Gators rally from 13 down in 4th

PAHOKEE — Palm Beach Gardens junior running back Jacory Brown scored two touchdowns and the visiting Gators rallied and erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Pahokee 35-34 at Anquan Boldin Football Stadium on Friday night.

Palm Beach Gardens (3-2) trailed 21-14 at halftime and faced a 34-21 deficit in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Brand Campbell rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to six points with less than eight minutes left. The Gators marched downfield on their next drive and Brown powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard score with 4:12 left. The Gators sealed the victory with an interception late in the fourth.

Pahokee freshman quarterback Austin Simmons passed for three touchdowns and had an impressive debut in his first game and junior Jashon Benjamin scored three times in the loss. The Blue Devils missed a costly extra point late in the third quarter.

Pahokee (4-1) jumped out to the early lead on the first play of the contest on offense. Simmons fired a deep pass and connected with Benjamin for a 67-yard touchdown.

The Gators responded back after they capitalized with a fumble recovery as the Blue Devils lost the ball on a punt. Campbell was under heavy pressure in the pocket and avoided a sack before releasing a short pass to Brown and he turned upfield for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the score.

In the second quarter, the Gators offense scored on a trick play to take the lead. Sophomore Keyon Stephens received the ball on a reverse from behind the line of scrimmage and tossed a 53-yard touchdown pass to senior Naivyan Cargill.

The Blue Devils answered back as they moved downfield on the ensuing possession. Benjamin bounced out to the left and went untouched for an 8-yard touchdown run to tie the score with 5:45 left in the second.

Senior Lamar Powell stepped up with an interception in Gators territory later in the quarter. The Blue Devils offense took advantage after the turnover and finished the scoring drive as Simmons tossed a 5-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Robert Williams with 2:16 left in the first half.

The Blue Devils had another drive in Gators territory late in the first before senior Kenley Jean Pierre had an interception to keep it a seven-point deficit.

The Gators marched downfield on the opening possession of the second half. Senior running back Vincent Dubose rushed up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Blue Devils regained the lead late in the third quarter. Simmons fired a 5-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Maurice Collier Jr. to make it 28-21.

The Blue Devils scored again on their next possession as Benjamin powered his way up the middle and into the end zone for a 2-yard score.

The two teams were tied at 7-7 with 1:16 left in the first quarter before a lightning delay, which lasted nearly two hours before play resumed.