Vanguard routs Gainesville to clinch district championship

Vanguard’s Gerald “Juice” Lawton (3) pushes off on the facemask of Gainesville’s Cameron Dixon (11) for a large gain as Vanguard defeats Gainesville 47-3 in the District Championship at Booster Stadium in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Vanguard defeats Gainesville 47-3

10 photos

The Vanguard football team enjoyed a three-for-one special in Friday night’s game against Gainesville. First, the Knights ran roughshod over the Hurricanes by a score of 47-3 to win the Class 4A-District 5 championship for at least the fourth year in a row. Second, the victory came in front of a large and raucous homecoming crowd at Booster Stadium and lastly, it was on Senior Night.

“It never gets old winning a district championship, it just gets better” said Vanguard veteran coach Edwin Farmer. “We had senior day today and the seniors dressed up in suits, we had a breakfast for them and a banquet at Golden Ocala. We did a lot for them, and they deserve it because they are a special group. Getting the victory tonight is just icing on the cake.”

Vanguard wasted no time in taking control of the game as the Knights forced Gainesville to punt on its opening possession. Senior Davon Jones showed some nifty moves in returning the punt to the Hurricanes’ 31-yard line. Senior running back King James ripped off an 18-yard scamper and senior Jermaine White scored from two yards out. Sophomore Sergarion Gunsby was successful on a jet sweep around right end for the two-point conversion to give the Knights an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Gainesville, which dropped to 3-5 overall and 0-3 in district play, answered with its best drive of the night as the Hurricanes marched 65 yards in 10 plays with junior quarterback Nelson Tambling using his legs as well as his arm to spark the drive. The Vanguard defense stiffened, and sophomore kicker Alex Probert came on to boot a 27-yard field goal to pull the Hurricanes within 8-3 with 3:31 left in the first period.

A short kick and a good return gave the Knights excellent field position at their 49. Sophomore quarterback Terrance Lewis picked up a first down with a scramble and completed a pass to Gerald Lawton III to move the ball inside the Gainesville 20-yard line. Gunsby finished off the drive with a nine-yard scoring run up the middle. A two-point run failed, and Vanguard led 14-3 late in the first quarter.

Gainesville’s Tambling was injured, and junior Jaishawn Sanford came in to replace him. The Hurricanes struggled to move the ball against a swarming Knights defense and were forced to punt.

Vanguard moved the ball methodically down the field with Lewis displaying his quickness and elusiveness on several runs. Lawton III broke off a nice run and Lewis found the end zone from nine yards out. Jaxson Lee booted the extra point to make it 21-3 at the half.

The Knights took the second half kickoff and marched 65 yards in just six plays as Lewis found Jones behind the Gainesville secondary for a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-3.

Without its starting quarterback, the Hurricanes could find no consistency on offense as Vanguard racked up several sacks of Sanford.

A short punt gave Vanguard good field position and the Knights found the end zone on a nine-yard run by senior Josiah Farmer, Farmer had a big night as he was also selected as Homecoming King.

Gainesville’s Sanford was hit while trying to pass on the Hurricanes’ next possession and the fumble was picked up and returned for a touchdown. Lee kicked the extra point to give the Knights a 41-3 lead midway through the third quarter. A running clock was used for the remainder of the game.

Vanguard, which has won eight games in a row to improve to 8-1 on the season, tacked on a final score as Jones returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown. The Knights will take on cross-town rival Forest on Friday night in the final regular season game. The Knights will host a Class 4A regional quarterfinal in two weeks.

“We’ll enjoy this win for a little while and then get ready for Forest,” coach Farmer said. “That’s a big rivalry and we definitely want to get a win and head into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.”