No. 3 Maclay will see another week of football after it gave No. 6 North Florida Educational Institution a first-round exit of the FHSAA football playoff with a 39-18 win.
The Marauders advanced to the next round of the playoffs, where they face the second-seeded Trinity Christian Academy.
At first, it looked like a back-and-forth matchup between the two teams, as each scored two early touchdowns in the first quarter to make it 15-12 with the Marauder having the slight edge.
Leading the way was quarterback Beau Beshears. The sophomore QB finished with five total touchdowns, four passing and one receiving. For the defense, which gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter, shut the Flying Eagles down for the majority of the game.
Here are the takeaways from Maclay’s performance against NFEI.
Watch FHSAA playoff games live on NFHS Network
The Beau Beshears special
This was Beshear’s first playoff game as the starting quarterback. With four passing touchdowns, he not only showed his arm talent but also found ways to avoid pressure and extend plays.
Maclay’s offense showed creativity by running a trick play that would make Beshears score as a receiver late in the fourth quarter, which would clinch the game for the Marauders.
Beshears would find wide open receivers such as Blake Brennan, who had two receiving TDs from Beshears, and the other two came from Ben Thompson and Tucker Poppel. Not bad for his first playoff win.
Defense grits out in the second half
While Maclay had a hard time setting the edge against NFEI’s running back Jordan Robinson, who finished with three touchdowns, the Marauders still came through when needed.
After the first two touchdowns, the Fighting Eagles struggled against Maclay’s front seven. The Marauders held the sixth-seeded Eagles to one touchdown, which came in the fourth quarter.
At the same time, NFEI could get out of its own way with constant penalties from the line of scrimmage. The defense gave Maclay momentum, and even when the offense went cold for the majority of the second half, the defense held it together to clinch the game for the Marauders.
What’s next for Maclay
Maclay moves on to the second round of the playoffs and will have to play No. 2 Trinity Christian Academy, a team that has blown out Providence School, 42-16. TCA was a state semifinalist last year.
The Marauders they moving forward with their playoff run on the road at TCA in Jacksonville. The kickoff time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Here are takeaways from Maclay’s 1st-round win over NFEI in FHSAA playoff
