Gators rally to win in overtime
Upon meeting Lemon Bay’s Josh Kennedy at the back of the post-game handshake line, Island Coast’s Van Edwards offered a cordial greeting before turning toward his team’s own gathering in the end zone.
Their initial encounter about two minutes earlier, however, was far more one-sided in nature.
The muscular senior tailback plowed over the lanky defender at the left-side pylon while scoring the decisive overtime touchdown to cement the Gators’ 16-13 tumultuous defeat of the Manta Rays in a rain-sopped District 5A-14 opener for both teams Friday night.
“I saw victory,” said Edwards, referring to the third-down handoff from quarterback Kory Curtis that led to his seven-yard game-winning score. “It was a zone left and the hole got stuffed, so I bounced it outside, made one cut and got it to the end zone. I saw him standing there and I thought to myself, ‘OK, gotta tuck it.'”
The TD finished the Gators’ lone possession in the extra period, which began with Lemon Bay getting a crack from the 10-yard line, advancing six yards in three plays before settling for a 20-yard field goal by Dominic Dipersia. The Manta Rays actually got to the 3-yard line for a third-down play of their own in the overtime, but a right-side sweep was stopped for a one-yard loss by Gators linebacker Zach Lackman, prompting the field-goal attempt.
It was instant validation of coach Wayne Blair’s decision to play defense first in the extra session.
“They tried the jet sweep again and I saw the hole, so I just blitzed it and the guy happened to be right there and I made the stop,” Lackman said. “It was a big stop and I knew if we could hold them to a field goal that our offense could at least match that. The coach putting faith in the defense means a lot to us as a unit, and we know that our offense is going to be right there for us.”
The timely output was a convenient departure from the game’s initial two quarters, during which Lemon Bay had assumed a 193-78 edge in total yardage while taking a 10-0 lead. The Gators – who were blanked 31-0 by South Fort Myers a week earlier – ended the drought with a 37-yard field goal by Curtis at the eight-minute mark of the third quarter. They tied the game 66 seconds later when Edwards followed a block into the hole and slid to the right sideline for a 77-yard scoring jaunt.
The Gators were without senior running back Ryan Pulley, due to what was called a “team issue.”
The teams exchanged turnovers during a fourth-quarter downpour, which ended with Curtis voluntarily taking a knee at midfield to set up OT dramatics rather than running the risk of another late miscue.
“In the midst of adversity, you find out who you are and who you’re capable of being,” Blair told his team in a celebratory end-zone huddle. “I commend you for that, but one heartbreaker like that is enough. We can’t keep doing that every week. We’ve got to get back to who we are.”
Lemon Bay7 3 0 0 3 – 13
Island Coast0 0 10 0 6 – 16
LB – Marinola 23 run (Dipersia kick)
LB -FG, Dipersia 30
IC – FG, Curtis 37
IC – Edwards 77 run (Curtis kick)
LB – FG, Dipersia 20
IC – Edwards 7 run (no kick attempted)