McDorman, Eagles wear down Mosley in second half

PANAMA CITY — Mosley athletic director Tim Jennings thought he could recall the Dolphins having beaten Niceville in the late 1980s.

If that is valid, Mosley still has an 0-fer since.

Niceville won the District 2-4A openers between the schools entering Tommy Oliver Stadium Friday night with matching 4-1 records. The battered Dolphins put up a fight, but in the end the 35-14 outcome revealed that the Eagles (5-1, 1-0) were in scant danger of handing over their dominance.

With three starters watching from the sideline in street clothes, Mosley (4-2, 0-1) lost a war of attrition. The absences of Deric Carter, Jackson Platt and Jerrell Crum, and their combined 1,275 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns was too much to overcome.

Mosley led early and it was tied 7-7 at halftime. Niceville senior quarterback Kyle McDorman took over thereafter, accounting for all five Niceville touchdowns, two of them passing and three rushing.

Just as telling, the Eagles began to lean on the Dolphins in the third quarter, holding the football for almost nine of the 12 minutes. Four more Mosley players eventually needed assistance from the field, and Niceville took early control in 2-4A.

“They wore us down,” Mosley coach Perry Brown said. “It was a good game for a half, and then you could just see us wearing down. And then we had more kids getting hurt.”

Brown’s counterpart John Hicks of Niceville agreed.

“I’m not sure we could have beaten them if they had their guys healthy,” Hicks said. “I don’t want to take anything away from our kids, but that’s a good football team over there.”

Hicks said that McDorman has been playing well, even though the Eagles’ offense has sputtered somewhat in the early season. He rushed for 139 yards on 11 carries Friday, and had touchdowns of 5, 1 and 33 yards, all in the second half.

McDorman also tossed touchdown passes of 20 yards to Hayden Meyer and 48 to Brandon Burke.

“He was very determined tonight,” Hicks said of his veteran quarterback.

Mosley marched 80 yards in 10 plays with the opening kickoff, a wrap-around draw to fullback J.T. Brown the key play gaining 26 yards. Junior running back David Craig broke a tackle at the 1 to score on third down.

Niceville answered with an 80-yard drive in 11 plays. McDorman got things started with a 29-yard run, then found Meyer open in the left corner of the end zone on third-and-8 from the Mosley 20.

The teams swapped punts and stellar defense in the second quarter before Niceville assumed command on the first series of the second half. Hicks said the Eagles changed some blocking assignments, but just as critical was Mosley letting McDorman roam free after faking handoffs to running backs Marquis Pratt and Spencer Pullen.

McDorman rushed for 52 yards on a 14-play, 80-yard drive that consumed more than six minutes of the third quarter. He scored from the 5, and with 24 seconds left in the quarter sneaked in from the 1 after his 29-yard pass to Burke got the Eagles in the red zone.

Mosley gained only 26 yards in the third quarter, and when McDorman juked two players and ran 33 yards it opened a 28-7 bulge.

The Dolphins responded one more time, with quarterback Chase Smith completing four passes on an 80-yard march. Freshman Ryan Rogers scooted the right side for 11 yards to score.

McDorman’s final touchdown pass came with 1:09 remaining.