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They Did It For 32: Tate Beats PHS In Historic Game

Before Friday night, it had been about 20 years since the Tate Aggies beat the Pensacola High School Tigers. But it was one for the history books on a hot September night as Tate held on for a historic 14-12 victory.

Motivation for the Tate Aggies this week was to get a win for injured teammate Jesse Samuel — who wears jersey No. 32.

Jesse’s brother, Lavontia Samuel, wore that 32 jersey  in honor of his brother Friday night against PHS.. Lavontia scored in the first quarter on a four-yard run and again in the 2nd quarter when he out sprinted the PHS defenders for a 75-yard scoring run.  That would be all the scoring the Aggies would do for the night.

PHS would score in the third quarter on a 53-yard run, but the extra point was blocked by Tate’s Trace Penton.  The blocked extra point proved to be a huge play because when the Tigers scored in the fourth quarter on a pass play, they were forced to go for two points.  Tate’s defense was up to the task and stopped the Tigers’ quarterback short of the goal line to make it 14-12 with Tate in a lead they would hold all the way to sweet victory as the clock rolled down.

The defense and special teams deserved a lot of the credit for Tate’s win, Coach Ronnie Douglas said, adding that “Lavontia Samuel put the team on his back and carried them to a win”. Douglas said he has been pleased with all the hard worth the team did over the summer, and he’s happy it is beginning to pay off.

“”We are going to get used to this winning thing, and once we do it becomes a whole lot easier,” Douglas said.

Tate faces Panama City Bay next week at 7:30 at the home of the Aggies,  Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment.

Story and photos by Darryl Singleton

Pictured top: Lavontia Samuel, wearing his brother’s No. 32 jersey, celebrates a 75-yard touchdown run as his injured brother, Jesse Samuel, looks on. Pictured below: The Tate student section “blacked out”. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.