Liam Miller booted a field goal in overtime and Courtland Campbell sealed the victory with an interception, as the Merritt Island Mustangs slipped by St. Cloud in overtime, 26-23.
“It was a tough loss to take,” St. Cloud Coach Mike Short said. “We fought back all night and then in overtime, we got a stop and forced a field goal. At that point, I really liked our chances.”
In overtime after Miller’s 23-yard field goal, the Mustangs forced St. Cloud quarterback Logan King to misfire by forcing him out of the pocket. On third down, Merritt Island got heat up the middle and King’s pass to the middle of the end zone was picked off by Campbell.
It was a game where several big plays figured significantly in the outcome. On game’s first play, King hit Alex Springs on a 75-yard pass and run down to the Merritt Island five. But the Mustangs defense held and St. Cloud had to settle for a 3-0 lead on Daniel Elizando’s 25-yard field goal. The next big play also worked against St. Cloud. On a third and six, St. Cloud sacked Mustangs quarterback Kevin Verpaele, who fumbled the ball, but Deshaun Thomas was “Johnny on the spot,” picking up the ball and rambling 35 yards for a touchdown.
Merritt Island extended the lead to 14-3 on a 40-yard pass from Verpaele to Donterrius Robinson. St. Cloud countered with a touchdown pass of 48 yards from King to TJ Griffin. But Merritt Island marched down the field and Miller booted a 31-yard field goal with 1:27 remaining to give the Mustangs a 17-9 lead at halftime.
Miller added a 44-yard field goal to up the lead to 20-9 midway through the third quarter. That stop and one that followed with a field goal miss spurred a terrific comeback for the Bulldogs. King directed an 80-yard drive hitting Springs on a 14-yard pass to cut the lead to four. He would lead the Bulldogs on another long drive, calling his own number on a one-yard run with 7:37 remaining to put St. Cloud on top 23-20.
On its final offensive possession of regulation, Merritt Island overcame three major penalties to move inside the St. Cloud 10-yard line. But the Bulldog defense stiffened and Miller 24-yard field goal sent the game into overtime.
The loss spoiled a solid showing by King and the Bulldogs passing game. The senior completed 23 of 40 passes in regulation for 355 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. However, St. Cloud only rushed for eight net yards and an injury to Griffin forced St. Cloud to go with five receivers and an empty backfield in overtime.
“We played a really good team tonight and lost in overtime,” Short said of his team that fell to 2-3. “I was really proud of our kids and the effort they gave tonight. The good thing is this was not a district game and does not set us back on our goals.”
St. Cloud will travel to Lake Nona for their first district game next Friday night.
LAKE HOWELL 40, HARMONY 18: Harmony could not overcome a key injury and second-half mistakes. The game was closer than the final score indicated, and the Longhorns (1-4), looking for back-to-back wins, moved the ball on offense, rolling up 362 yards of offense thanks to a number of "chunk" plays in a game that was tied 11-11 early in the third quarter. But not enough of those chunks were strung together, and two fumbles after that stunted their momentum.
Making matters worse, starting quarterback Landon Hayes took a shot to the head after completing a pass late in the first half and remained down after the hit. He was taken from the field on a stretcher and to a hospital for observation. Early reports was that his pain was subsiding and would be okay.
"We shot ourselves in the foot more than we have all year; we've got to fix those," HHS Coach Nick Lippert said. "But we did a lot of things we as coaches liked."
After Lake Howell took a 3-0 lead, Harmony tied it on its next drive. A 42-yard pass from Hayes to Ivan Ramos set up Brayden Butler's 42-yard field goal. The Silver Hawks scored on its next drive to go up 11-3, but Harmony again pieced together a drive. Hayes uncorked a pass that Matt Davis pulled down in triple coverage for a 37-yard gain, but Hayes was hurt on the play, and the drive stalled.
The Longhorns came out of halftime with Davis at quarterback and, apparently, momentum. Davis led a 10-play, 80-yard drive highlighted by a 21-yard catch by Kal Amen, who toe-tapped the sideline, and Davis' 8-yard touchdown run. But the Silver Hawks answered with a touchdown drive and recovering a fumble, and Harmony quickly fell into a 33-11 hole.
The Longhorns wouldn't go quietly. Ja'kari Ealy (14 carries, 73 yards) burst up the middle on a 23-yard touchdown run with 7:29 remaining, and Buehler made a heads up play and recovered his own ensuing onside kick. Down 33-18, Davis couldn't lead another scoring drive.
Hayes and Davis combined for 225 passing yards. Coming off the field Friday, it was uncertain if Hayes could play Thursday in a rivalry and District 7A-10 test Thursday against Tohopekaliga, who fell 48-8 to Viera on Friday.
"This is a bunch that is hurting, but we're hurting together," Lippert said.
