Baker ices 1st playoff berth 28-7
NAPLES – Palmetto Ridge has faced both of the top teams in District 4A-12, each time putting up a fight before ultimately losing.
Not bad for a team that posted just one win last year.
The Bears trailed 14-7 late in the third quarter before ultimately falling 28-7 to a tough Ida Baker squad. Palmetto Ridge (4-3, 0-2) dropped a 24-14 decision to undefeated Cape Coral two weeks ago.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 2-0) clinched a playoff spot with the victory and play at Cape Coral in two weeks for the district title. Baker scored less than a minute into the game after an outstanding kickoff return by Darryl Gary. Quarterback Sean Francis found fullback Andrew Haynes for a 26-yard touchdown strike to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
“They had the right game plan against us. They wanted to take away our run by loading eight guys in the box,” Baker coach Brian Conn said. “We knew we’d have some play-action passes there, and we did a nice job of hitting those, especially in the first half.”
Francis threw for 161 yards, 93 coming on short passes to Haynes, who was excellent on both sides of the ball.
Francis accounted for all four scores, passing for three and scoring the final touchdown on a 21-yard run off a fake field goal attempt late in the fourth.
As much as Baker dominated the first half, leading 14-0 at the break and holding Palmetto Ridge to just 72 yards of total offense, Conn was a bit disappointed his team didn’t have a bigger cushion.
“It seemed like we had the ball the entire first half,” Conn said, “but we were only up 14-0, so that was a bit of a concern.”
Ida Baker 7 7 7 7 – 28
Palmetto Ridge 0 0 7 0 – 7
First Quarter
IB – Haynes 26 pass from Francis (Kluesner kick)
Second Quarter
IB – York 2 pass from Francis (Kluesner kick)
Third Quarter
PR – Dehnz 18 run (Romero kick)
IB – York 10 pass from Francis (Kluesner kick), 1:03
Fourth Quarter
IB – Francis 21 run (Kluesner kick)