Bayside hosted Okeechobee on Friday night.
PALM BAY Okeechobee High School defeated the Bayside Bears on Friday night \42-21 in a win that guarantees the Brahmans their first winning season since 2008.
Playing just four days after a Monday night win against Fort Pierce Westwood, Okeechobee came out of the gate a little slow. The Brahmans fumbled and lost the ball on the very first play of the game and Bayside took advantage of that by scoring the game’s first touchdown.
From there, however, it was virtually all Okeechobee.
Bubba Fludd scored on runs of 10 and four yards for a 14-6 Okeechobee lead after one quarter, while Jujuan Cherry’s 10-yard run and Jermaine Moore 17-yard touchdown pass from Fludd pushed the Brahmans’ advantage to 28-6 at the break.
ICYMI: Week 8 Brevard high school football wrapup
Okeechobee stayed comfortably ahead in the second half, handing Bayside its 20th straight loss.
While Okeechobee coach Chris Branham was happy with the win, he wasn’t convinced his team played all that well.
“We had a vehicle with no gas in it and it kept clunking and wouldn’t turn over,” said Branham. “Offensively, we got beat up up front.”
Despite his coach’s analysis, Fludd — Okeechobee’s senior quarterback — had another solid game. He finished the night with 237 all-purpose yards, scoring twice himself and throwing that touchdown pass to Moore.
Later, Branham would add, “We’re 5-1, you can’t be too upset with that.”
The next two games will decide if Okeechobee will make the playoffs.
First its a homecoming game against Eau Gallie Friday, followed by a road game at Jensen Beach the following week.
OKEECHOBEE 42, BAYSIDE 21
Okeechobee 14 14 0 14 – 42
Bayside 6 0 8 7 – 21
HOW THEY SCORED
1st Quarter
B: Joel Dorjuste 1 run (kick blocked), 8:32
O: Bubba Fludd 10 run (Jarrett Mills kick), 6:40
O: Bubba Fludd 4 run (Jarrett Mills kick), 2:04
2nd Quarter
O: Jajuan Cherry 10 run (Jarrett Mills kick), 11:54
O: Jermaine Moore 17 pass from Bubba Fludd (Jarrett Mills kick), :42
3rd Quarter
B: Joel Dorjuste 3 run (pass complete), 3:02
4th Quarter
O: Lamar Williams 2 run (Jarrett Mills kick), 8:34
O: Jajuan Cherry 8 run (Jarrett Miles kick), 1:49
B: Sheridon Archer 36 pass from Jordan McIlvain (Rachel Van Mier kick), :20
At Bayside High School, Palm Bay
Top performers: Okeechobee: Bubba Fludd and Jajuan Cherry each ran for two touchdowns; Bayside: Joel Dorjuste gave the Bears an early lead with a 1-yard TD run.
Key play: Trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Okeechobee’s Bubba Fludd scored two first-quarter TDs on runs of 10 and 4 yards. LEading 14-7 after the first, Okeechobee never looked back.
Record: Okeechobee (6-1, 2-1 14-6A); Bayside (0-6, 0-3 14-6A).
Next week: Eau Gallie at Okeechobee, 7 p.m.; Bayside at Sebastian River, Oct. 17, 7 p.m.; Bayside at Melbourne, Oct. 21, 7 p.m.
Full game report: http://on.flatoday.com/2ebPvur
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