SEBASTIAN — Eduardo Serrano kicked a 30-yard field goal with 9 seconds left Friday night to lift Fort Pierce Central to a 21-20 triumph over Sebastian River High School.
Central, 3-2 and 1-0 in District 14-4A, scored 9 unanswered points in the last 5:30 in the game to drop Sebastian River to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the district.
Sharks running Fred Macon started the scoring with his first TD run of the year, a 1-yard plunge, and the Hanuman Joyce PAT put the Sharks up 7-0 with 2:12 left in the second quarter. The Cobras got the ball back and marched the length of the field to score as quarterback Trevor Banks connected with wide receiver Derrick Williams on a 3-yard TD pass with 28 seconds left in the half. The PAT was no good.
The third quarter started off much the same way it ended, with Banks finding Jabari Cargill on a 6-yard TD pass at the 9:14 mark. Once again, the PAT failed to give Fort Pierce a 12-7 lead.
Sebastian River answered when Javon Jones broke out for a 10-yard TD run. Joyce tacked on the PAT to make the score 14-12 with 5:14 left in the third quarter. The Sharks struck again with 7:44 left in the game when QB Wesley Wilson found TE Evan Brown for a 6-yard TD pass. Joyce missed the PAT, and left the door open for the Cobras to strike.
The rest of the fourth quarter was all Central, as they mounted their game-winning comeback. Banks threw his third TD pass of the game, this time to wide receiver Nikholas Guevara from 13 yards out. The two-point attempt failed and the Cobras were down 20-18 with 5:29 left in the game.
Serrano’s 30-yard FG sealed the Sharks, fate, as they lost for the second time this year in the final two minutes.
“It’s obviously disappointing when you lose another close game like this,” said SRHS Coach Randy Bethel. “We took control of the game in the fourth quarter but couldn’t close out with a win. We’ll come back a better team this week.”
