Bulldogs force 5 turnovers, a safety and punt block
Stacy Taylor, who caught four passes for 47 yards, fights to get upfield against the Lake Nona defense in the Bulldogs' 25-17 win Friday. (Photo/Taylor McFee)
It took nearly four hours, but St. Cloud got the tight District 7A-10 victory they've been searching for.
A defense that gave up a two-score lead in the second half to Merritt Island last week rose to the occasion Friday, defeating defending 7A-10 champ Lake Nona, 25-17.
St. Cloud (4-2, 1-0) is now tied atop the district with Tohopekaliga, who defeated Harmony on Thursday. They'll meet up in three weeks.
"It was a heck of a game played by both sides, but out defense played lights out, and the kids came up with huge plays at times when we needed them," said Bulldogs Coach Mike Short, whose team overcame 140 yards in penalties. "I couldn't be prouder right now."
Lake Nona took the lead with 17 seconds left in the first quarter when Christian Cuffy stripped Stacy Taylor a catch and scored from 40 yards out.
A lightning delay followed, and it may have shifted the momentum. The Bulldogs came out after the impromptu break and tied it when Jeremiah Lattier, who went 6-for-8 passing on the drive, hitting four different receivers, punctuated the 11-play 80-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak. After a defensive stop, St. Cloud took the lead on Bryce Williams' diving 22-yard touchdown catch with four minutes left in the half. It stayed that way into halftime, thanks to Hank Williams recovering a fumble and Williams intercepting a screen pass later in the quarter.
"That delay may have come at the perfect time for us," Short said. "We were able to go back in (the locker room) and figure out what we were doing on offense."
The lead swelled to 20-7 after Zeus Howard recovered a blocked Lions punt and returned it 13 yards for a score two minutes into the third quarter. Later, with Lake Nona trailing 20-10 after Bryce Williams pinned the Lions with a punt to the 4, the defense forced an intentional grounding call for a safety, a 22-10 lead and possession. Kick Jeremidave Santos Velez booted a 32-yard field goal for a 25-10 cushion with 4:52 left in the game.
It stayed that way until late in the fourth quarter. The Lions mounted a drive and got a 9-yard touchdown run from Luke Ramsey, their third quarterback of the night, then forced the Bulldogs to punt and got the ball at their own 38 with 2:08 left and one time out down eight points.
Then, that defense bowed up again. Dominic Cammarasana sacked Ramsey on first down to force Lake Nona to burn its last time out, then Jeremiah Barnes intercepted him on third down to seal the win.
"I told folks in the preseason we have the fastest defense around," Short said. "Tonight we showed it."
The Bulldogs will host Gateway, a 20-0 winner over Liberty on Thursday, in the county's second-longest rivalry (going on 40 years), next week.
