Clearwater Central Catholic was feeling good about its chances at halftime of Saturday’s Class 3A state final against Jacksonville Trinity Christian. The Marauders held the Conquerors’ explosive offense scoreless, then things fell apart quickly in the second half. Here’s how it happened:
Play: Trinity Christian takes the opening kickoff to its own 33-yard line.
First and 10, 33-yard line: Isaiah Ford runs 8 yards.
Second and 2, 41-yard line: Ford races 58 yards for a touchdown, breaking at least two tackles along the way. Kick is good. 7-0 Conquerors.
Drive: Two plays, 67 yards, 44 seconds.
Time left in quarter: 11:16
Quotable:“We had a couple missed tackles and I should have dove for him. We just missed assignments on that play.” — CCC linebacker Conner Dorris
Play: CCC quarterback Jeff Smith throws an interception at his own 23. Ball is returned to the CCC 14.
First and 10, 14-yard line: Trinity quarterback Jaquez Riles throws a 14-yard touchdown to Chris Barr. Kick is good. 14-0 Conquerors.
Drive: One play, 14 yards, four seconds.
Time left in quarter: 10:13
Quotable:“Mostly it was just short fields in that quarter. It wasn’t like they drove the whole length of the field on us.” — CCC defensive end Justus Reed
Play: CCC goes for it on fourth and 2 from its own 34. The pass attempt is incomplete.
First and 10, 34-yard line: Ford runs for zero yards.
Second and 10: Riles hits Ford on a 26-yard pass.
First and goal, 8-yard line: CCC is flagged for illegal substitution.
First and goal, 4-yard line: Ford scores on a 4-yard run. Kick fails. 20-0 Conquerors
Drive: Three plays, 34 yards, 56 seconds.
Time left in quarter: 7:14
Quotable:“The head coach didn’t help things by going for it on fourth down, but I felt we had to get something going.” — CCC coach John Davis
Play: Smith fumbles on the Trinity 37-yard line. Deontai Williams scoops it up and runs 63 yards for a touchdown. Kick is good.
Drive: One play, 63 yards, eight seconds.
Time left in quarter: 5:41
Quotable:“Whatever I said at halftime didn’t work too well.”—Davis
Total number of plays: Six.
Total time elapsed: Six minutes, 19 seconds.
Points scored: 27