BROOKSVILLE - Three-hundred sixty-five days.
That's how long Nature Coast Technical High School's football team will have to endure the wait for another crack at big brother Central High.
The Bears (6-4 overall, 3-0 Hernando County Athletic Conference) made sure with an emotionally charged come-from-behind 17-13 win at jam packed Shark Tank Stadium Friday night.
Central senior linebacker Austin Forte, who recovered two of Nature Coast's game-high three lost fumbles, was the man of the hour.
With Central trailing 13-10 and facing fourth down and one from the Bear 42, NCT senior quarterback Stephen Pelaez did what he normally does in that situation - get the ball to the Sharks' most lethal player, sophomore tailback Tevin Drake.
Drake, who finished with 23 carries, for a game-high 172 yards and accounted for NCT's lone touchdown, was in the process of grabbing the toss pitch when he took his eye off the ball for an instant.
Boy did that millisecond cost.
Drake had the ball bounce oddly off his shoulder pads and (fortunately for Bear fans) straight into the arms of Forte, who dashed 50 yards the other way for an improbable touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
"I was blitzing in and the ball hit off Drake's shoulder pads," smiled the 16-year-old Forte. "I caught it and I took off. The touchdown feels good. I did this for the seniors. This was our state championship. This is what we play for."
Senior place kicker Cody Grey's ensuing point-after touchdown kick of the game, his 31st in 31 attempts, closed the scoring as neither team mustered any points in the second half.
So for the fourth straight season Central owns 7-3 NCT.
The win clinched the Bears' first-ever back-to-back county grid championships - both in the first two seasons under Head Coach Cliff Lohrey.
Lohrey's team, however, may have been too caught up in the moment.
After the game, instead of both teams forming a typical phalanx and simply shaking hands, the Central players lifted their helmets and proceeded to midfield were they celebrated by jumping up and down on the game's freshly painted Shark logo.
NCT players did not take kindly to CHS's post-game behavior. And with no game officials on hand (they were sprinting off the field) there was some pushing and shoving (but nothing else) as both teams were restrained from each other's coaches.
In fact, the two teams did not shake hands before cooling off in opposite end zones.
Such were tensions after this fourth-ever meeting that featured four scoreboard changes - all in the second quarter.
Bear heroes
There were several Central High heroes.
Senior running back/linebacker Duane Marks, who went both ways despite torn ligaments in his right ankle, and had been ineffective for a month, carried 22 times for a team-high 108 yards - mostly in the fourth quarter.
"This was one of our biggest wins," explained the 17-ywear-old Marks. "They (NCT) were handling us, but all we had to do (in the fourth quarter) was play our positions and we did."
In the game's biggest play, Marks ran stride-by-stride alongside Forte.
"I'm telling you, if he didn't recover that fumble, I would have," shared Marks. "Then I ran with 'em into the end zone."
Despite winning the county football championship for a second straight season, Marks did have one regret.
"I regret not going back to the (state) playoffs," said Marks. "Otherwise, we had a good season and this was a great football team."
Senior inside linebacker Nathan Brazeau roamed sideline to sideline for the visitors accumulating at least 10 solo tackles. Just as important, Brazeau also recovered a fumbled Pelaez snap at the Bear 41 with 2:13 left in the game.
"Tonight, everything was on the line," expressed the 17-year-old Brazeau. "We all knew we had to step up. Tonight, we pulled together as a family. The thing I like most about this team is we go to war for each other - I'm really gonna miss that."
Down 13-10, was there any doubt?
"None. No doubt that we were gonna win this game," emphatically replied Brazeau. "Our defense holds everybody. I don't have any regrets. We put it all on the line tonight. It's nice to close out your high school career with a big win."
Second-quarter flurry
Neither team scored in the opening stanza.
Though NCT junior linebacker Alfredo Lindo blocked a Marks punt with 3:25 left in the first quarter, the Sharks could not capitalize on the turnover from the Central 19.
Two plays later from the Bear 13, Pelaez fumbled and Forte recovered.
All told, Central's offense was out gained 360-208, including a 316-171 edge in rushing yardage.
Senior quarterback Chase Walker, who came in as the county's top passer, struggled through the air.
Walker completed 3-of-8 for 37 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions.
Walker's ninth touchdown pass of the season, a 21-yard crossing pattern to senior Jeff Wright, opened the scoring.
The touchdown came on the first play of the second quarter and was followed by Grey's first PAT kick, 7-0 Bears.
NCT quickly countered with a 4-play, 69-yard drive. Drake's 57-yard burst set up his own 1-yard touchdown run. Drake's 20th touchdown of the season tied Rian Williams' school-record set in 2004.
Sophomore PK Nick Allegra tied the score with 10:12 left in the first half, 7-7.
Senior Chad Walker returned Allegra's ensuing kickoff 29 yards.
Eight plays later, the Bears navigated from their own 44 to the Shark 8-yard line before stalling out.
Here, Grey trotted out for a 25-yard field goal. Grey, who had missed 8-of-10 field goal attempts, drilled this one with 6:53, 10-7 Bears.
Yet, NCT responded again.
Pelaez, five carries, 41 yards, engineered a 7-play, 64-yard drive. Pelaez tallied his fifth touchdown of the season from 17 yards out.
Allegra, who came in 21-of-32 in PATs, misfired on the ensuing kick with 3:41 left, 13-10 Sharks.
Two plays later, Walker was intercepted by NCT's red-hot junior cornerback Michael Fields. Fields, who had an interception in each half, ran his season total to 10 swipes.
