- December 3, 2024
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Wiley Conner (34) gets blocking up front from Jaylon Owens (71), Kelin Scott (76) and KJ Roberts (52). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas quarterback Caden Burchfield tries to put a move on Deltona's Desean Fludd (2). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Letty Bartolome dressed up for "Minions — Tonight We Steal the Win" Night. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas captains Caden Burchfield (7), Thomas Larywon (6) and Braden Russell (2) listen to the referee's instructions before the coin toss. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas head coach Matt Forrest talks to coaches in the press box on the headphones in a game against Deltona on Sept. 5. File photo by Brent Woronoff
Ladarian Baker goes airborne to pick up extra yards. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas defensive back Kenneth Robinson with an ankle tackle on Damarion Phillips. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Caden Burchfield (7) runs a quarterback keeper. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas students applaud on "Minions — Tonight We Steal the Win" Night. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Fans in the Matanzas home stands try not to get drenched during the game against Deltona on Sept. 5. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Alex Procek punts for Matanzas. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Caden Burchfield scores on a 14-yard run. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas senior Jeffrey Powell never played defense before this season. Unless you count a little bit in practice. So intercepting a pass in a key moment to help the Pirates secure a victory was something out of a dream. It almost didn’t feel real, he said.
Powell was a running back as a freshman and a reserve receiver as a sophomore and junior who came into this season with six total receptions for 48 yards.
“I was learning, developing, getting stronger, getting bigger,” he said. “Obviously, Jordan Mills, Andre Andrews, all those guys were playing (ahead of me) and I learned a lot.”
This year, with several seniors graduating, Powell was asked to switch to defense. He said he would play anywhere the team needed him, and for the first time in his career, he earned a starting spot.
His big moment came with 5:25 left in the game against Deltona on Sept. 5. With the Pirates leading 14-7 and the Wolves driving into Matanzas territory, Powell picked off a pass and returned it 37 yards.
As soon as I caught it, it was like surreal. Like, I was out of body. I was running and I got up and everybody was pushing me around. ... It was so crazy.”
— JEFFREY POWELL
“We had been talking about squeezing the slants all week,” he said. “And when it happened, I think the quarterback kind of overthrew it and I just drove on it. As soon as I caught it, it was like surreal. Like, I was out of body. I was running and I got up and everybody was pushing me around, and I got to the sideline. I was looking up at the sky, lying on the ground and everyone was surrounding me. It was so crazy.”
But Powell’s night wasn’t over. The Wolves got the ball back, and Powell broke up a pass on their final drive allowing Matanzas to run out the clock with the 14-7 victory on a rainy night at the Ship.
Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said before the season that Powell was the team's most improved player over the spring and summer.
“We felt (moving him to defense) was a chance for him to get on the field more consistently, and he’s taken advantage of that,” Forrest said.
The Pirates won their second game in a row to improve to 2-1, while the Wolves fell to 1-1. The game was moved up a day to Thursday in an effort to avoid three consecutive days of rain, but the field was already soaked by kickoff. And the rain continued throughout the night.
“It rained all game. That ball could have bounced either way,” Forrest said.
Sophomore running back Wiley Conner ran for more than 100 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard run with 6:27 left in the game.
“It was raining out and everything,” Conner said. “We needed to run that thing. Our O-line was executing really well.”
According to WNZF stats, Matanzas amassed 334 yards, including 190 on the ground, while holding Deltona to 164 yards. But the Pirates had trouble getting the ball into the end zone.
Following a Matanzas pick by Javonte Patton, Deltona's Damarion Phillips intercepted a Caden Burchfield pass at the Wolves' 7-yard line in the first quarter. And a Pirates' touchdown pass was called back just before halftime because of an illegal man downfield.
The Pirates went into halftime with a 6-0 lead on Burchfield's 14-yard touchdown run with 2:42 left in the second quarter. The Pirates' 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Matanzas found out just how slim that lead was on the first play of the second half when Deltona's Desean Fludd ran 65 yards down the right sideline for the game-tying touchdown. The Wolves kicked the extra point to take a 7-6 lead.
“That was something that we hadn't seen,” Powell said. “But we got to correcting it. They ran it a couple more times, and it was nothing like that first time that they ran it.”
Burchfield passed for 144 yards and ran for 60. Once the rain began to subside, he completed his final 10 passes for 134 yards, including a 43-yard strike to Andrew Bass to help set up Conner's touchdown. Burchfield ran in the 2-point conversion.
“I think just our mentality was keeping our foot on the gas and just not stopping,” Burchfield said.
“That was a hard win,” Forrest said. “Deltona is a much improved football program from last year. I think that's where our program’s come to where we can battle and win games like that. We can have some things not go our way. We can recover and then drive to score and win in the fourth quarter.”
It was a game Powell will remember for a long time.
“Nothing in my high school career compares,” he said. “I feel like (the interception) was such a big moment. It was a one-score game and that was almost like the dagger. It feels awesome.”
