Football races through Tate and they repeat as district champions
Pace used the fast start and contributions in all three phases to repeat as District 1-6A champions
A repeat of the highlights of Pace’s win over Tate to clinch the district title
Pace football cruised past Tate 30-8 on Oct. 10 to repeat as District 1-6A champions
- The Pace Patriots defeated the Tate Aggies 30-8, securing the District 1-6A championship and a spot in the state playoffs.
- Pace took an early lead with two rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Brooks Washington in the first quarter.
- Despite a strong offensive start, the Pace offense later struggled, relying on three field goals and a special teams touchdown to extend their lead.
- Tate started freshman Damaylan Woodbury at quarterback to keep sophomore running back Tanner Clark for the remainder of the season.
The pacing could have been cleaner in some aspects, but it’s hard to argue with the end result.
The Patriots rolled past Tate 30-8 on Oct. 10 at Pete Gendel Stadium to repeat as District 1-6A champions and earn a spot in the state playoffs. Pace still has one district game remaining against Navarre on Oct. 24, but won and owns a tiebreaker over Crestview and Tate, who are tied 1-1 in district play.
“The bye week can’t come fast enough,” Patriots coach Vance Smith said. “But we still have three really tough games to go. We’ve got to take it one game at a time. We’re going to enjoy this game and then next week, Sunday, we go to Pine Forest.”
It was a familiar formula for Pace, who racked up 280 yards on the ground and held the Aggies to just 180 yards of offense.
It was the Patriots’ eighth straight win over Tate. Here are three takeaways from the region’s pivotal conflict.
Pace’s fast start proved decisive
The Patriots took control before the nearly sold-out fans at Pete Gendel Stadium had a chance to settle down.
Pace Junior quarterback Brooks Washington ran for 58 yards on the second play of the game. Then, after forcing Tate to punt, Washington capped the Patriots’ second drive with a 16-yard drive for a 14-0 lead less than six minutes into the game.
Washington racked up 121 rushing yards in the first quarter alone, finished with 144 rushing yards and two touchdowns and completed three of five passes for 36 yards. Tagg Strickenburger ran for 70 yards as part of a rushing attack that averaged 6.8 yards per carry despite missing two starting offensive linemen and junior linebacker Makayel Williams for the second straight game.
“Our line is the best line in Florida,” Washington said. “I’ll keep my hands down. Just being able to run after these guys is awesome.”
Although Pace had success moving the ball at times, they struggled to finish shots. The Patriots did not score an offensive touchdown the rest of the night, instead settling for three field goals. They also turned the ball over on downs once and lost a fumble.
“Credit to the Tate coaches and the kids there,” Smith said. “I thought they did a really good job in the second half. We had a really hard time running the football, which we do and then in the passing game we didn’t execute it. Just a sloppy, sloppy night offensively.”
Pace gets contributions from all three stages
Although Pace would have liked to be a little better offensively, the Patriots still turned in a complete performance.
Pace’s defense kept Tate off the board until Ethan Pittman’s three-yard touchdown run with 10:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. That capped off a 19-play drive for the Aggies, one Smith blamed on his offense for not finishing the drive.
Tate ran for just 3.1 yards per carry and freshman quarterback Damaylan Woodberry was never comfortable.
The Patriots’ special teams did their part, too. Nelson was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, drilling 25- and 35-yard field goals in the second quarter and a 30-yard field goal to cap the Patriots in just the third quarter.
“Just an overall team win,” Smith said. “It’s just that you get frustrated because we didn’t execute the way we were able to execute on offense. But again, all three phases are important. When we needed the defense to make a stop, they got the stop and when we needed to execute on special teams we were able to do that as well.”
The special teams contributions did not stop there. In the second quarter, West Florida commit Jonathan Jimenez blocked a punt deep in Tate territory that junior Caleb Boudreau picked up and ran for five yards and a 24-0 lead.
“We practiced that all week,” Boudreau said. “We saw they were really open and they weren’t together to block. Jonny just ran through, blocked the ball and I was like I was going to score and score.”
Tate turns into the new quarterback
The Aggies have been searching for answers at quarterback since sophomore Myles Delarosa tore his ACL in a 27-7 win over West Florida on Sept. 19.
Sophomore running back Tanner Clark finished that game, then led Tate back from a 20-0 deficit to a 29-26 win at Navarre on Sept. 26. But head coach Rhett Summerford decided to start Woodbury to keep Clark for the regular season. Clark ran for 742 yards and 10 touchdowns in Tate’s first six games.
“We can’t kill Tanner,” Summerford said. “That’s just the way it is. We still have a long season ahead of us. He can’t carry the ball 40-50 times. He’s a sophomore, and in our backfield right now we have a junior, a sophomore, a freshman. That’s the way it is. We’re trying to get better and we’re going to continue to build and get better.”
Woodberry completed six of 15 passes for 55 yards. Tate ran for just 3.3 yards per carry, with Pittman running for 42 yards and a touchdown and Clark 36 yards. Florida Atlantic Elijah West committed four passes for 34 yards.
The Aggies remain in the hunt for a playoff berth in District 1-6A despite the loss.
“I didn’t think we had the momentum,” Summerford said. “They beat us defensively and we’ve got some young players up front and we’re trying to build and get better and we will eventually. We’re just not there right now.”
NEXT: Pace (6-1, 2-0 District 1-6A) will play at Pine Forest on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. Tate (5-2, 1-1 District 1-6A) will play at Booker T. Washington on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.