It ‘wasn’t easy,’ but Green Sea Floyds coach hit milestone as Trojans advance again

The scoreboard didn’t show it, but Donnie Kiefer’s Green Sea Floyds team was challenged on Friday, defeating C.E. Murray 46-6 in a physical Class A third round playoff game.

That’s just the way Kiefer would have scripted his 250th coaching win, as his team was physically, emotionally and mentally challenged, but responded to pull away in a resounding victory.

“This game tonight wasn’t easy, by any stretch,” Kiefer said. “I think we really needed it. We needed to be in a very physical game, where we would have to continue to play late in the game. They got some momentum late in the first half and had the ball for most of the third quarter and our guys had to respond. That was big for us.”

In a rematch of one of the Trojans’ playoff victories on their march to last season’s state title, C.E. Murray came out aggressive, going for an onside kick to begin the night. The Trojans would recover and punch in an Anwain Graham score to go up in the contest. A safety on a bad snap by C.E. Murray would lead to the final points of the opening quarter and a 9-0 Trojans lead.

The second quarter would turn into an offensive clinic by the Region VI-A champions, scoring 30 points in the frame.

Jaquan Dixon would find the end zone twice, bookending the second quarter with touchdowns runs of five and 52 yards. In between, another safety off a long snap error, an Aaron Graham 44-yard run, and a Bubba Elliott rushing score would build out the Trojans’ 39-0 lead at the break.

Just in the first half, Green Sea Floyds rushed for 250 yards, five touchdowns and averaged over nine yards per carry.

“That second quarter we were able to execute like we want to,” Kiefer said. “At the end of the quarter, C.E. Murray started to get some momentum on offense and really rode that into the second half of the game, so our guys having a good quarter was good to have some cushion.”

Late in the second quarter and continuing into the third quarter, the War Eagles would find success by totally switching up their offense, moving from a Wing-T and I-formation look in the first quarter to a shotgun spread with quarterback Antonio McKnight using his athleticism to pressure the Trojan defense.

In the third quarter, McKnight would leave the game after taking a hard hit, only to return later in the drive to punch in the War Eagles’ lone score of the night. With 2:40 left on the third quarter clock, McKnight rolled out to his right, releasing a pass and getting blasted by the Green Sea Floyds defense and A.J. Campbell. Both players have been named to the Touchstone Energy Bowl as North/South All-Stars. McKnight would stay down on the field for 21 minutes before being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher. Campbell went to check on the injured quarterback a number of times before McKnight left the stadium.

“Obviously, we are very concerned for their player who was injured,” Kiefer said. “You never want to see that in any contest. We hope and pray he makes a full and complete recovery.”

With the elongated break in action, players from both sides were left with the task of refocusing and finishing out a game that was already out of reach. The Trojans were able to do so in large part due to Dixon’s third rushing score of the night, a 76-yard sprint that he finished without a defender in sight.

“It was a long time before our offense got back on the field in the third quarter,” Kiefer said. “(C.E. Murray) were able to score, get an onside kick, then we had the player get injured so our guys were really not in the game for a long time. We were able to get it back going and use our weapons to finish out the game. It’s nice to have that and for our guys to spell each other as we need to in the game.”

While the Trojan offense gets the headlines, the defense has allowed just the six points scored tonight in these playoffs.

“I think that’s one of the things about this team that really makes me proud,” Kiefer said. “That side of the ball is full of guys who are smart and adaptable. We can make changes in the game or at halftime or even over on the sidelines if we see something the other team is doing and those guys can implement it that very next series. That’s hard to do at this level, but they do a great job for us.”

Next up for the Trojans is a rematch with region foe Lake View, which defeated Cross 50-8. Green Sea Floyds beat Lake View 42-6 in their regular season matchup, but Kiefer isn’t looking back in prep this week.

“It’s hard to beat a good football team twice in a season,” he said while previewing next week. “They’re a very good football team and can present some challenges for us on both sides of the ball. We will have our hands full with prep this week, because Lake View is a different team from when we saw them.”

Lake View will come to Green Sea Floyds for the Lower State Championship next Friday at 7:30 p.m.

CEM 0 0 6 0 – 6

GSF 9 30 0 7 – 46

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

GSF – Anwain Graham 2-yard run (Freddie Saratto kick good) 7:08

GSF – Team safety 2:11

Second Quarter

GSF – Jaquan Dixon 5-yard run (Saratto kick) 10:46

GSF – Team safety 9:08

GSF – Bubba Elliott 12-yard run (Saratto kick) 8:31

GSF – Aaron Graham 44-yard run (Saratto kick) 5:57

GSF – Jaquan Dixon 52-yard run (Saratto kick) 1:04

Third Quarter

CEM – Antonio McKnight 5-yard run (two-point play failed) 5:06

Fourth Quarter

GSF – Jaquan Dixon 76-yard run (Saratto kick) 11:46

Statistical Leaders

Passing

CEM – Antonio McKnight - 5-15-39-0-0

GSF – Bubba Elliott – 1-1-17-0-0

Rushing

CEM – Carey Singletary – 12-68

GSF – Jaquan Dixon – 16-191 3TDs

Receiving

CEM – Carey Singletary – 3-25

GSF – Jaquan Dixon - 1-17

This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 12:23 AM.