The 10 picks ties the county record set by Hernando High's Eddie Looper in 1981.
Despite NCT's second turnover, they could not cash in on the opportunity as Drake fumbled five plays later.
Second-half stalemate
In the second half, Central was thwarted on Fields' 10th swipe with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
On its next possession, CHS drove to the NCT 9-yard line. But on fourth down and two, Marks was hit for a 5-yard loss by seniors Jimmy Huang and Damien Diaz.
Eleven plays later, Pelaez fumbled and Brazeau recovered.
NCT's defense, however, stiffened forcing a 36-yard Marks punt.
In a last-ditch drive, the Sharks went 56-yards on five plays before time ran out, 17-13 Bears.
Post game review
In the game's aftermath, NCT Head Coach Jamie Joyner was precise and to the point on his team's performance.
"Key penalties and turnovers hurt us," lamented Joyner, who slipped to 0-4 against the crosstown Bears. "The return (Forte) was similar to what happened against us against Crystal River. We went from looking for looking forward to a 10-point lead to scratching to get some points. The return switched the game's momentum."
"And I thought Marks was a horse tonight," added Lohrey. "Give them credit; they made some key (defensive) stops when they needed to."
Meanwhile, Lohrey lauded his team's grit and commented on Forte's huge return.
"He's (Forte) a ball magnet," said Lohrey, who climbed to 14-7 lifetime at CHS. "That play (return) was big. But we also had a lot of big plays. We have a lot of guys with character. They pride themselves on it."
What was the key?
"The key was Monday's practice," recalled Lohrey. "We read what those guys had to say in the paper. This game was won on Monday. Who we're they to talk? They'd never beaten us. We're in their heads.
"Our guys were so fired up, we went through five Tevin Drakes in practice, before I called the dogs off," said Lohrey. "We didn't have any paint left on our helmets. We were ready for this game on Monday.
"I'm so proud of the way we played for each other. Tonight, that's what it came down to," shared Lohrey. "This is a special group of guys. Tonight, we walked the walk and they can't swim the swim, we muddied the Shark Tank. I'm gonna savor this one for 365 days - or until we play 'em again."
Getting in the last word, Joyner added, "The biggest disappointment is the loss itself and how we reacted to it. We did it to ourselves. Penalties destroyed some drives and we gave them 10 points.
"But you know," said Joyner. "Tell Central (with no postseason games) I'm gonna enjoy going to practice (in preparation for the first-round playoff game against North Marion) on Monday."
Central 17, Nature Coast 13
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Central 0 17 0 0 -- 17
Nature Coast 0 13 0 0 -- 13
Individual Scoring:
CEN - Wright 21 pass from Chase Walker (Grey kick)
NCT - Drake 1 run (Allegra kick)
CEN - Grey 25 FG
NCT - Pelaez 17 run (Allegra kick fails)
CEN - Forte 50 fumble recovery return (Grey kick)
CEN NCT
First Downs 10 16
Atts./Rushing Yds. 37-171 55-316
Comp./Pass Atts./Int. 3-8-1 2-5-0
Passing Yds. 37 44
Total Offense 45-208 60-360
Fumbles/Lost 0-0 3-3
Return Yards 5-77 4-53
Punts/Avg. 4-24.3 3-41.7
Penalties 2-13 5-44
Past Hernando County Football Championships
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO
YEAR SCHOOL COACH W-L
1978 Brooksville-Hernando Wood, Chuck 1-0
1979 Brooksville-Hernando Palmer, Dub 1-0
1980 Brooksville-Hernando Palmer, Dub 1-0
1981 Brooksville-Hernando Palmer, Dub 1-0
1982 Brooksville-Hernando Palmer, Dub 1-0
1983 Brooksville-Hernando Moxley, Ben 1-0
1984 Brooksville-Hernando Hemmond, George 1-0
1985 Brooksville-Hernando Turner, Vernon 1-0
1986 Brooksville-Hernando Turner, Vernon 1-0
1987 Brooksville-Hernando Turner, Vernon 1-0
1988 Brooksville-Hernando Imhoff, Mike 1-0
1989 Brooksville-Hernando Imhoff, Mike 1-0
1990 Brooksville-Hernando Imhoff, Mike 2-0
1991 Brooksville-Hernando Imhoff, Mike 2-0
1992 Brooksville-Hernando Imhoff, Mike 2-0
1993 Spring Hill-Springstead Browning, Bill 2-0
1994 NA 1-1
1995 Spring Hill-Springstead Browning, Bill 2-0
1996 Spring Hill-Springstead McCoy, Pat 2-0
1997 Spring Hill-Springstead McCoy, Pat 2-0
1998 Brooksville-Central Crognale, Steve 2-0
1999 Brooksville-Hernando Browning, Bill 2-0
2000 Brooksville-Hernando Browning, Bill 2-0
2001 Brooksville-Central Crognale, Steve 2-0
2002 Brooksville-Hernando Browning, Bill 2-0
2003 Spring Hill-Springstead Vonada, Bill 2-0
2004 Spring Hill-Springstead Vonada, Bill 2-0
2005 Spring Hill-Springstead Vonada, Bill 3-0
2006 Brooksville-Central Lohrey, Cliff 2-1
2006 Brooksville-NCT Joyner, Jamie 2-1
2007 Brooksville-Central Lohrey, Cliff 3-0
--29--
County Football Championships
School Titles
Brooksville-Hernando 18
Spring Hill-Springstead 8
Brooksville-Central 4
Brooksville-Nature Coast Technical 1
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Results Loading...