Troy Coughlin capped his senior year with his ninth 100-yard game rushing. He also caught the lone Dolphin touchdown in the 14-7 loss to West Florida. (File photo by Stuart Camp)
A low-scoring affair put a period at the end of the Gulf Breeze Dolphins’ 2022 season. They dropped a 14-7 decision to the West Florida Jaguars last week, finishing the year with a 5-5 record.
The Dolphins made the playoffs the two previous years – a total of five times in the last seven years, and they figured that a win Friday night might squeeze into the regional seedings. Unfortunately, West Florida held Gulf Breeze to a single score for an early exit.
The Jaguars punched in two touchdowns – one each by quarterback Markell Redding and running back Wyatt Casey. Both teams apparently experienced difficulty gaining yardage. Redding was West Florida’s leading rusher with 80 yards on 15 carries, and he completed 12 passes for 116 yards.
It wasn’t until three minutes remained in the third quarter, down 14-0, when Gulf Breeze broke the goose egg. On fourth down and six, Battle Alberson chucked an off-balance pass to the back corner where Tony Coughlin ran underneath for a seven-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately, Gulf Breeze mustered only 130 yards of total offense – 31 through the air. Alberson suffered through a 4-for-15 night throwing the ball and posted only negative yardage on the ground. Troy Coughlin notched his ninth 100-yard game, rushing for 107 yards.
For the 2022 campaign, Coughlin rushed for 1,402 yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior year.
Alberson threw for 1,696 yards in 10 games, racking up 17 touchdowns with six interceptions. He distributed the ball to 10 different receivers. Bryson Rouillier had the most yards (558), but Brock Clayton caught the most passes (36). All three are juniors.