Late Forest Hill stand halts Olympic Heights

Like a scene BOCA RATON — out of a teen movie, Olympic Heights was launching a comeback at the homecoming football game. Then Forest Hill yelled, “Cut!” The Lions, who had rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit and were only 4 yards away from potentially taking the lead in the game’s final minute, watched their final pass of the game fall to the ground, sealing their fate in a 34-28 loss to the Falcons on Thursday night. “We just ran out of time,” Lions coach Baz Alfred said. Judging by the game’s first half, Olympic Heights had no business being in position to win. They surrendered three early touchdowns. Two came on long runs by sophomore Bry’yon Jones (83 yards) and Charles Eaton (47 yards). Jones also had an 18-yard score in the first half. The pair of running backs combined for five touchdowns and 361 rushing yards in the victory, accounting for nearly all of Forest Hill’s 408 total rushing yards. “They’re not just good running backs,” Falcons coach Jude Blessington said. “They’re special running backs.” Despite the three-touchdown deficit, Alfred made sure his team stayed focused. “We spotted them 21 points,” he said. “But I told the guys they’ve got to keep fighting. ... This game is not over.” And the Lions (3-4) came out fighting in the second half. Quarterback James Micioni tossed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Michael Ippolito to put Olympic Heights on the board. Forest Hill (6-1) responded with a 65-yard score from Jones, but it came back on a hold. Two plays later, the Falcons fumbled, and the Lions recovered. On the next drive, Clark scored, but then Eaton broke off an 86-yard touchdown. Micioni punched in a 4-yard touchdown, and Jones scored his third on a 64-yard run. On that score, Forest Hill missed the extra point. Up 34-21, it looked like it would not make a difference. Then Micioni found Ippolito again, and Heights forced a three-and-out. The Lions got the ball back with 3:27 left. They drove down the field, needing 60 yards and an extra point to win. They ended up with 56. “We’re not good in the red zone,” Blessington said. “We got a stop in the red zone. We had to.”