Prep Football Final Results & Highlights Week 5

By  //  September 29, 2012

 

 

FRIDAY, Sept. 28 PREP GAMES

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• COCOA 17, MERRITT ISLAND 0

 

BREVARD COUNTY • MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA – He’s not a Mustang anymore, but John Wilkinson will never forget the good times he had while playing and coaching at Merritt Island High. That makes Cocoa’s 17-0 victory on Friday against his alma mater special.

“Actually, the week wasn’t that difficult,” said Wilkinson, whose Tigers improved to 2-2. “I won some bets with the other coaches. I didn’t raise my voice much this week and I was more positive with the players.”

The Tigers have won two in a row after a humbling 49-3 loss at home to University High of Fort Lauderdale.

“We’ve come together since that debacle,” said Wilkinson, whose Tigers won three consecutive state titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010 before falling in the Class 4A state semifinals last season. “It brought us together as a team in dealing with that adversity.”

The Tigers struggled at the beginning before handing Merritt Island (4-1) its first loss of the season. Cocoa running back Antwan Lee, who rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries, saw some familiar things from the Mustangs’ defense.

“They would shoot to the outside and make us cut back across,” Lee said. “They went sideline to sideline to stop the sweeps. Every team plays us that way. It was a matter of sticking together and pushing it down the field. … Our offense has got to do it together. It depends on the play of all 11.”

After blocking a 42-yard field-goal attempt by Merritt Island’s Dylan Barnas, Cocoa took possession at its own 20-yard line with 9 minutes, 50 seconds to play in the second quarter. At that point, the Tigers had not even recorded a first down.

Cocoa's Tarean Folston rushed for 75 yards on 25 carries against Merritt Island, but had an 81-yard TD run called back in the first quarter because of a penalty on Friday. (Image by Wayne Bowser)

Bright spot

The lone bright spot – Tarean Folston’s 81-yard touchdown run down the right sideline with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter – had been waved off due to a holding penalty.

A 15-yard penalty against Merritt Island for a personal foul and three consecutive runs by Lee for gains of 11, 8 and 4 yards moved the ball to the Mustangs’ 28. Three plays later, Lorrenzo Pratt ran up the middle for a 1-yard gain on four-down-and-1 to extend the drive to the Merritt Island 18.
After Pratt was held to 1 yard on a first-down run, Folston ran to the right for 2 yards. The Mustangs were flagged for a late hit on the play as the ball was moved to the Mustangs’ 8. The referees did not award the Tigers a first down after the penalty, but Folston ran to the right for 3 yards and a first down at the Mustangs’ 5.

Pratt ran for 3 yards up the middle on first down and followed that with a 2-yard scoring run as he leaped over the top of the pile on another run up the middle. Matt Adams kicked the extra point to give Cocoa a 7-0 advantage with 3:45 to play in the second quarter.

During the 16-play, 80-yard drive, Lee gained 28 yards on five carries, Folston rushed for 21 yards on six carries and Pratt added 9 yards on five carries. The Tigers, who only attempted three passes in the game, did not have a single pass attempt during that scoring drive.

“We’ve got to be a three-headed monster,” said Wilkinson, whose squad will travel to Cocoa Beach (5-0) next week to face the Minutemen in the Class 5A, District 5 opener for both schools. “We’ve got to attack the gaps. They forced us to the inside.”

Merritt Island lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to give Cocoa the ball at the Mustangs’ 33. A facemask penalty pushed the ball to the Merritt Island 17, but Folston was halted for a 1-yard loss, Carlton Hadley broke up Jaelon Knowles’ pass into the end zone and Folston was held to a 3-yard gain on a run from the wildcat formation.

Matt Adams then kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:15 to play in the first half to give Cocoa a 10-0 advantage.

Cocoa took advantage of another miscue by Merritt Island to extend its lead to 17-0 in the third quarter. Mustangs punter Nick Smith couldn’t handle a bad snap and was forced to fall on the ball for a 22-yard loss at the Merritt Island 6.

After the Tigers were called for a holding penalty and the ball was pushed back to the Mustangs’ 15, Folston, who lined up as the quarterback, faked a handoff to Lee and ran 15 yards to the right for a touchdown. Adams converted the extra point to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead with 1:35 to play in the third quarter.

