DUNNELLON — Two years ago, a playoff win seemed like the impossible dream for Santa Fe football.
Friday night, that dream somehow became a reality.
And in a beatdown fashion.
The No. 4 seeded Raiders (9-2) won their first playoff game in a decade 35-7 over the fifth-seeded Dunnellon (9-2) at Ned Love Field in the Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinals. It’s the first postseason victory for coach Earnest Graham, the Florida football legend.
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Santa Fe, in the process, gained revenge for a 22-17 loss on October 15 that won the Tigers the district and allowed this game to be in Marion County.
In that game, the Raiders started sluggish and never recovered. Friday was the opposite. SF took a 14-0 lead into halftime and took advantage of a Dunnellon squad that didn’t show the energy needed for a playoff game.
Running back Jasiah Powell ground the Tigers down and finished with three scores, while the Santa Fe defense shut down RB Tony Turner — one of the best in Class 3A — and forced five turnovers with QB Zion Johnson on the run much of the night.
The Raiders travel to top-seeded Merritt Island next Friday for the FHSAA Class 3A-Region 2 semifinals. This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Santa Fe football, Earnest Graham, crush Dunnellon for first playoff win in a decade
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
