 yards on the ground and help the ball for 31:37 to Warner Christian’s 16:23.
After a scoreless first quarter during which Warner Christian fumbled the ball inside the Glades Day 5 and Glades Day was intercepted at the WCA 1, Breon Allen of Warner Christian found a hole in the middle of the field and motored to the end zone on a 60-yard run. Rigby Coleman’s PAT made it 7-0 with 9:29 remaining in the first half.
Late in the second half, Glades Day got good field position at the Warner Christian 37 and used all of the 2:56 remaining on the scoreboard clock to score. Taylor took a pitch around right end to score with no time left in the half, but Joseph Langmeyer’s kick was wide left.
Glades Day took its first lead of the game 12-7 with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a 5-yard Taylor run. The touchdown was set up by Thornton’s first interception and 16-yard return to the WCA 8.
But Willis, who threw for 202 yards (on 10-24 passing), connected with Sharon Williams from 22 yards out following teammate’s Taylor Oldham’s interception for a 13-12 lead.
Taylor then capped an 11-play drive that ate 5:55 of the clock by scoring on a 1-yard run and Tanner Redish’s 2-point run put Glades Day up 20-13 with 3:39 remaining in regulation.
But Warner Christian dug out the hook-and-ladder play to tie the game. Willis threw a 6-yard pass to Rashad Greene, who then lateraled the ball to Williams who covered the final 61 yards and Rigby Coleman’s PAT tied it at 20-20 with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter.
GLADES DAY 27, WARNER CHRISTIAN 20, OT
Class 1B State Championship Game at Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Scoring 1 2 3 4 OT—Total
Glades Day (Belle Glade) 0 6 6 8 7—27
Warner Christian (South Daytona) 0 7 0 13 0—20
Second quarter
WCA—Breon Allen 60 run (Rigby Coleman kick) at 9:29. Drive: 1 play, 60 yards, 1 first down, 0:09 time elapsed following Glades Day punt.
GD—Kelvin Taylor 4 run (kick failed) at 0:00. Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 3 first downs, 2:56 time elapsed following 16-yard WCA punt.
Third quarter
GD—Taylor 5 run (run failed) at 0:56. Drive: 2 plays, 8 yards, 0 first downs, 0:45 time elapsed following J.T. Thornton interception and 16-yard return to the WCA 8.
Fourth quarter
WCA—Sharod Williams 22 pass from Shelton Willis (pass failed) at 9:34. Drive: 2 plays, 24 yards, 1 first down, 0:35 time elapsed following Taylor Oldham interception, 10-yard return and personal foul on Glades Day.
GD—Taylor 1 run (Tanner Redish run) at 3:39. Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 4 first downs, 5:55 time elapsed following WCA kickoff.
WCA—Williams 61 lateral on Rashad Greene 6 pass from Willis (Rigby Coleman kick) at 2:01. Drive: 6 plays, 94 yards, 1:30 time elapsed following Glades Day kickoff.
Overtime
GD—Taylor 3 run (J Langmeyer kick) at 0:00. Drive: 3 plays, 10 yards, 1 first down (J.T. Thornton of Glades Day interception Shelton Willis pass to end game).
Game summary
A—1,805.
Weather: Cloudy, temperature 60 degrees, winds NE 13.
Officials: Jerry Corbin, referee; Greg Holloway, umpire; Wayne Herring, line judge; Pat McDaniel, line judge; Zach Taylor, back judge; Charly Mabardy, field judge; Bruce Mincy, side judge.
Records: Glades Day (Belle Glade) 12-2, Warner Christian (South Daytona) 12-2.
Time of game: 2:52.
TEAM STATISTICS
GD WCA
First downs 16 11
Rushes-yards 56-226 24-87
Passing yards 58 202
Comp-Att-Int 3-11-2 10-24-2
Total offense 67-284 48-289
Return yards 16 82
Punts-average 4-36 5-31
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 6-37 8-65
Sacks by: 1-10 1-8
Third-down conversions 5-14 1-9
Fourth-down conversions 2-4 1-1
Red-zone conversions 4-5 0-2
Time of possession 31:37 16:23
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Glades Day, Kelvin Taylor 42-213-4, Roshard Burney 4-20-0, Johntavis Brown 1-3-0, Joe Jenco 3-1-0, Tanner Redish 6-(-11). Warner Christian, Breon Allen 10-79-1, Marcus Dixon 3-7-0, Eric Baker 2-6-0, Mario Garcia 2-5-0, Shelton Willis 4-3-0, Sharon Williams 2-(-12), TEAM 1-(-1).
RECEIVING: Glades Day, Davonte’ Allen 2-57-0, Clinton Johnson 1-1-0. Warner Christian, Rashad Green 7-11-0, Sharod Williams 2-85-2, Breon Allen 1-6-0.
PASSING: Glades Day, Tanner Redish 3-11-2, 58 yards, 0 TD. Warner Christian, Shelton Willis 10-24-2, 202 yards, 2 TD.
PUNTING: Glades Day, Corey Garcia 4-144, 36.0 average, long 47. Warner Christian, Rashad Greene 5-153, 30.6 average, long 44.
RETURNS: Glades Day – punts 0-0; kickoffs Kelvin Taylor 1-25-0, Taylor Mann 1-6-0, J.T. Thornton 1-23; interceptions J.T. Thornton 2-16. Warner Christian – punts Breon Allen 1-7; kickoffs Rashad Greene 2-8, Marcus Dixon 1-19; interceptions Rashad Greene 1-65, Taylor Oldham 1-10.
TACKLES: Glades Day, Wil Christmas 8, Corey Garcia 5, Eaton Spence 4, J.T. Thornton 4. Warner Christian, Breon Allen 10, Eric Baker 10, Jamari Daniels 9, Taylor Oldham 8, Marcus Bush 8.