Seahawks Open Friday Night at South Walton

Expect to see a West Coast offense, with quick passes and a versatile backfield, when the Franklin County Seahawks travel to Santa Rosa Beach Friday night to face the South Walton Seahawks.

The game begins at 7 p.m. Central Times.

The Franklin County squad is hoping to avenge a 24-6 opening season loss to South Walton last year at Carrabelle, and Coach Jimmy Johnson said this could be the week the Seahawks earn their first win as a consolidated school.

"We match up well," he said, following the team's Labor Day afternoon practice. ""If we play well, we can win this game.

"I think we have an excellent chance," he said. "The mental thing concerns me more than anything."

Johnson, together with assistant coaches Fred Drake, Mike Todd, Justin Long and David Walker, have settled on a likely starting offense, but still have several defensive slots to be decided.

Leading the offense will be 6'1", 185-pound senior Gene Anderson, who will be taking snaps from 5'11", 190-pound junior center Chase Richards.

Rounding out the offensive line will be juniors Steven Babb (5'10", 244 lbs.), Tydron Wynn (5'9", 250 lbs.), and Russell Simmons (5'7", 174 lbs.); and sophomores Caden Barber (5'10", 200 lbs.) and Masan Crosby (5'11", 220 lbs.).

Anderson's target for tossing the pigskin will be senior tight end Bobby Garrett (6'2", 207 lbs.), senior wide receiver Jeremy James (5'8", 160 lbs.) and sophomore wide receiver Dalin Modican (5'9", 161 lbs.).

In the backfield will be 5'5", 153-pound senior tight end Jared Mock, who led the team in rushing last year, and junior fullback DJ Lane (5'9", 181 lbs.).

Johnson said plenty of other players will be seeing action as the season progresses. "We have two groups of offenses, but some players will double up and play both ways," he said. If you're going to compete, you have to play both ways. We want to get as many players as we can into the game."

Other members of the Seahawks squad include seniors Kevin Beasley (5'11", 166 lbs.), Charles Goggins (5'8", 130 lbs.), and Jacob Lee (6'2", 205 lbs.) and juniors Ricky Johnson (5'6", 132 lbs.), Arron Prince (5'11", 175 lbs.), Dustin Putnal (6', 123 lbs.), and Eric Hicks (5'10", 250 lbs.).

Sophomores on the Seahawks squad include C.J. Barnes (6'2", 235 lbs.), Dale Butler (5'6", 136 lbs.), Erix Carranza (5'6", 145 lbs.), Adam Joseph (6'1", 170 lbs.), Kyle Moore (5'9", 260 lbs.), Chris Pouncey (5'9", 218 lbs.), James Winfield (5'9", 165 lbs.), Tayler Hires (5'10", 130 lbs.) and Matthew Hernandez (6', 165 lbs.).

Freshmen on the Seahawks squad include Shannon Beasley (5'9", 145 lbs.), Brennan Walden (5'7, 140 lbs.), Charles Fasbenner (6'1", 197 lbs.), Colton Sheridan (5'8", 190 lbs.), Chris Granger (5'10", 155 lbs.), Chyler Duncan (5'6", 130 lbs.), Marquez Williams (5'11", 140 lbs.) and Bobby Wintons (6'4", 305 lbs.).

Garrett will once again be handling punting duties, while Prince will be kicking off and Mock and Carranza kicking extra points and field goals.

To get to South Walton High School, travel west on U.S. 98 for about 96 miles from downtown Apalachicola. Then, make a right, heading north onto US-331 (State Route 83). Drive a little less than a mile, and then turn left, heading west on Greenway Trail to the high school.

The distance to South Walton High School from Apalachicola is 97.3 miles, with approximate driving time 1 hour and 50 minutes.