Defensive TD in final seconds wins it for Eagles
Itwasworth thewait. Edgewater, playing for the first time in three weeks since being forced into quarantine due to positive COVID-19 test results, came away with a turnover and gamewinning touchdown in the final seconds Friday to escape with a 31-24 win at Kissimmee Osceola.
The Eagles (2-1) entered the gameatNo. 2in the SentinelSuper 16 rankings. Osceola (3-1) came in atNo. 6. Both teams lived up to the billing in what was a thrilling showdown.
Jeremiah Connelly stripped Osceola quarterback Chad Mascoe after chasing him frombehind while the junior rolled to his left, and BryceTurner scooped the ball on a bounce near midfield and returned it for a score with 4.8 seconds to spare.
“[Assistant] Coach Joyce told me to blitz off the edge,” said Connelly. “And when I went off the edge [I noticed] he was holding the ball with one hand, so I hit the arm he had it in and grabbed the other one so he wouldn’t pick it up, and took him to the ground. Then I seen Bryce pick it up and score.”
Turner, a transfer from Olympia, was escorted by three teammates while marching toward the end zone in front of a frantic Edgewater sideline on the game’s decisive play.
“I seen the ball flip up in the air and just thought [to] run. I was focused on getting the touchdown,” said Turner. “I felt like I was running a little slow and like somebody was behind me, and had to tuck the ball and get in the end zone.”
The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter before the climactic finish after entering the final period knotted at 17-17.
Christian Leary took a short pass and turned it into a 52-yard gain two plays before quarterback Canaan Mobley connected with Tommi Hill at the goal line for a 36-yard score. Hill made the reception despite two defenders closing in with10 minutes left.
The Kowboys responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 5-yardTDpass in the back of the end zone fromMascoe to JohnWolff to tie the scorewith 4:21 remaining.
Osceola got the ball back nearly three minutes later and closed in on field-goal range after it blew up an Eagles’ rush attempt in the backfield on fourth-and-1. But Mascoe was sacked on the ensuring play, and despite a pair of big completions to Massimo Rubera and a fourth-down conversion, the Kowboys got no closer than the Edgewater 41 before the Eagles forced their only turnover to put the game away.
“I saw[Connelly] comefreeand hit the quarterback, and when I sawBryce pick it up I sawa bunch of guys fighting like crazy to make blocks downthe field to get him in the end zone, so it was really a team effort on a great play that helped us win,” said Edgewater coach Cameron Duke.
Mascoe performed superbly despite the turnover while completing 23 of 33 pass attempts for 325 yards and three TDs.
Osceola jumped out to a 14-6 lead when Mascoe connected with Ja’Keem Jackson on a scoring play for the second time. Jackson’s 25-yard TD catch came two plays after hauling in a 52-yard reception down the middle of the field.
The sophomore, who caught four passes for 153 yards, slipped through the secondary on the first series of the night and was wide open on a 69-yard touchdown reception in the opening minutes.
Edgewater tied the game at 14-14 with 9:17 to play in the first half when Khalil Washington broke free for a 45-yard run down the sideline and Mobley found Kye Rivers for the two-point conversion.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard for the first time when Leary, an Alabama commit, returned a punt 36 yards with five seconds left in the first quarter. Osceola junior Jerry Wilson blocked the extra-point attempt.
Edgewater’s C.J. Baxter led all rushers with 83 yards on 16 carries, including a 35-yard run that set up Washington’s touchdown on the very next play.
The Eagles play at No. 1-ranked Jones (4-0) on Friday. Osceola is back at home against Kissimmee Tohopekaliga (2-2).