Road test: Pahokee passes in 17-7 win over Taylor County to reach Rural state semis

PERRY – It has been a long time since the Pahokee Blue Devils won a playoff game on the road.

Led by head coach Carlos Lammons, they overcame the cool North Florida weather and overall unfamiliar elements of North Florida as a whole to earn a 17-7 win over the Taylor County Bulldogs on Friday night (Nov. 21).

Pahokee (9-3; No. 5 overall seed in Rural playoffs) came back from a 7-0 halftime deficit and dominated in the second half with 17 unanswered points against Taylor County (10-2 final record; No. 4 overall seed in Rural playoffs).

Here is how Lammons and crew got it done.

On Pahokee’s first offensive possession of the second half, the unit made sure to find the end zone and tie this game up. They scored off a rushing touchdown from senior running back and Tennessee State verbal commit Samuel Arnold, who cut Taylor County’s lead to 7-6 at the 7:36 mark.

And right after Arnold hit paydirt, senior kicker Paulo Lugo had a chance to tie the game up at 7-7.

It went through.

Pahokee’s defense – which forced and recovered two lost fumbles in this one – did not allow any points to Taylor County in the third and fourth quarters. So with that side of the ball shutting it down, it was on the offense and special teams to carry on the rest of the way.

The fourth quarter went well for Pahokee.

How so?

The cool, calm, and collected senior leader in quarterback Xavier Mitchell trusted the offense to come through. He was able to find senior wide receiver Odexter Simms for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

After Mitchell’s scoring pass occurred, Lugo connected on his second extra point to give Pahokee a 14-7 lead over Taylor County.

“We started off kinda slow and had a lot of flashes in the first half, but we weren’t able to capitalize off them,” Mitchell said. “The defense played a big part in keeping the game 7-0 going into halftime. During halftime we knew we had to lock in and play Pahokee football because none of us wanted to go home. We came out on fire by scoring on the first drive and gaining momentum, which pushed us over the edge.”

Later in the fourth quarter, Lugo provided Pahokee with the insurance points and final score by way of a 30-yard field goal at the 8:44 mark.

“It was great experience for me,” said Lugo, who went 1-for-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points. “I’ll be ready for next week to be better.”

The Blue Devils advanced to the state semifinal round for the first time since 2019, the year before the pandemic took place. They came so close to toppling eventual Class 1A state champion Madison County but suffered a 37-36 road loss in the final minutes.

For the first time in six years, Pahokee is one game away from the state title game. As always, the Pahokee mentality is state title or bust.

“We made history,” Lugo said of Pahokee’s first road playoff win in at least two decades. “It was a very interesting game. We went down 7-0 fast, but we refocused and found our way back into the game and to seal the win.”

NEXT GAME FOR PAHOKEE: Rural state semifinal round on the road at No. 1 overall seed Blountstown (11-0); Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.

HISTORY NOTE: Pahokee’s last 10-win season was in 2017, when it finished with a 10-3-1 record and 28-10 road loss to eventual state champion Madison County in the 1A state semifinal round.

PHOTO CREDIT: Angela Mitchell