Earlier this evening (August 15), the Okeechobee Brahmans traveled to Lake Worth to face off against the Dr. Joaquin Garcia High Bulldogs.
What the Brahmans weren’t expecting was for the Bulldogs to unleash the full offensive arsenal straight out of the gate. Tonight, Garcia showcased just how explosive their offense was, following a 17/21, 215 yard and 2 TD performance from senior QB Caleb Butler, and his top target, Jayden Morton. Butler and Morton hooked up tonight for 5 catches, 133 yards and 2 scores, including two receptions of over 20+ yards.
Two seasons ago, Jayden Morton was the face of the franchise at DJGHS in their inaugural season. Last season, he was a contributor on the Atlantic High Eagles in their post season Elite 8 push. Now, Morton is back donning the baby blue and white, and had one hell of a return to that Carolina colored turf.
“It’s a great feeling being back. It’s been great seeing some old friends around school, it was awesome showing out in front of them tonight.” Morton stated with a smile. “The OLine held their blocks which gave Caleb enough time to get the ball out, from there it was just my turn to do my job.”
Moments later, Butler chimed in on what helped the offense work so well:
“We never let off the gas tonight. The 1’s the 2’s and the 3’s all got some great opportunities tonight, I’m very proud of the whole team’s performance tonight.” Butler eagerly shared. “I had Jayden by my side tonight, made some difficult throws, he still found a way to get the ball and make me look good.”
Caleb was certainly not lying when he said the whole team got opportunities to shine. Despite what Butler and Morton’s individual stats may indicate, the offense was honestly driven on the ground tonight. The whole Garcia backfield got active tonight, as DeAngelo Murph, Timmy Anderson, Jeremiah Davidson and Aaron Shackleton all punched in a score on the ground.
Later on in the interview, I spoke with Caleb about his favorite moment of the evening. Without hesitation, Butler stated:
“My favorite part of the night was when my backup, Mason came in and threw his first touchdown pass. He’s a class of 2029 freshman, and I promise you he’ll be more than ready to take control of this program before I leave.”
In order to have a game like tonight, you can’t just have an offensive explosion, you need the exact same production on the defensive side of the ball. To put it bluntly, Garcia’s defense was smothering tonight.
Positive offensive plays were a dime a dozen tonight for the Brahmans, as the Bulldog defense was just suffocating from the snap. Senior Linebacker Dominic Luchina headlined the stat sheet with 7 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, while EDGE Jace Gurien and LB Cole Vatterott recorded a sack a piece, with Gurien also coming away with a forced fumble.
The red hot Garcia Bulldogs are ready to roll into the regular season. Their first official test: hosting the Lake Worth Trojans, next Friday night, August 22nd.
