’Noles require overtime to keep road win streak intact
Sanford Seminole rallied from a 14-point deficit and converted on a two-point conversion in overtime Friday night to extend its road win streak to 29 games in a row.
Seminole (2-0), ranked No. 1 in the Sentinel Super 16, pulled off a pulsating 28-27 victory at No. 2-ranked Kissimmee Osceola (1-1) when senior quarterback Luke Rucker found junior Marvin Brown, who was wide open in the end zone, on the decisive completion.
“We work that in practice all the time, so we were confident in that play and our guys,” Rucker said.
Rucker finished 19-of-30 passing for 385 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He connected with junior Michael Key along the left sideline on a short pass in overtime that was turned into a TD to set up the climactic finish.
Key paced the ’Noles with 10 catches for 264 yards and three scores. He also rushed for a 1-yard TD to get Seminole to 14-12 with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Key’s breakout performance came in place of senior standout Darren “Goldie” Lawrence, who was serving the last of a two-game suspension stemming from an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty during his team’s spring jamboree in May.
“It feels good to know that they can trust me and that I can put the team on my back,” Key said.
Friday’s meeting was the first between the programs since Seminole defeated Osceola 38-10 for the 2020 Florida High School Athletic Association large-class state championship at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
The ’Noles have not lost a road game since falling 32-17 at Oviedo on Oct.16, 2015.
The Kowboys led 7-0 Friday with 3:18 to go in the second quarter when the contest was delayed 1 hour, 41 minutes due to lightning.
Osceola promptly extended its advantage to 14-0 once play resumed as sophomore sensation Taevion Swint took a swing pass from Gunnar Holland for a 17-yard score on the next play. The Kowboys’ drive was set up when senior Jayden Bradford intercepted a deflected pass at midfield.
Swint, who scored for Osceola on a 10-yard run in overtime and picked up huge gains throughout the night on kick returns, led all rushers with 17 carries for 162 yards and four total touchdowns.
Seminole overcame numerous miscues to prevail, which included turning the ball over on downs on its first possession, losing a fumble inside the 5-yard line on fourth down and muffing a punt return in the fourth quarter.
“We made a bunch of mistakes in the first half and we made a bunch of mistakes in the second half,” Seminole coach Eric Lodge said. “This group, even though they’re not as experienced ... they’ve seen us come back from being down two touchdowns before and winning in the second half. They believe in what we do.”
Seminole took its first lead at 20-14 with 1:04 left in the game when Rucker threw deep down the middle of the field to Key for a 60-yard TD. Junior Jordyn Perkins scored on a crucial two -point conversion for the ’Noles.
Osceola answered four plays later with a 3-yard TD run by Swint with 28.9 seconds remaining. Seminole then blocked the go-ahead extrapoint tryto force the extra period.
That capped a fourth quarter for the Kowboys that included two series ending on downs and nothing to show for an interception by senior Lacory Walker and a recovered fumble on special teams by junior Jalen Bell.
“It was a back-and-forth game and we made some plays down the stretch, but in the end they just made one more play than we did,” Osceola coach Eric Pinellas said.
The Kowboys have a bye before playing at Lakeland (1-0) on Sept. 16.
Seminole hosts Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast (0-1) on Friday.