Crusaders march through Wolfpac

It was number one versus number two.
Teacher versus student.
The veteran team versus the new kids on the block.
But when it was all boiled down the Panhandle Crusaders won a hard fought defensive battle 14-11 over the Pensacola Wolfpac.
The Crusaders (4-2) avengened an opening season 30-12 loss to the Wolfpac (5-1), but the key to them was team and keeping their postseason hopes alive.
That desire was evident as the Crusaders took a 14-3 lead when Octavias Smith found Matthew Canellare for a 57 yard touchdown.
Canellare would not go down despite being hit by three members of the Wolfpac. He kept his balance and then rumbled down the field for the score with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.
“It was just good balance and a great block by my teammates,” said Canellare. “My teammates stayed with the play and all the receivers came and made a block.
“Tonight was a lot of fun and a great game, but tonight we played like a team.”
That team had some concerns after going up 14-3 as the Wolfpac would not go down easy.
Pensacola cut the lead to 14-9 on a six-yard touchdown run just before the end of the third quarter.
As the defensive struggle continued the Wolfpac forced the Crusaders to punt, which was an interesting experience.
The snap sailed over the head of Yancy Gordon who quickly ran after the ball and kicked it out of the back of the endzone for a safety to make it 14-11.
Pensacola would make one more charge, but they would get stopped by an incomplete pass on fourth-and-five from their own 45-yard line with just under four minutes remaining.
From that point on the Wolfpac was fed a steady diet of Brandon Sanders running the ball as time ran out on Pensacola and really clouded the playoff picture for both teams.
The Sunshine Conference champion will be decided based on the result of both teams upcoming game against the Ft. Walton Beach Falcons.
The Crusaders responded from a disappointing 15-8 loss to the Louisiana Hurricanes in a non-conference game.
“We were anticipating and easy win last week,” said Crusaders Head Coach Will Walker. “But tonight we knew it was going to be two titans doing battle and we are very happy to get this win.
“This entire week I challenged all the players to step up all week and they did just that.”