War Eagle receiver Samron Brinson catches a touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter against Rickards. PHOTOS BY KEN FIELDS

Xavier Blake breaks into the open. He had 103 yards on the night.

The Wakulla War Eagles improved to 5-1 with an overtime win over a tough Rickards Raiders team, who dropped to 2-4.

The game ended in regulation in a 14-14 tie and the game came down to an extra point in overtime. Wakulla scored and kicked an extra point, then Rickards scored and went for 2 and the win, but the pass fell incomplete, giving Wakulla a 21-20 win.

Head Coach Scott Klees expected a tough game, especially with the number of Division 1 athletes on the Rickards roster. “There’s a reason there were scouts from Wake Forest and Alabama in the stands,” Klees said.

“I’m excited to come away with a win,” Klees said.

There were distractions during the week: the threat of Hurricane Ian and not knowing if the game would be played, then school closed on Thursday and Friday in an abundance of caution.

“It was a good win,” Klees said. “They are probably the best team we’ve played at this point – them and Mosley and Chiles, all big schools in classifications ahead of us.”

It was Mosley, the week before, that handed Wakulla it’s first loss of the season – and for Klees, it was important to see how his team responded to the loss.

There were inevitable mistakes, things the team could have done better, Klees said, but the offense is where he wants it at this point in the season. And the defense maybe had its best game, he said, after having a not-so-good game against Mosley.

Against Rickards, running back Xavier Blake had 17 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown, plus 4 catches for 54 yards.

Receiver Samron Brinson had 6 catches for 89 yards and a TD.

Quarterback Haden Klees went 19 of 29 for 261 yards passing with a touchdown and one interception. he also rushed twice for 19 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker Tanner Lanier led the defense with 13 tackles. Cody Walker had 7 tackles including 2 for loss. And Todd Williams had 8 tackles including 3 sacks.

GAME RECAP

The War Eagles first two drives ended with turnovers: the first drive had a Rickards interception at the 11, and the next drive ended with a fumble at their own 33.

On their next drive, the War Eagles started at their own 1 yard line. They got to midfield and the drive stalled and they had to punt.

The Raiders showed their explosiveness with a 50-yard run by Rickards RB Rico Watkins to gets the Raiders beyond midfield. Drive stalls, they punt and it’s muffed at 10 rolls into end zone where it’s recovered by Wakulla for a touchback.

50-yard pass from QB Haden Klees to WR Samron Brinson down to the 1 yard line with 1:55 left in the half. Klees takes it in on a sneak and points are finally scored. Linville adds the PAT to put Wakulla up 7-0 over Rickards. The Raiders would get the ball down the field and try a 47-yard field goal as time expired, but the kick would drift left.

On the first play of the second half, Rickards scored on an 80-yard run to tie it at 7.

On the next series, receiver Samron Brinson got past the defender and was grabbed for pass interference. They got it to the 6 and, on 4th down, Coach Klees sent in the kicking team and then called a timeout and sent his offense back out. Klees connected with Brinson for a touchdown to put Wakulla up 14-7.

But Rickards would drive the field and score to tie it again, and it was 14-14 at the end of regulation.

In overtime, Xavier Blake scored on the first play from the 10 and the extra point was good.

Rickards scored on their possesion, but went for 2 and the win and the pass was incomplete.

Final: Wakulla 21, Rickards 20.

NEXT UP: JOHN PAUL II

The War Eagles are scheduled to host the John Paul II Panthers on Friday night, which is also Homecoming.

“It’s gonna be another war,” Klees said. “It’s a game we were predicted to lose at the beginning of the year.” (Wakulla was expected to be at 2-4 at this point in the season.)

The JPII defensive front is really good, and they have a good running back.

“Not a lot of people have scored on them,” he said. “And they score a lot of points.”

Friday, Oc t. 7 at 7 p.m.

Wakulla War Eagles host the John Paul II Panthers at J.D. Jones Stadium. It is HOMECOMING.