I-Coast falls at Clewiston 32-28
The Island Coast Gators weren’t bothered by a long road trip to Clewiston Friday night. They got off to a fast start and through three quarters, they appeared on their way to the first district win in school history.
The pesky Clewiston Tigers just never went away.
Helped by some costly Gators’ mistakes late in the game, the Tigers scored the final 13 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Gators, 32-28.
It was the District 2B-6 opener for both teams, as well as the first district game of any kind for the Gators (1-3, 0-1 district), who are in their second season of varsity football.
“We looked like two different teams,” Gators coach Joe Bowen said. “In the first half we executed, but in the second half we did everything to try not to win it. We fumbled the ball, penalties killed us, and we weren’t executing.”
The Gators featured a strong rushing attack, which amassed over 400 yards. Junior Phil Woolbright rushed for 193 yards on eight carries. Sophomore quarterback Mike Dumas gained 102 yards and scored twice. Nelson Candelario (72 yards) and Louis King (33 yards and one touchdown) also contributed to the ground game.
The Gators led 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and 21-7 at halftime, but the Tigers (1-3, 1-0) rallied in the second half.
After the Tigers cut it to 21-19 early in the fourth, Woolbright broke free for a 64-yard TD run, putting the Gators back up 28-19.
That lead didn’t hold up. Clewiston scored to make it 28-26 and then held the Gators on the ensuing possession.
As the Gators lined up to punt, the ball was snapped over the punter’s head and the Tigers took over deep in Gators’ territory. They punched it in to take the four-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Bowen said his Gators need to put the difficult loss behind them and get ready for Mariner next Friday.
“We’re just going to keep on working,” he said, “and find a way to stop the turnovers, and learn to capitalize on other teams’ mistakes instead of them capitalizing on ours.”
Island Coast 15 6 0 7 – 28
Clewiston 7 0 6 19 – 32