By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Edgewater converted two fourth-down plays in the fourth quarter, the second for the winning touchdown with 2:26 to play, in the Eagles 20-17 come-from-behind win over St.Cloud at Gannarelli Field Friday in the 4A District 7 opener for both teams.

Alton Howard caught a 12-yard TD pass from quarterback J.D. Woodman on fourth-and-6 for the winning points.

Principal Pamela Tapley said Buldini was, “taking care of personal issues.”

She did not answer when asked if Buldini was still the school’s head football coach.

Offensive coordinator Mike Short led the team in Buldini’s absence.

Short said he could not answer questions concerning Buldini’s status.

“When we know more, you’ll know more,” he said. “We missed Coach Buldini tonight. There was heavy hearts from all of us. He’s been a great leader.”

Edgewater overcame a 17-7 fourth-quarter deficit. Howard’s 18-yard reception from Woodman converted a fourth-and-4 and kept an Eagles’ scoring drive alive with 9 minutes left in the game. Woodman hit Ray Rowe on a 20-yard TD play to cap that drive, but the PAT failed, leaving it 17-13.

St. Cloud played an outstanding first half, building a 3-0 lead on Alain Moise’s 35-yard field goal with 3:48 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs defense shut down the Eagles through two quarters, limiting Edgewater to 82 total yards, just 20 on the ground.

St. Cloud stunned Edgewater (2-2, 1-0) when quarterback Phillip Steinmetz (14-32-163, 1 TD) hit sophomore receiver Jordan Reus on an 80-yard TD strike just 2:03 into the second half. Moise’s kick made it 10-0.

Edgewater countered on a 58-yard drive capped by R.J. Altman’s 1-yard plunge late in the third quarter.

St. Cloud (2-2, 0-1) took advantage of Eric Pfeifer’s fumble recovery at the Eagles 13 to set up Steinmetz’s 1-yard scoring run with 11:22 to play. Moise’s kick made it 17-7.

“I was definitely feeling good about a 17-7 lead,” Short said. “We got punched in the mouth with a couple of fourth-down plays.”

Edgewater’s game-winning drive covered 55 yards. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Bulldogs’ 29, but Edgewater’s drive stalled at the 13 when Woodman threw incomplete on third-and-6 from the 13. The Eagles used their last timeout.

Woodman rolled to his right and threw toward Alton, who leaped high to grab the ball and then plowed his way to the goal line.

Steinmetz led St. Cloud from its 20 to the Edgewater 33 when he hit Reus on a 17-yard pass play, but his final four passes failed to find their target.

Edgewater out-gained the Bulldogs 284-261 in total yards, with 202 of those yards coming in the second half.

“They lined up in their power set at the end and we weren’t able to stop them,” Short said. “We were in our 6-5 pass defense and they kind of out-physicaled us.”

Edgewater limited Bulldogs running back Irving Huggins to 63 yards on 16 carries. Huggins leads the county with 611 rushing yards.

The game was delayed 45 minutes because of rain and lightning.

Short told the disappointed Bulldogs after the game that the loss was not a season-breaker.

“Win the last seven, and you won’t even remember this one,” he told the team. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”

St. Cloud, which plays the remainder of its schedule within Osceola County, will host Orlando Evans next week.