Earlier in the quarter, Merritt Island drove from its own 13 to the Tigers’ 49 before Josh Studstill fumbled the ball at the Cocoa 48 on a 1-yard gain.
Lee ran for a 21-yard gain on first down and, after two running plays, which included a fumble, led to a loss of 6 yards, Pratt ran for a 22-yard gain on a draw as he took a handoff from Folston, who was lined up at quarterback in the shotgun formation. A holding penalty against Cocoa pushed the Tigers back to the 26, but Folston ran 5 yards to the right and Lee followed that with consecutive gains of 2 and 12 yards.

Pratt was halted at the line of scrimmage for no gain on fourth down as Merritt Island took over on downs.

Costly miscue

Five plays later, Smith was unable to field the ball on the errant snap.

“We came out in the second half and kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times.” Merritt Island coach Jeff McLean

“We came out in the second half and kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Merritt Island coach Jeff McLean said. “You can’t do that against a good team, and Cocoa is a good football team.”

The Mustangs, who lost two of their five fumbles on Friday, hope to rebound against Rockledge next week at home in a pivotal Class 5A, District 13 contest. Both teams are 1-0 in the six-team district alignment.

“As always, Cocoa has got athletes who play hard and are well coached,” McLean said. “They get space, stretch you out and run hard through the tackles. They do what they do.”

Former Merritt Island defensive back Demarcus Sweeting intercepted a pass by Smith in a crowd on the Mustangs’ possession following Cocoa’s final touchdown. It was a tough night for Smith, who completed 3 of 14 passes for 32 yards and one interception.

“I could see the ball come down off the receiver’s hands, and I was ready for it,” said Sweeting, a senior. “I came into this game and wanted to show them.”

Cocoa limited Merritt Island to 63 rushing yards on 28 carries. Studstill had 57 yards rushing on 13 carries.

“Our defense played great,” Wilkinson said. “… Our cannon package with Tarean at quarterback was a good change of pace. I think it caught them off guard.”

Folston rushed for 75 yards on 25 carries, and Pratt added 52 yards on 16 carries. Cocoa totaled 239 yards rushing on 58 carries.

– Jeff Navin

 

 

• COCOA BEACH 44, CELEBRATION 7

 

Cocoa Beach overpowered Celebration and advanced to 5-0 on the season. David Dessent, proved to be a superstar in the making with another great game. He was involved in five of the Minutemen’s scoring events, throwing for 191 yards and four touchdowns .

Boone Lewis was outstanding with five pass receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns.  Also with two touchdowns were caught by Cocoa Beach’s Jamaal Eveillard.

Cocoa Beach faces Cocoa next week in a huge match-up of Class 4A powerhouses

– Friday Night Locker Room

• HERITAGE 34, SATELLITE 6

BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA –  It was a tale of two halves Friday night in Palm Bay for the home-standing Heritage Panthers.

After a second quarter that saw the Panthers turn the ball over four times (three interceptions and one fumbled punt return), Heritage came out of the locker room for the third quarter looking like a new team.

Heritage head coach Ajay Ulmer credited his players for the turn around.

“Our kids just want to win, they believe in what we’re doing,” Ulmer said after the game. “You’ve gotta play through adversity, that’s how you win football games.”

The third quarter was a highlight reel for the Panthers, touchdown runs of 57 yards by Khalil Owens and a 40 yard scamper by their QB were the crowning moments of the game as the Panthers went on to score twice more in the fourth to put away the visiting Scorpions 34-6.

The Satellite Scorpions played stout defense in the first half and even struck first in the third with a 30 yard touchdown pass to open the second half, however it wasn’t enough to stop the resilient Panthers.

The Scorpions, now 1-3, move on to next week with a home game against Astronaut, a squad which holds a 2-2 record this season.

The still undefeated Heritage Panthers (5-0) go on to play at Pahokee High next week, but Coach Ulmer was not in the mood to make predictions.

“Our goal is week to week, I just told the guys we are 0-0 in our division, and that’s how we are going to continue to look at it.

– Kenny Jones

 

• PALM BAY 29, ASTRONAUT 0

 

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – After losing to Astronaut 15-13 last year in Titusville, Palm Bay turned the tables Friday night in Palm Bay at Pirate Stadium.

When Palm Bay (3-2) decided to jump start it’s offense against the visiting Astronaut War Eagles (2-2),  Leroy Berry provided all the electricity they needed.

