The Haughton Buccaneers opened District 1-5A play with a 50-36 victory over the Captain Shreve Gators Friday night at Prescott Field.
Haughton improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2019. It was also the Bucs’ first victory over the Gators since 2020. Captain Shreve (2-2) lost for the first time since its season opener.
The game featured many big plays. The Bucs and Gators combined for five touchdowns in the first six minutes of the third quarter. The TDs covered 70, 62, 82, 2 and 74 yards.
The 82-yard play, a pass from from Taylor Weathersby to Ethan Johnson, and Ethan Osbon’s fourth extra-point kick gave the Bucs a 36-22 lead.
Then came one of the game’s key moments. Colton Bedgood recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff on the 25 and returned it to the 2. But a dead ball penalty moved the Bucs back to a first-and-goal at the 17.
A pass interference penalty gave Haughton a first down at the 5. On fourth down from the 2, Brandon Craig scored his third touchdown of the game on a run around right end toward the pylon. Osbon’s PAT put the Bucs up 43-22 with 6:22 left in the third.
Shreve quickly answered with a 76-yard TD pass. The Gators cut the lead to 43-36 with 5:21 left to play in the game.
Haughton answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive capped by Craig’s fourth TD, a 30-yard run.
Shreve drove inside the Bucs 10 with 9 seconds left, but Haughton got a sack on the game’s final play.
“Just a really good collective team effort and just an outstanding job by the entire team,” Haughton Head Coach Matthew Sewell said.
Sewell cited Osbon and the play of the special teams.
“We played great on special teams,” he said. “Our snapper was perfect on the punts and the extra points. Our kicker went six-for-six on extra points.”
And, of course, the Bucs got big games from veterans Weathersby, Craig and Johnson.
Weathersby completed 14-of-26 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed for 90 yards on nine carries.
Craig rushed for 193 yards on 27 carries. He also caught six passes for 65 yards.
Johnson had seven receptions for 136 yards and two TDs.
They couldn’t have done their jobs without an offensive line that gave Weathersby time to throw and opened holes for Craig.
“Taylor and Brandon and those guys were awesome,” Sewell said. “It’s as good of a game as I’ve ever seen Taylor Weathersby play. I mean, he was just fantastic tonight.”
The defense did its part. Linebacker Luke Hensley tied a school record with five sacks. The defense gave up some big plays but the Bucs got some key stops, especially in the second quarter when the offense struggled some.
“We knew that that Shreve was going to punch us in the mouth.,” Sewell said. “They’re easily the best team that we have played so far. And so we knew they were going to punch us, and I told our guys all week, we’ve just got to be able to absorb those punches and get back up off the mat when they punch, and I thought we did that all night. I thought we did a great job of responding during the adverse situations tonight.”
Haughton drove 80 yards for touchdowns on its first two possessions. Craig ran 20 yards for a touchdown and Johnson caught a 12-yard pass from Weathersby. Craig scored a two-point conversion after his TD.
Shreve answered the first touchdown and Haughton led 15-8. Late in the second quarter, the Bucs forced the Gators to punt from their own end zone after sacking Maddox Parrott for a 16-yard loss back to the 5.
Craig scored on a 5-yard run and Haughton extended its lead to 22-8. But Shreve drove 80 yards for a touchdown with 1:42 left and the Bucs led 22-15 at the half.
After forcing a punt on the Gators’ first possession of the second half, it took Haughton one play to extend its lead. Donald Marshall got behind the secondary and Weathersby hit him for a 70-yard touchdown.
That started the barrage of touchdowns as the Gators answered with a 60-yard TD pass from Parrott to Kaleb Law, cutting the Bucs’ lead to 29-22.
Haughton finished with 567 total yards (284 rushing, 283 passing).
Haughton visits Parkway Thursday. The Panthers (3-1) defeated Huntington 29-6 Thursday night.