Prep vs St. Joe's Regional Playoffs Recap

      In the Non-Public A semifinals, the Marauders fell to the Green Knights of St. Joe’s Regional in a heartbreaker 25-21. This was the second meeting this season between the Marauders and the Green Knights.

    The game started with two St. Joe’s touchdowns, and the Marauders trailed 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. However, Prep bounced back in the second quarter scoring two touchdowns of their own. Tyler Bell threw two touchdown passes to Amari Jones and Hunter Watson from 31 yards and 13 yards respectively. That gave Prep the 14-13 at halftime.

QB Tyler Bell reminisces on his last 3 seasons as the varsity starting quarterback after the contest.

Junior Ryan Wooten embraces Senior Jordan Rodriguez after his last high school game.

     In the second half, the Marauders started the third quarter with a 32 yard touchdown from Bell to Watson once again to extend their lead 21-13. The touchdown was a record setter, as Hunter Watson set the all time school record for most receiving yards in Prep history passing current NFL star Minkah Fitzpatrick. St. Joe’s responded on the next possession with a touchdown of their own, but failed to convert the two point conversion making the score 21-19.

     In the fourth quarter, the Green Knights scored another touchdown but failed on the two point conversion to make the game 25-21. On Prep’s last drive of the season, Tyler Bell threw an interception to give the ball back to the Green Knights who would then run the clock out.

     Bell finished the game 6/17 passing for 93 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT and added 69 yards rushing on 9 attempts. Barksdale rushed 4 times for 35 yards. Watson had 4 catches for 52 yards and 2 TDs while Jones added 1 catch for 31 yards and 1 TD. On the defensive side, Jordan Rodriguez again led the group with 13 total tackles. Junior defensive backs Ryan Wooten and Ty'ire Clark added 9 tackles each.
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    Prep finishes with a 8-3 record, and it was a bounce back season for the Marauders as they fell just short of the state championship game. That concludes the 2025 season, and Prep fought until they very end.