It was the Pirates homecoming game and that is usually bad news for the visitors and it was for Astronaut as Berry contributed 167 rushing yards over and through the War Eagle defense.

The  senior scored on runs of one and eight yards  as the Pirates notched their third victory and a homecoming win.

Both teams were coming off impressive wins as Astronaut beat Space Coast 28-7 while Palm Bay thumped Melbourne 41-0 in last week’s games.

Palm Bay quarterback Brian Fallace threw a touchdown pass to Derylton Hill with 2.08 left in the first half to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead against Astronaut. (Image by Ed Pierce)

After a six-yard touchdown pass from Brian Fallace to Derylton Hill with 2.08 left in the first half to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead, it looked like both defenses would toughen as  as both teams punted four times in the first half.

However, Berry turned it up a notch breaking for runs of 27, 41 in accumulating his 167  on 27 carries.  When not powering his way through the middle of the War Eagle defense, he sprinted outside forcing several missed tackles.

The game’s momentum changer came when Palm Bay’s Tyrin Sanders blocked an War Eagle punt at Astronaut’s own 15 yard line.  That set up the first Berry touchdown run from the eight-yard line three plays later.

Palm Bay running back Bashad Parrish also caused chaos for the Astronaut defense when Berry was on the sidelines.  Parrish twisted and turned and gained  key yardage that helped set up Berry’s runs.

Palm Bay coach Dan Burke thought his team played well and was happy with the win.

“Last year they beat us with good special team play and tonight our special team play contributed to our win.  I think also think our young offensive line grew up tonight,” said Burke.

When asked  which unit played better with his offense in scoring 29 points or his defense for recording a shutout, Burke grinned and said, “I will have to look at the film and decide on that.”

Palm Bay is off next week and will meet Daytona Mainland Oct. 12, while the War Eagles will host Satellite next Friday night.

– Bill Kelly

• MCC 42, ORLANDO CHRISTIAN 0  

Alec Laflore scored four rushing touchdowns ran for 137 yards as the Husltlers rebounded from a tough loss last week and crushed Orlando Christian Prep in Orlando.

Hustlers quarterback Brandon Ziarno looked sharp all night and consistently hooked up with his favorite target in MCC receiver Max Erdman.

MCC (now 3-2) plays host to Oranegwood Christian next week in Melbourne.

– Irene Troutman

• N. FL CHRISTIAN 47, FLORIDA AIR 14

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – State powerhouse North Florida Christian rolled past host Florida Air Academy as very little went right for the Falcons.

FAA’s Alex Buie scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter, but the kick was blocked and things went that way all night for the Falcons.

Late in the game, Florida Air’s Dwayne Robinson Jr. threw a TD pass to Alex Jasmin  and Robinson ran in a two-point conversion, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Falcons by North Florida Christian, whom emerged with a resounding 47-14 win

– Heidi Riemer

• MELBOURNE 10, CENTENNIAL 3


BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Role reversal never played out so well.

First-half quarterback Parker Kempfer tossed a 44 yard touchdown pass to second-half quarterback Sterling Munich with 22 seconds left to play in the game to give Melbourne a dramatic 10-3 win over Centennial on Friday night.

That play came only 25 seconds after Centennial had all but sent the game into overtime with a 37 yard field goal from Devon Clements with only 47 seconds to play.

Bulldogs head coach Todd Wilson decided to mix things up a bit by having Kempfer be the signal-caller in the first half in place of Munich, who had started all the team’s other games at quarterback this season.

Kempfer did well in the role, as his 63-yard bomb to Kevin Grant with only 27 seconds left in the first half set up a 34-yard Pat Brush field goal that gave Melbourne a 3-0 cushion as time expired at the half.

It appeared that would be the final tally because the Bulldog defense dominated the Eagles before Centennial put together their last-minute scoring drive.

Kempfer’s last-minute heroics came after he spent most of the second half sick. His nausea seemed to revive him, however, as he re-entered the game at linebacker with six minutes to play.

Kempfer played both inside and outside linebacker positions, sacked the opposing quarterback, returned a punt 18 yards and played wide receiver in addition to quarterback. It can’t be said he did it all, however  – it was homecoming night, and he was not named homecoming king.

