TARPON SPRINGS — Tested, testy and tense like it hadn’t been all season, No. 2-ranked East Lake held on for a 13-12 win over Palmetto on Friday night in the Class 7A, Region 3 quarterfinals.
East Lake was averaging 47 points a game and its narrowest margin was 22, but this one had a different feel from the start. Palmetto brought a physical style and a bend-don’t-break defense that limited the Eagles to just one touchdown on five red-zone visits.
“We’ve been fortunate to have some lopsided wins this year, but I’ll take this one,” said Eagles coach Bob Hudson. East Lake will host a rematch with district rival Pinellas Park in the next round.
Weston Fordham ran for 115 yards on 21 carries while Jake Hudson threw for 164. East Lake doubled Palmetto’s yardage total but turned it over twice and had to settle for two short Daniel Lacamera field goals in the first half.
Down one with 2:17 remaining, Palmetto took over at its own 25. A tipped pass by Brendan Goettel negated a possible big gain, then Carson Lydon was in on back-to-back sacks to halt Palmetto on downs.
“We knew we had it,” Lydon said.
Artavis Scott’s 13-yard touchdown run gave East Lake (11-0) a 13-6 advantage midway through the third quarter. But Palmetto (5-6) answered with four straight completions by quarterback Sean Allison, the last a 23-yard touchdown catch by Katrell Hubbard. However Palmetto missed the extra point keeping East Lake on top.