VERO BEACH — It was winner-take-all as St. Ed’s delighted a festive Friday night homecoming crowd with an 18-15 victory over Trinity Christian Academy and in the process clinched the final playoff berth in District 3-2A.
The win was a fitting conclusion to a day worthy of celebration.
Prior to the game St. Ed’s Athletic Hall of Fame welcomed four new members in a tribute to the 1980’s. Jack Plym (’84), Craig Stevens (’86) and Darin Lockwood (’88) all were recognized for standout careers in three different sports. Current Director of Athletics Jeff Lamscha arrived at St. Ed’s in 1982 and stepped aside last year as head coach of the varsity girls soccer team with 306 wins over 25 years.
Also featured under near perfect weather conditions were an alumni barbecue and the introduction of the homecoming king (Daniel Jutras) and queen (Cassidy Layton) at halftime. The crowning touch, however, came with the football game, and it was a big one for a team that often struggled up to this point.
This one wasn’t easy by any means. The Pirates (3-5) fell behind 7-0 midway through first period when the visitors used six plays to travel 71 yards. The key to the drive was a 56 yard gain that blossomed from a short pass.
The Pirates recovered quickly on the leg of Peyton Klein. His punt pinned the Eagles down on their own six yard line and the next play resulted in a safety when the ball was fumbled into the end zone. St. Ed’s took the free kick and recorded four first downs before stalling and settling for a 23 yard Klein field goal that made it 7-5.
A pair of interceptions led to two St. Ed’s touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half. A CJ Hadnot pick set up a 17 yard burst up the middle by Danny Walsh. Less than two minutes later, Nicholas Succes returned a deflected pass back to the five yard line. It took only one play for Walsh to cash in on that turnover and give the Pirates what proved to be an insurmountable 18-7 lead at the break.
Both sides bogged down in a penalty filled third quarter before Trinity Christian got untracked in the fourth. A quarterback sneak and two point conversion narrowed the gap to 18-15 with just under seven minutes remaining. The Eagles fate was sealed with a pair of fumbles on their final two possessions.
“It’s great,” Head Coach Bill Motta said of the much needed win. “We were getting a little flat and this gives us an opportunity to start a brand new season. Everybody is 0-0 in the playoffs, but we can’t look ahead to those games right now. We’ve got two games left in the regular season. We want to finish strong and take that momentum into the playoffs.”
The Pirates take on Ransom-Everglades in the final home game of the regular season on October 31st.