Coach Wilson admitted  he was going to play it safe and let the game be decided in overtime after his team took over the ball at their own 22 after the Eagles tied the game at 3-3. But, he said, “My line coach talked me out of it,” and the Bulldogs successfully moved the ball quickly through the air.

What happened next was a matter of déjà vu all over again as Kempfer just missed Munich on the exact same call on the previous play before the game-winner. In addition, the long bomb that led to Melbourne’s first-half score was a repeat of the call that came before it and had resulted in an interception.

“Whatever I asked Sterling to do, he did it,” Wilson said. “He never complains. He’s amazing.”

Sterling first admitted of his heroic pass receiving role, “I’m a bit clumsy, but I know where to go.”

But as for his pass-throwing-to-pass-catching role reversal, he said, “Hey, it’s senior year. I’ll do whatever coach tells me.”

– Robert Hughes

• GATEWAY 20, EAU GALLIE 0

 

On homecoming night for the Commodores, Gateway met the challenge and stopped Eau Gallie, 20-0.

Gateway received the opening kickoff, gained a yard on first play and was stopped on its opening drive.

Eau Gallie started at own 40, and went three and out, with a sacked recorded on third down for a 15 yard loss.

At the half, Gateway led 6-0 and incrased its advnateg to 12-0 after three quarters.

Gateway scores another TD with 3:58 left and ran in a two-point conversion for the final scoring of the night and a 20-0 win.

Several Commodores played with poise, including quarterback Torrance Brown, running back Jordan Benton and Eau Gallie’s defense was strong against Gateway, just a bot worn down from spending so much time on the field.

– Larry Brooks

• TRINITY CHRISTIAN 28, HOLY TRINITY 7

 

Marquion Lane completed a 26-yard pass to Julian Delgado to give Trinity Christian a 7-0 lead over Holy Trinity with 10:05 left in the 2nd quarter.

Holy Trinity’s Nick Hamer ran for a 1-yard touch down to tie the game up at 7-7 with 4:39 left in the 2nd quarter.

Trinity Christian scored again on a 14-yard run to go up 14-7 with about 2 minutes left in the first half.

A 21-yard run by Lane made it 21-7 in favor of Trinity Christian with 4:53 left in the 3rd quarter.

With four minutes left, Trinity Christian’s Mike Cole scored on a 4-yard run to give his team a 28-7 win and knock Holy Trinity from the ranks of the undefeated.

– Wayne Bowser

• ROCKLEDGE 28, VIERA 7

 

There wasn’t much much offense to be found for most of the first half, but Rockledge turned it on from that point and cruised to a 28-7 win over host Viera.

Rockledge was held to just 104 yards of total first-half offense, but limited Viera to just 82 yards.

Rockledge’s Richard Carter scored his second rushing touchdown of the night on a 20-yard run in the third quarter and went on to score another with 3:45 left as the Raiders won another prep game from rival Viera.

– Walker Thornbush

 

MI CHRISTIAN 37 MASTER’S ACADEMY 0, 

As the sun heated up the playing field at Master’s Academy in Vero Beach on Friday afternoon, Merritt Island Cougars coach David Nevad finally had something to smile about.

Merritt Island Christian broke into the win column after three straight defeats and did it in convincing fashion.

Going in to the matchup knowing that Master’s Academy was scoreless in its first three games of the year, Nevad made sure the Cougars focus was on putting points on the scoreboard and it worked to perfection.

And Merritt Island Christian’s defense came up big in a shutout romp.

 

– Alfred Cook

 

• SPACE COAST 45, MONTVERDE ACADEMY 17

The Vipers took it to host Montverde, which was playing its first-ever home football game on Friday night.

Space Coast scored early and often behind the stellar play of quarterback Nick Rittenhouse.

The Vipers appeared to be stronger physically and came up with several key sacks to prevent Montverde from mounting any sustained drive as Space Coast won its first game of the year in five tries.

– Barry Biddle

 

• SEABREEZE 59, TITUSVILLE 14

Titusville’s night was bad right from the start as Seabreeze returned the opening kickoff for a TD, with Justin Sampson running 77 yards for the score.

Seabreeze gave Titusville no breathing room at all with 428 yards of offense.  Alex Martinez rushed for 86 yards on 24 carries for Titusville and Trevaughn Rodriguez rushed the ball 1o times gaining an impressive 156 yards.

Titusville plays at Space Coast on Thursday night. Titusville is now 1-3.

– Jan Ehemann