BAKER — A wait of 4,753 days is over for the Baker School football team.
It’s doubtful anyone could have imagined that Baker’s 14-7 playoff win over Liberty County on Nov. 9, 2001 would be the last the Gators would enjoy for more than a dozen years.
Baker-Graceville football photos>>>
Friday night, in a cold Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium, a group of young men that weren’t even in school on that long ago night turned back the clock for the proud Gator program.
Jon Beck ran for a touchdown and threw for another as the Gators held off Graceville 21-7.
Baker (10-1) will play at Vernon on Friday in the Class 1A region finals.
As big as Beck’s play was at quarterback for the Gators, the play off the night belong to Nate Taylor.
The game was tied 7-7 late in the third quarter, and momentum seemed to be going Graceville’s way, when Taylor stepped in front of a Preston Nichols, pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.
“The coaches rearranged it (the defense) and got me in the right spot,” Taylor said. “I ran under it and then I said, ‘I got it,’ and they did a great job of blocking and I just followed them in for the score.”
Baker took its first lead of the night with 2:01 left in the first quarter when Beck scored on a 3-yard run.
It looked as if the Gators had added to the lead in the second quarter when Beck hit Jonathan Gatewood with a long touchdown pass. The play was called back on a block in the back penalty.
Graceville (5-6) tied the game on a 4-yard Jarrett Brogdon run with 9:46 left in the third quarter.
The Gators put the game out of reach when Beck hit Gatewood with a 9-yard touchdown pass with 8:05 left in the game.
Baker played most of the game without leading rusher Austin Davis. Davis carried the ball three times for 11 yards on the first Gator possession of the game. But a thigh bruise sidelined him the rest the way.
With Davis out, the Gators rode the legs of Austin Martin. Martin responded with 144 yards on 24 carries.
Montae Barto also picked up some of the slack with Davis out picking up 52 yards on 18 carries.
Both Barto and Martin came up with big turnovers. Martin recovered a Tiger fumble to stop a Graceville drive midway through the third quarter.
Barto’s recovery of an errant Tiger lateral at the Graceville 42-yard line set up the Gatewood touchdown catch.
Baker finished the game with 284 yards in total offense while holding the Tigers to 125 total yards on 49 plays.
Graceville managed just 99 yards rushing on 35 carries.
Jared Padgett was responsible for 77 yards of the Graceville offense. Padgett had 63 yards rushing on 15 carries and 14 yards receiving on two catches.
Baker Coach Matt Brunson was elated to get his first playoff win at his alma mater.
“You can’t make a run in the playoffs without winning the first one,” he said. “Our defense fought and fought, and offensively we did enough to win the game.
“Our guys competed and played hard. I’m proud of them. I love these guys.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gators advance with win over Graceville (PHOTOS)