WAR EAGLE ‘FAMILY’ SEEKS FIRST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Astronaut War Eagles will host the Palatka Panthers Friday night for the Class 3A State Championship. Astronaut comes into the game with a 13-0 record and will be looking to win the schools first football state championship.
BEEN HERE BEFORE
This is the second trip to the state championship game for the War Eagles. They were here before in 1976. Cris Collinsworth was the quarterback and the War Eagles were 13-0 as well. A 44 yard field goal as time expired ended those title hopes, as the Panama City Bay High School won 17-14.
It was a thrilling game in which Collinsworth lead two fourth quarter touchdown drives to tie the game. “We just didn’t have enough to keep them from scoring at the end,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack. “I think if it had gone to overtime we’d have won it.”
FAMILY AFFAIR
This year’s War Eagle team has feel of family. There are several pairs of sibling playing for Astronaut this year. Defensive coordinator Benny Boyd’s has son’s Benny Jr. and Jeff on the team. Benny Jr., a junior linebacker, is the leader of the defense. Through 13 games he leads the team with 97 tackles and has one interception. Jeff, a freshman tight end, has 2 receptions for 42 yards.
Twins Steve and David Godfrey are the 1[sup]st[/sup] and 2[sup]nd[/sup] team fullbacks for the War Eagles. Steve is a key ball carrier and ranks 2[sup]nd[/sup] on the team in rushing. He has rushed 183 times for 734 yards and 7 touchdowns this year. David has rushed 6 times for 17 yards this year.
The offensive line reserves are also stocked with siblings. Senior twins Tim and Tom Hancock are tackles. David Brown, a senior, and brother Scottie, a junior, are back up guards.
Head coach B. Mack also has two son’s playing. Matthew is a junior running back and Keith is a sophomore quarterback. Matthew is the leading rusher for the War Eagles. Through 13 games he has rushed 160 times for 834 yards and 6 touchdowns. He’s also proven to be a solid receiving threat. He has 18 receptions for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 52 yard touchdown reception in last week’s state semifinal with less than 2 minutes remaining was the winning score against Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. Keith is the team’s backup quarterback and has seen limited time in that role this year, throwing only 3 passes. He also has appeared in 8 games as a safety, recording 24 tackles.
“It’s a tough line to keep. You have to guard against being too tough on them and favoring them too much,” said B. Mack. “They would probably say I’m too tough on them.”
“Yeah he is harder on us,” says Matthew. “One time four or five of us were goofing around at practice and he got onto me more than the other guys. I thought to myself, ‘man I’m getting the short end of the stick here!”
The wives and mothers of these coach-son combinations have a unique perspective. Milady Mack, says “It smells like gym class all the time! They just talk football, football, football. I tried to make a rule that there would be no football talk at the dinner table. That lasted one evening.”
“But it’s a good bond for them,” she said. “When they were little they were always around the teams and were water boys and ball boys. These will be times they I hope they remember for the rest of their lives”
LEADERSHIP KEY SUCCESS THUS FAR
While the coaches’ sons may be statistical leaders of the offense and defense, Coach Mack points to his senior quarterback as the unquestioned leader of the team. “Ethan has been tremendous this year. We aren’t here without him keeping a cool head,” says Mack. That’s Ethan Waldron, a two year starter at quarterback. The War Eagles are 23-2 in games that Waldron is the quarterback.
So far in this season’s 13 contests, Waldron has completed 86 of 142 passes for 1,434 yards. He has thrown for 8 touchdowns against 7 interceptions. He has also rushed for 246 yards and 7 touchdowns.
At times during the regular season, the Astronaut offense he has been charged with leading has sputtered. But entering the championship game they are averaging 22.5 points and 294.7 yards per game. “I think we’ve finally found our rhythm over the last few weeks,” says Mack. “It couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
WILL DEFENSE WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP?
With all of that said, the War Eagle defense has been the real key this year. “We may have had better defenses statistically in the past, I’m not sure, but this year this squad has come through in the clutch.”
Only 5 opponents have scored 10 or more points against the War Eagles this year. 4 have scored 14, which the most any team has scored. The defense allows just 8.5 points and 176.1 yards per game.
“It all starts up front with the line,” says Mack. The starting line consists of ends Todd Bynum (92 tackles, 10 sacks), Kenny Karberg (49 tackles, 5 sacks) and tackles Frankie Glenn (92 tackles, 8 sacks) and David Montgomery (79 tackles, 5 sacks).
BATTLE TESTED OPPONENT
The foe for the War Eagles in the title game will be a Palatka Panthers team that has survived tough games the last two weeks. The Panthers opened the playoffs with a 27-7 win over Jacksonville Lee. Then they outlasted Milton, 28-27, in a triple overtime game. Then, in last week’s semifinal they beat Dade City Pasco 18-13.
“We have our work cut out for us. It should be a good game,” said Mack. “I’m hoping for a different result than our last time. The community is hungry for a state championship.”
