Fantastic Four leads Rutherford to sixth win (See Photos)

PANAMA CITY — If anyone knows how a talented group of West Florida Tech sophomores felt after a stunning 23-22 defeat Friday night against Rutherford, it’s a quartet of Ram four-year senior starters.

After scoring 22 consecutive points to erase a nine-point deficit, the Jaguars surrendered two blocked punts in the final six minutes, enabling Rutherford to post its first six-win season since 2002.

Like West Florida (3-6, 2-5), Rutherford’s Fantastic Four took its lumps as freshmen and sophomores. But Friday’s implausible finish enabled them to post consecutive winning seasons during their final two years.

“We just had to go for it,” Rutherford coach Greg Rivers said after Zach DeGraff and Nick Smith blocked punts by West Florida sophomore Doyle Taft. The first was recovered by Smith for a touchdown with 5:20 remaining.

The second was recovered by Chris Searles, and his short return set up Rutherford at the Jaguars’ 8 with 36 seconds to go. Kirkland Raibon swept left end for a touchdown, and Wesley Brown kicked the winning point.

West Florida, which didn’t complete a pass, had no chance to rally.

“Two blocked punts in the last minutes …” Jaguars coach Ronnie Gilliland’s voice trailed off. “You just can’t do that and win.”

West Florida did everything but, despite starting a backfield with four sophomores, and with more 10th-graders on its roster (12) than seniors (nine). It was reminiscent of Rutherford’s lineup three years ago, when the Rams posted their second consecutive 1-9 finish.

Jaguar sophomore running back Antawn Carter scored on runs of  3, 1 and 2 yards while gaining 119 yards on 21 carries. His second touchdown climaxed a 13-play drive, all on the ground, that melted nearly eight minutes off the clock in the third quarter.

His third came after a 32-yard interception return by LaMarcus Farmer set up a short scoring drive, Carter powering in on the first play of the fourth quarter.

When the Jaguars stuffed Rutherford quarterback Cordarryl Rogers, one of the aforementioned senior veterans, twice from inside their 1, and Joey Quinn recovered his third-down fumble at the 3 with seven minutes left, the Rams seemed doomed.

The improbable finish enabled them to become the lone Bay County team with a winning record this year at 6-4, sent the seniors off on a winning note and punctuated what they have meant to the program the past four seasons.

Asked which meant most to him, Rivers said “All of them.”

Rutherford led 9-0 by early in the second quarter when Rogers passed 38 yards to Dieton West for a touchdown and Brown booted a 42-yard field goal. Carter’s first TD pulled West Florida within 9-7 at halftime.

The Jaguars limited the Rams’ spread attack, with Rogers their lone threat until Raibon got loose on sweeps late in the game. Rogers rushed 23 times for 129 yards, but suffered two interceptions and the fumble near the goal line.

• West Florida       0 7 7 8 - 22
• Rutherford          6 3 0 14 - 23
• First quarter
• RHS: West 38 pass from Rogers (Brown kick)
• Second quarter
• RHS: FG Brown 42
• WFL: Carter 3 run (Jackson kick)
• Third quarter
• WFL: Carter 1 run (Jackson kick)
• Fourth quarter
• WFL: Carter 2 run (Farmer run)
• RHS:  Smith recovered block punt in end zone (Brown kick)
• RHS: Raibon 8 run (Brown kick)
• INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
• RUSHING — WFL: Carter 21-119, Faxlanger 10-33, Jones 11-30, Farmer 3-18, Ruffin 5-14, Jackson 2-12, Greene 1-(-3). RHS: Rogers 23-129, Raibon 3-37, Smith 5-21.
• PASSING — WFL: Faxlanger 0-6-0-0, team 0-1-0-0. RHS: Rogers 3-11-2-45.
• RECEIVING — RHS: West 2-49, Bass 1-(-4).