Celtics crush Blue Wave, move on 3A to regional final


Trinity Catholic players emerge from their smoke-filled tunnel before their game against P.K. Yonge during the regional semifinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Trinity Catholic won the game. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted November 20, 2021 | By Joel Bronson

joel@ocalagazette.com

Trinity Catholic players emerge from their smoke-filled tunnel before their game against P.K. Yonge during the regional semifinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Trinity Catholic won the game. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

The night started off strange visiting PK Yonge.

Traffic between Gainesville and Ocala caused the Blue Wave team bus to arrive around 7 p.m. for the 7:30 kickoff.

Trinity Catholic would make sure the night did not improve for PK Yonge.

The Celtics dominated in all phases of the game, rolling past the Blue Wave 35-7 at Al Dunlap Field on Friday night.

Celtics junior running back Beau Beard led the way with 134 yards rushing on just 15 carries, while senior quarterback Cole Gonzalez passed for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Trinity Catholic’s Beau Beard (20) picks his way past P.K. Yonge defenders as he runs in for a touchdown during the regional semifinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Trinity Catholic won the game. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

Celtics senior running back Marquis Jones started the scoring with a 2-yard run early in the first quarter. Jones would tally two rushing touchdowns on the night.

Gonzalez later connected with sophomore receiver Mekai Griffin on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

PK Yonge could never get on track due in part to the loss of senior quarterback Aaron Small, Jr., to a leg injury early in the first quarter.

With Small on the sidelines, freshman quarterback Adrian Curtis entered the game and immediately felt the wrath of the Celtics defense.

While the Celtics offense was efficient, the defense was nasty from start to finish.

Curtis was sacked three times on the night, twice by senior defensive end Elijah Russell and once by senior lineman Matthias Lafferty.

Junior linebacker Donathan Lecorn got in on the fun, intercepting a Curtis pass and scoring from 22 yards out.

The Trinity Catholic defense held the Blue Wave to under 100 yards for the game.

With the victory, Trinity Catholic advances to the FHSAA 3A regional final.

The Celtics host 3-seed Florida State High on Friday, November 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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