Vero Beach High School’s football team will play for a state championship for the first time since winning its lone title in 1981.
The top-seeded Fighting Indians needed two overtimes and an all-or-nothing defensive stop on a two-point conversion attempt on the game’s final play, but they remained undefeated with a 45-44 victory over Miami Palmetto in a Class 7A state semifinal Friday night in front of a raucous crowd at a sold-out Citrus Bowl.
Vero Beach (14-0) will face Lake Mary (11-3) in the championship game, which will be played Saturday at Florida International University’s Pitbull Stadium in Miami.
The Rams defeated Venice 31-26 in Friday’s other Class 7A semifinal to earn its shot at the title.
Vero Beach was led by seniors EJ White and Jonathan Hillsman, who combined for six touchdowns – and the Fighting Indians needed every point as the stubborn Panthers fought back from a 38-24 second-half deficit to tie the game with 31 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
White completed 21 of 23 passes for four touchdowns, and Hillsman ran for two, scoring Vero Beach’s only touchdown in overtime, when tiebreaker rules give the ball to each team at the opponent’s 10-year line.
Neither Vero Beach nor Palmetto scored in the first overtime, when both teams’ kickers missed field-goal attempts.
The Fighting Indians scored a touchdown on the first play of the second overtime – a 10-yard pass from White to Hillsman – and the Panthers responded.
But Vero Beach’s defense broke up Palmetto’s two-point pass attempt to secure the victory and set off a wild celebration 44 years in the making.
Playing on its home field, the Billy Livings-coach Fighting Indians won the 1981 Florida Class 4A championship with a 10-7 triumph over Panama City Mosley.
