by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Bayside RB Taquan Mizzell (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Going into the weekend, Bayside sat as the #8 seed in the Division 6 playoffs in spite of only having two losses. Cox sat on the outside looking in, needing a win to inch closer to playoff contention. It was a cold and windy day that might have played into the Falcons’ hands. After all, Cox coach Bill Stachelski is a master at coaching to circumstances and taking advantage of nuances. Instead, the balance of the Bayside attack won the day.
Bayside started the game off by stifling Cox’ offense. After a Cox punt, Bayside drove 65 yards and got on the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run by Taquan Mizzell.
Cox’ second possession didn’t work much better for them. The Falcons managed a first down, but went for a fourth and 12 from their own 44 and were knocked back two yards. Working with a short field, the Marlins scored again, this time on the first play of the second quarter when Deion Stitt hit Quin Blanding with a 30-yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion failed, but the Marlins now lead 12-0.
On the Marlins’ second possession of the second quarter, they scored on a 43-yard reverse by Anthony Cooper. The extra point failed and the Marlins had an 18-0 lead, which they took into halftime.
The second half was more of the same. Cox did manage a score when Bayside botched the snap on a punt that gave Cox the ball at the Marlin 20 yard line. Eventually, Jay Brooks punched it into the end zone with 10:16 left in the game. A successful two-point conversion made it 25-8 in favor of Bayside.
Before the end of the third quarter, Stitt hit Anthony Cooper with a 32-yard touchdown pass that put Stitt atop the Bayside passing yardage list. Quite a feat for a junior still in the regular season. EJ Manuel held the Bayside passing record with 5879 yards. Stitt reached 5906 with his completion to Cooper.
Bayside QB Deion Stitt (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
The game ended with a 31-8 score as Bayside spent most of the fourth quarter winding down the clock and Cox was unable to stop them. Bayside lineman Mike Phillips left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter. The prognosis on the injury is unknown at this time.
After the game, Stitt reflected on breaking Manuel’s passing record.
“It feels great to break the record,” said Stitt. “I feel like I’ll have my name in the school forever now. As much as I hear about E.J., I wonder if three or four years from now, kids will hear about me in the same way. It’s good to get it out of the way before the playoffs.”
Bayside coach Darnell Moore was proud of his quarterback. “He’s done a good job for us for three years. He’s been blessed with some good receivers and some good linemen who can block. That helps… and of course he can throw the ball.”
The game plan for Bayside today went very much as planned.
“We set out to run and throw the ball. We wanted to set the tone early with some run,” said Moore. “Then we wanted to mix the pass in, we wanted to manipulate the formations and all.”
The win guarantees a playoff position for Bayside, while Cox falls out of the Division 6 playoff picture with the loss. Cox (5-4) faces First Colonial (5-4) next Friday night. The winner will finish the season over .500, but neither team will qualify for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Bayside is done for the season and finishes at 8-2. Their playoff position isn’t set yet, but it’s highly likely they’ll hit the road when the playoffs start.
“We’ll take a look at the playoff situation at the early part of next week. Then we’ll have a better idea of who we might play,” Coach Moore said. “We don’t have a preference as to who we’ll play. We don’t care who it is, we feel like we’ll match up well with anybody.”
The Division 6 playoffs are stacked and it’s possible that Bayside could travel to meet Woodside, Oscar Smith or Salem in the opening round, depending on the outcome of next week’s games and whether Bayside finishes as a 6, 7 or 8 seed.
“We never thought we were going to be an eight seed. Even with the way things were (going into the weekend). We figure we’ll be a seven or six. It doesn’t matter who we play. If we’re an eight, it doesn’t matter,” the coach said plainly.
The latest VHSL power rankings will be officially published on Monday as we go into the final week of the regular season.
- Andy Hilton
