Edgewater fights off Niceville
Isaiah Connelly ran for 239 yards and three touchdowns and the Edgewater defense forced two key turnovers in the fourth quarter to stave off unbeaten Niceville for a 28-20 victory in a hardfought Class 7A, Region 1 football final.
Edgewater (12-1), which has won six consecutive games since a loss in Georgia, moves on to the state semifinal round for the second consecutive year. The Eagles will travel to play Region 2 champ Seffner Armwood (12-1), which won 23-10 against 2018 state champ Lakeland (12-1) on Friday.
Niceville scored two touchdowns in less than four minutes in the fourth quarter to cut Edgewater’s lead to 21-20 with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left. The Eagles missed an extra-point attempt after Azareye’h Thomas scored on a 92-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Will Koch.
But Edgewater squashed Niceville’s rally when Eric Doctor intercepted a Koch pass and Connelly broke loose for a 36-yard TD run with 2:13 left. Niceville fumbled the ball away during its final possession.
Edgewater quarterback Canaan Mobley passed for 173 yards and one TD. Trey Bouie had three catches for 89 yards and a score for the Eagles. (28 yards) and Mendez JeanBaptiste (16 yards) both caught TD passes from Tyan Robbins and Jones was up 20-7 at the break.
The Jones defense dominated. Mendez Jean-Baptiste and Dominick Hill intercepted two Curry passes as the Tigers (11-1) kept the Vanguard offense at bay most of the second half.
Sparrow wasn’t nearly as busy in the second half, but when he did get the ball, he made it count. He followed up a huge 42-yard field goal by Jones kicker Jeffrey SaintLouis with a 30-yard TD run that sealed the victory for the Tigers.
Jones has won three playoff games for the first time in program history and set a school record for victories in a season. Now the Tigers will make their first state semifinal appearance in 36 years next week. Jones lost state semifinals to end 10-2 seasons in both 1983 and 1984.
Osceola loses at home: Quarterback Haden Carlson passed for 276 yards and one score and backup running back Jonathan Mallan accounted for 233 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns as Tampa Steinbrenner (12-1) hung on to defeat Osceola, 29-22, in the 8A, Region 2 championship game in Kissimmee.
Osceola finished 10-2. Carlson would finish the game 15 of 22 for 276 yards, including an 8-yard scoring pass to Jett Law, but it was Mallan who shined. In addition to a 78-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game, Mallan rushed for 72 yards and two scores and caught four passes for 89 yards.
After Steinbrenner took a 29-13 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Osceola reduced the advantage to 29-19 on a 35-yard Davon Wells run. Osceola then recovered a fumble and a Spencer Richards 31-yard field goal made it 29-22 with 4:31 remaining.
The Kowboys’ defense forced a three-and-out and Osceola took over on its own 4-yard line following a Carlson 56-yard punt with 2:26 remaining. But the Kowboys gave up the ball on downs and Carlson took a knee twice to end the game.
McGee ended the game with 128 rushing yards and 74 receiving yards, Wells rushed for 51 yards and passed for 105.
Gaither ousts Lake Minneola: A season of unprecedented success for Lake Minneola came to an abrupt end as host Tampa Gaither rolled to a 41-7 victory in the Class 6A, Region 2 final.
After averaging 396.4 yards this season, the Hawks (9-3) were held to 68 firsthalf yards and trailed 35-0 at the break against the Cowboys (11-1), the region’s top seed.
Lake Minneola, which opened in 2011, won its first district championship and made its first region final appearance this year. The Hawks scored their only touchdown in the third quarter when quarterback Devon Cole completed a 45-yard pass to Jalen “Jayjay” Williams.
Gaither quarterback Tony Bartalo completed four touchdown passes to lead his team to its first state semifinal. He has 43 TD tosses for the year.
TFA drops tight game: The First Academy rallied to push top seed Lakeland Christian to the limit before falling 24-20 in the 3A, Region 2 final.
The Royals (6-6) took the lead on a 47-yard touchdown run by Sean Johnson Jr. with 7:55 to go in the game, but the host Vikings (10-1) quickly answered with a score.
Lake Ellis and Terrence Mosley also ran for TDs for TFA.
The Royals, who were 4-5 during the regular season, weren’t far from advancing to a state semifinal for the first time and becoming the first team in program history to win three playoff games. TFA’s 2012 squad posted a 12-0 record and lost a semifinal against Madison County.
TFA was pushing to improve on last yeara’s finish, with the team losing 23-22 to eventual state runner-up King’s Academy of West Palm Beach in a region final in 2018.
After pushing past the Royals, Lakeland Christian advances to a semifinal game against the winner of Friday’s Pensacola Catholic (11-0) vs. Tallahassee Florida High (10-1) game.
Foundation falls: Cornelius Shaw ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and Jeremiah Byrd accounted for three more TDs as top seed Lakeland Victory Christian rolled to a 35-0 win over visiting Foundation Academy in the 2A, Region 2 final.
Victory Christian (10-1), which won a 2014 state title, finished its regular season with the leading FHSAA Ratings Percentage Index in Class 2A. The Storm will host nine-time state champ Jacksonville University Christian (11-1) in the state semifinal round next week.
Foundation (9-3) set a school record for wins and reached a region final for the first time, but it is 1-10 against Victory Christian.
Senior quarterback Henry Ausman completed 9 of 26 passes for 72 yards for Foundation, giving him 6,020 career passing yards. But Victory sacked Ausman six times, including four by Dytreyveon Riley. The Storm also held Danny Stutsman to no catches.
The Lions had a couple chances to keep it closer. After Michael Lemieux-Bott recovered a Victory fumble, Foundation drove down the field. However, a motion penalty erased Stutsman’s 5-yard TD run out of wildcat formation and the drive sputtered to an end with a missed 28-yard field-goal attempt.
Friday playoff results