Thunder move into final four

SARASOTA — The fourth quarter began with Out-of-Door Academy down one point and the Thunder fans pounding their feet against the bleachers as loudly as when the game started.

It was a rallying cry for an ODA defensive unit that the Fort Myers Evangelical Christian football team had dominated for three quarters.

The Sentinels were inside the Thunder 30-yard line facing third-and-4.

ODA nose tackle J.R. Crosby heeded the call of the crowd with a third-down stop.

The Thunder stopped the Sentinels again on fourth-and-5, and that momentum change led to a 15-point fourth quarter, catapulting ODA past Evangelical 32-18 in the Class 1B-Region 3 final Friday at Sarasota High for the school’s first state semifinal berth.

“(Evangelical) had more blockers up front than we did, and they were just getting through ... so we put six guys up the middle,” Crosby said. “And we moved me to nose and put our big boys in there ... and got low and played smash mouth.”

Strong tallied 127 of his 166 rushing yards in the second half for the Thunder (10-1).

After ODA watched its 17-6 lead wither away, Strong finished a 6-minute, 46-second scoring drive with a 6-yard run off a toss to the right.

The subsequent two-point conversion and another late Strong touchdown run sealed ODA’s second victory over the Sentinels (9-3) this season.

“I just lowered my shoulders and kept running, and I didn’t look back,” Strong said.

The Thunder will host Belle Glade Glades Day next Friday in the semifinals. The site of that game had not been determined at press time.

“I can’t think right now, I don’t know what to say,” said an elated Strong.

The Sentinels were without the playmaking ability of quarterback Colton Lynch, who had more than 3,100 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns this season.

Yet without its injured star quarterback, Evangelical capitalized with back-to-back scoring drives to end the third period, taking an 18-17 lead into the fourth.

But the ODA defense picked up and Thunder coach Brett Timmons went to his trusted weapon in the backfield.

“That’s pretty much what we’ve been doing all season long,” Timmons said. “Put it in No. 3’s hands. He’s a guy that we trust and that we’re going to ride ... I call him Allstate, cause we’re in good hands.”

Timmons said he’s not ready for the ride to end yet.

“Soak it up over the weekend, we got a quick turnaround,” Timmons said. “We got to figure out who we’re playing ... get back into the lab again and go to work.”