PSJ one win away from state title game appearance

PORT ST. JOE - Vern Barth is enjoying the playoff ride in his first season as head coach of the Port St. Joe Tiger Sharks. He's also become acutely aware of another pertinent factor: Port St. Joe players fully expect to still be playing football in early December.

Of course, so do the athletes at North Florida Christian (8-2), which hosts Port St. Joe (10-2) 6:30 p.m. CST Friday in a Class 1A semifinal. The winner plays for the state title next week.

"They do feel like they expect to be here and compete for it," Barth said Wednesday, just five days removed from the Sharks' 22-19 win at West Gadsden County. It was the same Jaguar team that humiliated Port St. Joe 38-0 on Oct. 3 to drop the Sharks to 2-2 overall, and make every Friday night a must win the remainder of the season.

That was eight straight victories ago, when this Port St. Joe version turned around its fortunes.

"We didn't seem to get a lot of respect in North Florida, or around the state as far as that went," Barth said. "We knew that we didn't play as well as we should have in that first game."

It also forced the PSJ coaching staff to re-evaluate. As a result, some personnel moves were made to shore up the offensive line in the Shark's run-based attack.

"It was a combination of that and our kids realizing that anybody can beat us if we didn't play well," Barth said. "We moved some people around to find that chemistry."

Barth said one key move was John Williams from defensive tackle to center. Victor Quintanilla slid from guard to tackle, and Dillin McGhee was given a shot at guard.

"It was just understanding the way that I wanted it blocked, it was a little bit different for them," Barth said.

The Tiger Sharks were forced to shuffle again for NFC with senior lineman Robbie Martin lost with a broken leg last Friday. Martin also was Port St. Joe's place-kicker.

Barth said that senior defensive lineman Javon Davis will go both ways Friday, taking Martin's slot in the line, at that during Wednesday's practice two players were going to try out to kick extra points. Davis also is the Tiger Sharks leading tackler with 106 stops, 10 for loss.

Darrell Smith has 103 total tackles and Billy Martin 86.
Two other factors may have played into the Sharks reaching this advanced stage of the season.

"Calvin Pryor really stepped up, he's just a sophomore but has played like a senior," Barth said. "He understands the importance of winning, especially against Freeport in a game we had to win where he basically said give me the ball."

Pryor is part of a three-pronged rushing attack that also boasts five players with 255 or more rushing yards. Greg Farmer leads with 783, followed by Pierre Bell with 691 and Pryor with 688. Pryor leads in scoring with 96 points and has six interceptions from his free safety post.

Another key is that this squad has accepted a road warrior mentality, which was critical since PSJ reached the playoffs as a district runner-up. This will be the third consecutive playoff challenge on the road, which started at then No. 1 Mayo Lafayette.

"That actually started back during midseason," Barth said. "We had a three-game stretch (at Liberty County, Franklin County and Freeport) where we needed to win just trying to fight to be the runner-up.

"We knew we had two straight losses on the road, at Florida High and West Gadsden" to start the season. "We just determined we were going to be road warriors, and have kept that same mentality."

• Class 1A semifinal
  Port St. Joe Tiger Sharks (10-2) at No. 3 Tallahassee North Florida Christian Eagles (8-2), 6:30 p.m. CST
  Last week: Port St. Joe - The Tiger Sharks rushed for 311 yards and then held off a West Gadsden rally for a 22-19 win, avenging an earlier loss to the Panthers; NFC - Cody Ledford, a Tulane commitment, rushed for two scores in the Eagles' 33-7 rout of Orlando First Academy.
  All-time playoff records: Port St. Joe - 31-16 with two 2A state titles (1971, '84) and one 1A state title (2005); NFC - 46-15 with three 1A state titles (1999, 2000, '01) and two 2A state titles ('96, '98).
  Last meeting: The Eagles defeated the Tiger Sharks 18-13 in the 2006 state semifinal. The loss kept Port St. Joe from advancing to its second straight state championship game.
  Notes: This is Port St. Joe's third straight road game this postseason in large part due to the Tiger Sharks finishing as runners-up in District 1-1A. ... The Tiger Sharks have won eight games in a row after starting the season 2-2. ... These teams have met twice previously in the playoffs. NFC won both meetings, including a 42-14 triumph in 1998. ... The Eagles have won five straight games. Their last loss came Oct. 17 against Tallahassee Leon. ... The Tiger Sharks are 12-11 in road playoff contests, while the Eagles are 34-8 at home during the regional tournament. ... NFC has qualified for the regional round in each of the past 16 seasons. ... NFC has held its two playoff opponents to 17 points, with a 42-10 win over Melbourne Holy Trinity in the opening round.
  Up next: No. 2 Fort Meade (11-1) or defending state champion No. 5 Delray Beach American Heritage (9-2) in the state title game at 6 p.m. Dec. 12 in Orlando.
  Brad Milner