SEBASTIAN — It was the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who said, “Into each life some rain must fall.” Rain and the Sharks’ winning streak fell in a 29-0 upset at Sebastian River High School stadium Nov. 16, ending the Sharks winning streak and putting a halt to their advance in the post-season.
The Sharks faced the Palm Bay Heritage High School Panthers for the regional division 6-A quarter final playoffs at home.
Sebastian River went into the playoffs riding the wave of a 7-game winning streak.
Early in the first quarter, Sebastian River offense failed to gain much ground and the Panthers forced Sharks kicker Chris Suplee to punt the ball away in a 32-yard kick.
The Panthers were able to run the ball down to the Sharks’ 25-yard line but Sebastian River held them in place.
After fighting their way into scoring range, Heritage tried a 30-yard field goal attempt but it was no good.
The first quarter was entirely a tug-of-war match.
As the Sharks found no way through the Panther defense, Heritage forced Sebastian River to punt on fourth down but, again, the Panthers could scarcely move the ball.
With another turnover on a fourth down punt, Suplee sent the kick high but short and the 18-yard punt gave the Panthers good starting position for their first down.
With a minute to go in the first quarter, Heritage took the ball up the sideline and deep into Shark territory.
A false start penalty against the Sharks put the ball on the 9-yard line but the Panthers failed to bring in the touchdown.
The next three and a half minutes of the game was a trade-off of possessions with the ball staying mostly in the midfield.
Sebastian River gained momentum with seven minutes left in the half after a screen pass to Shelvick Henry nearly brought up the first down.
On another hard running drive, Sharks receiver Nate Pryor still couldn’t get through the Panther defense to secure the first down.
Towards the end of the half, the score remained 0-0.
Then, like the sudden rain shower that pelted the players, the Heritage onslaught began.
A 75-yard touchdown on a punt return by Panthers receiver Shaquille Jones finally put a score on the board. The score remained 0-7 in Heritage’s favor going into the second half.
Then, Panther Quarterback Clinton Moxam ran in for a second touchdown. With a solid point after kick, the score was 14-0.
Though they were down, the Sharks still looked to make a comeback.
With 10:40 left in the third quarter, Pryor finally got the opening he wanted and ran the ball almost 30 yards on a kickoff but, ultimately, Heritage’s defense hemmed the Sharks in again.
The Sharks would keep getting close.
A fumble on a Panthers punt was recovered by Henry to put the Sharks deep in scoring range.
It would be a wet ball and solid Panther coverage that foiled a short field goal attempt. The Sharks handed the ball over to Heritage on the 19-yard line.
Sharks fumbled the ball on first down, giving the Panthers the ball back right where they left off.
A completion by Panthers Auston Wolfe set them up for another touchdown and a fumble on the field goal kick set Heritage up for a two-point conversion. With just over three minutes left in the third quarter, the score was 22-0.
Another Sharks fumble, on the 3-yard line, with 20 seconds left in the third quarter, led to another Panthers’ touchdown and brought the score to 29-0. The Panthers advance into the post season while the Sharks’ season comes to an end.
