Bishop Verot sophomore quarterback Carter Smith claps and prepares to take a snap during the Vikings' 42-39 2S regional semifinal win over Clewiston Friday night. Smith threw for 270 yards, rushed for 109, and scored five times on the ground. CJ HADDAD

Bishop Verot emerged the victor in a FHSAA 2S Region 4 semifinal bout versus Clewiston Friday, edging out a 42-39 win in a game where both teams combined for 1,081 yards of offense.

Viking senior quarterback Cater Smith threw for 270 yards, rushed for 109, and scored five touchdowns on the ground to help lead his team into the regional finals.

The game proved to be a definition of a back-and-forth contest, with six lead changes throughout at Viking Stadium. Verot (9-2) pulled away a bit in the second half and then held on as the Tigers (5-5) made a late push in end.

“Our guys showed incredible resolve,” said Verot head coach Richie Rode. “They dug down deep. We knew we were going to get Clewiston’s best. We knew that they were a really good team. Their record was not indicative of who they were. We knew we had our hands full. I think we hit big plays on all three levels tonight and just wore them out. We knew they had a lot of guys playing both ways, so we wanted to pick up the tempo and use that.”

Verot got the ball to start and worked its way down to the Tigers’ 8-yard line before a penalty backed the Vikings up and Rode settled for a Deaglan Camron 30-yard field goal.

The Tigers wasted little time answering the bell, breaking off multiple runs for big yards. On the fifth play of the drive, senior Dayreon Franklin broke out to the left and scampered 32 yards to the house.

Verot answered right back a little over two minutes later when Smith lowered his shoulder and barreled into the end zone from 5 yards out to cap a 72-yard drive, giving the Vikings a 9-7 lead after an unsuccessful 2-point try.

Just 49 seconds later, Clewiston took the lead back when senior quarterback Chauncy Cobb broke off a massive 79-yard touchdown run, bursting up the middle and outrunning everyone.

Verot turned the ball over on downs on its ensuing possession, but got the ball back near midfield when senior Riley Bowe recovered a Tiger fumble.

Smith scored his second of the game and put the Vikings back up 16-14 early in the second quarter. He escaped the pocket around the left side of the line, worked his way down the sideline, juked a defender around the 5 and extended the ball across the goal line from 29 yards out.

“9 (Smith’s number) is special,” Rode said.

Clewiston once again responded to a Vikings score with another of its own. Cobb scored his second of the game, this one from 15 yards out, putting the Tigers up 21-16 with just under 6 minutes until the half.

On Verot’s ensuing possession, freshman back Deshon Jenkins pounded the rock while Smith found tight end Timmy Lawson a few times, working all the way down to the Tigers 3-yard line. Rode again called on Smith to take it in himself, and he did just that to give the Vikings a 23-21 lead going into the break.

The third quarter saw the fewest number of points scored in the battle, as the Vikings’ defense seemed to have made adjustments to hinder the successful run game of Clewiston (490 team rushing yards on the night).

“It’s hard to simulate their speed,” Rode said of the Clewiston offense. “I think it took us little while to wake up and play at their speed. I’ll take the blame for the fourth quarter. I put the defense back out there one more time.”

Verot came up with a key fourth down stop on first series following the half when the Tigers went for it on a goal-to-go play from the 22-yard line, stopping the pass catcher right before he could get into the end zone.

The Vikings took over with their backs to the end zone, but Jenkins worked them out and then some. His first run of the series went for 16 to give his team breathing room and on the next play, he went 43 yards into opponent territory. Jenkins, who finished with 162 rushing yards on 19 attempts (59 receiving yards), capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put Verot up two scores, 30-21.

“He was unbelievable,” Rode said of Jenkins. “We put the game in his hands at times. He wore them out and we trust that kid. He’s no longer a freshman, he’s a seasoned vet now.”

The Vikings forced a Tiger punt and took over near midfield where some trickery led to a score. Facing fourth and 16 now in the fourth quarter, Smith set up deep behind center to punt the ball away. When he got the snap, he slowly rolled out to his right, seeming as if he was about to boot the ball, and then pulled up and hit Jenkins for a huge gain setting them up on the Tiger 6-yard line.

On the next play, Smith ran it in for a touchdown.

Clewiston scored its first points of the second half on the next series which featured another big run. Franklin took the first play 73 yards on the ground to put the Tigers on the Verot 15. Two plays later, sophomore Jermyll Ray ran one in from 14 yards out to cut their deficit to 36-27.

Verot padded its lead again just 53 seconds later when Smith walked a tight-rope down the right sideline and into the end zone from 24 yards out following a 30-yard Jenkins run.

“Whatever I need to do for my family, I’ll do,” Smith said of a big night in the air and on the ground.

With just over 5 minutes left to play, Ray scored his second TD on a big 33-yard run to put the score at 42-33. Verot turned the ball over on downs on its ensuing possession and hope was not yet lost for Clewiston. With 1:14 left to play, Cobb broke away for a 25-yard touchdown run making it 42-39.

It all came down to an onside kick, which was recovered by Verot to seal the win.

“It was just a great team win to keep playing and keep fighting,” Rode said. “It’s incredibly special (to host the regional final next week). You hope to get here, but you know what type of teams you have to go through to get here. The turkey is going to taste better on Thanksgiving.”

Smith added, “It’s amazing to be where we are. Words can’t describe how excited I am about next week. We’re going to have a good week of practice and come out ready for the next game.”

The No. 1 seed Vikings take on No. 2 Frostproof (10-2) at home Friday at 7:30 p.m.

— Connect with Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad on Twitter: @haddad_cj

1 2 3 4 F

CLEWISTON 14 7 0 18 — 39

BISHOP VEROT 9 14 7 12 — 42

1st Quarter

BV: Deaglan Camron, 30-yard field goal; 8:46

C: Dayreon Franklin, 32-yard run (Jose Garcia kick); 6:51

BV: Carter Smith, 5-yard run (2-point fail); 4:44

C: Chauncy Cobb, 79-yard run (Garcia kick); 3:55

2nd Quarter

BV: Smith, 29-yard run (Camron kick); 9:10

C: Cobb, 15-yard run (Garcia kick); 5:52

BV: Smith, 3-yard run (Camron kick); 1:58

3rd Quarter

BV: Deshon Jenkins, 1-yard run (Camron kick); 5:23

4th Quarter

BV: Smith, 3-yard run (2-point fail); 10:30

C: Jermyll Ray, 14-yard run (2-point fail); 9:20

BV: Smith, 24-yard run (2-point fail); 8:23

C: Ray, 33-yard run (kick fail); 5:06

C: Franklin, 25-yard run (2-point fail); 1:14