Port St. Joe struggles in three-team jamboree

SAND HILLS — Arnold and Bozeman were full of positives on Thursday, while Port St. Joe was shown how far it needs to go this season.

The Marlins and Bucks defeated the Tiger Sharks in separate halves of a jamboree at Bozeman. The Bucks took advantage of turnovers for a 13-6 win. Arnold ran away with a 35-0 triumph.

Bozeman 13, Port St. Joe 6

Bozeman capitalized on two PSJ turnovers to provide the final margin.

The first was Quincy Welch’s fumble on the initial series, setting the Bucks up at the Tiger Sharks’ 39. Bozeman needed six running plays to score, Isaiah Robbins taking an inside handoff the final 18 yards.

Bozeman pooched the ensuing kickoff and Natrone Lee bobbled the ball to the Bucks. They went 43 yards in four plays with Jacob Martinez scoring on an 8-yard reverse for a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

PSJ went 63 yards on 11 plays, capped by a 30-yard Calvin Pryor run and two pass interference penalties in the end zone. Pryor scored from 5 yards to give the Tiger Sharks their lone touchdown.

The Bucks gained 106 yards, all on the ground, with Zach Martinez leading the way with 48 yards rushing on six carries. Pryor had 55 of PSJ’s 61 total yards.

Arnold 35, Port St. Joe 0

Andre Allen and Jamari Hughes combined for four touchdowns and the Tigers Sharks again were bullied along the lines.

Allen scored three times, with jaunts of 59 and 52 yards in the first quarter. He also scored on a 19-yarder in the second quarter to give the Marlins a 28-0 cushion.

Allen led all rushers with 143 yards and the Marlins had 273 yards on the ground. Hughes scored on a 54-yarder in the first quarter and finished with 88 yards.

Port St. Joe totaled just 47 yards and failed to cross midfield.

“We definitely took our lumps in that one,” Port St. Joe coach Vern Barth said of his young team. “The first thing we need to work on is conditioning.

“We got physically tired and then that made us mentally tired. Our effort was there, but we just need to get our guys to keep working.”

Port St. Joe opens the regular season next week at Bay.