South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Cepeda’s pick-six locks up victory
CORAL SPRINGS — With Stoneman Douglas clinging to a 27-23 lead in a must-win game against Coral Glades, head coach Quentin Short looked to senior safety Chris Cepeda and told him to make a play.
And boy did he ever. Cepeda answered the call, returning an interception for a 100-yard touchdown, and the Eagles soared past the Jaguars 47-29.
“Coach said ‘ Step up’ and looked right at me, so I knew I needed to make a play,” said Cepeda. “Coach has been telling me all year that I needed to be a game-changer.
“Calvin Fowler hit the ball, it came up in the air, I grabbed it and saw nothing but green.”
Coral Glades appeared to take the lead with 10 minutes left after Joseph Rispoli scored on a 6-yard run, but the Jaguars were called for illegal touching as offensive linemen pulled him into the end zone.
One play later, Cepeda picked off the pass, giving the Eagles a 35-23 lead. Douglas (6-3) poured it on after that as Matthew Wilson, who finished with 108 yards on the ground, scored his third rushing touchdown of the game from 4 yards out.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lamari Penaloza picked up a fumble and returned it for a 30-yard score, putting the game out of reach.
Douglas now awaits its fate, hoping this win will boost its RPI and be strong enough to put it in the playoffs when the bracket is released Sunday.
“I’m so proud of these guys. It’s been such a tough season with adversity,” said Short. “The guys just keep fighting and fighting.
“We had a horrible loss against Boca and then squandered a 21-0 lead against Monarch... We did what we had to do these last three games. I don’t know if it’s going to get us in, but we took care of business and I’m so proud of these guys. They played their hearts out.”
Kyle Nelson led Coral Glades (6-2) with 107 yards rushing and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 3, 5 and 14 yards.