Mary advances
Rams overcome slow start at Timber Creek to capture Class 8A playoff opener
It was hard to ignore the looming possibility of a rematch between Seminole County rivals when the FHSAA Class 8A football playoff bracket was released this past week.
Lake Mary coach Scott Perry acknowledged as much Friday night after the Rams sputtered through a 20-14 win at Timber Creek (7-4) in a Region 1 quarterfinal.
No. 5 seed Lake Mary (10-1) advances to play at overall No. 1 Sanford Seminole (10-1) on Friday in a region semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
The Seminoles, who won their quarterfinal game 41-27 against Winter Park (6-5), defeated Lake Mary 29-12 during a spirited Oct. 22 district contest.
“A lot of people were talking about a second-round rematch and all that stuff,” Perry said of his team. “They better get their minds right going into it because if they don’t, it’s going to be a problem.”
Lake Mary’s immediate problem Friday was a 7-3 halftime deficit as Timber Creek intercepted a pass, forced a change of possession on downs and held the Rams to a field goal following an 11-play drive.
The Rams responded in the second half by building a 20-7 lead and going on to wear down the Wolves while sustaining lengthy offensive drives and totaling six sacks on defense.
Caden Harshbarger turned a screen pass from senior quarterback Gunnar Smith into a 10-yard touchdown to put Lake Mary in front at 10-7 with 5 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Our guys settled down, started being focused and played much better in the second half,” Perry said. “When we eliminated those little mistakes, we were able to drive the football and get down the field.”
Smith rebounded from a spotty start to finish 21-of-31 passing for 235 yards with two TDs and one interception, which bounced off the hands of a receiver and into the arms of Timber Creek defender Jalon Chaney.
“We got stopped here in the red zone a couple times and had to kick field goals, which was kind of disappointing,” Smith said. “We would’ve liked to put way more points up on the board against this team, but we’re going to get back to it this week and come hard.”
Logan Cook, one of six Lake Mary players to catch a pass, made a key 21-yard reception off a tipped pass inside the final minutes of the second quarter. Colton Boomer put the Rams on the scoreboard for the first time eight plays later when he connected on a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Boomer, a UCF commit, added a 31-yarder late in the third quarter.
Junior running back Manquez Lang, who missed the past three games with an injury, was bottled up much of the way until breaking loose for decent gains in the second half. Lang pieced together 94 yards on 23 carries in his first outing since Oct. 15.
Lake Mary appeared to put the game away with eight minutes to play when Markel Jones caught a short pass from Smith and turned it into a 55-yard TD along the visiting sideline.
But Timber Creek responded after shaking off a sack by Lake Mary defensive lineman Trevor Duncan and putting together a 12-play drive that ended with a catch-and-run TD toss from Tanner Stevens to Marcus Kral four minutes later.
The Wolves reclaimed possession for the final time with two minutes to spare. The drive quickly crumbled following a second sack by Duncan and three incomplete passes.
Timber Creek’s David Sebert partially blocked a Lake Mary punt with under two minutes to go in the first quarter to set up the highlight of the first half. Stevens dropped back on the next play and threw deep over the middle to Ethan Varnedore for a 65-yard score.
The Wolves had little else to celebrate on offense from there as they struggled to establish the run and keep defenders out of the backfield while managing less than 200 yards.
“The defense stepped up and played a hell of a game tonight,” Duncan said. “We’ve just got to get to practice this week and keep punching it.
“Seminole’s a great team and we’ve got to come ready to play or else they’re going to kill us.”