VERNON — As the final minute of the Baker School football season ticked off the clock Friday night Gator Coach Matt Brunson turned philosophical.
“Like they say, sometimes it’s more about the Jimmies and Joes than the Xs and Os,” he said as he watched the Vernon Yellow Jackets finish off a 30-14 win in the Class 1A regional final.
Baker-Vernon football photos>>>
Yes, Vernon had more Jimmies and Joes in DVonta O’Neal, Darrion Peterson and Austin Brown. But in the end it was the age old adage of football that rang true, the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins.
It was the Yellow Jackets who made the fewest mistakes Friday at least as far as turnovers go.
Three Gator second-half turnovers led to three Vernon touchdowns and proved to be the difference in the game as O’Neal, the Yellow Jacket quarterback stung Baker with three touchdowns in the second half.
O’Neal’s first score came on a 21-yard run after he intercepted a Jon Beck pass in the third quarter.
At the time of the interception the Gators were up 14-8. But O’Neal’s touchdown and his 2-point conversion gave the Jackets the lead once and for all.
O’Neal scored on runs of 38 yards and 76 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
The Gators (10-2) drew first blood when Beck hit Montae Barto with a 20-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. The score capped an 8-play drive that covered 85 yards.
Austin Davis was the workhorse in the drive picking up 54 of the 85 yards on the ground. Included in that total was a 44-yard run that set the Gators up in Yellow Jacket territory.
Vernon (11-1) answered with a 34-yard TD pass from O’Neal to Brown.
The Gators took the lead again on their opening possession of the third quarter when Beck teamed up with Jonathan Gatewood on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Beck scored the 2-point conversion on a throwback pass from Austin Davis.
The touchdown drive covered 44 yards after Dillon Nixon returned the second half kickoff to the Baker 41 and the Yellow Jackets were flagged for a late hit.
With 9:31 left in the third quarter the Gators had the lead, but the rest of the night belonged to Vernon.
A pair of Beck interceptions and a Baker fumbled opened the door for Vernon’s O’Neal to take over and move the Yellow Jackets into the regional finals.
“Our kids played hard,” Brunson said. “They played hard all year. That’s a good football team and we came up a little short.
“I’m proud of our accomplishments and I wouldn’t try these guys for anybody. The future of Baker football is very bright. We have a lot of guys coming back and we had a great JV team this year.”
Davis finished the night with 133 yards rushing on 24 carries for Baker. Barton had four catches good for 52 yards. For the most part the Yellow Jackets held the Gators in check as Baker managed just 258 yards in total offense.
O’Neal paced the Vernon attack with 178 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Yellow Jackets had 321 yards on 36 carries on the ground and 366 yards in total offense.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mistakes costly as Gators fall to Vernon (PHOTOS, VIDEO)