PALMETTO — There was less than 90 seconds left, and Lakewood Ranch seniors Doug Snell and Jared Brinton knew they needed to make a play.
Palmetto kicker Brandon Tarpley was lining up for a 25-yard field goal to extend the Tigers’ lead in a game both teams needed to win to earn their way into the state playoffs.
At the snap, Snell broke through the line, got his body in front of Tarpley’s kick and deflected it right to Brinton, who motored 75 yards for the decisive touchdown.
“Before they snapped the ball, I told them, ‘We got one play all season to go with, and if we block it we have a chance,’” Brinton said. “... I thought I was going to (run out of breath), but I just kept running.”
The dramatic return gave the Mustangs a 17-13 victory Friday night at Harllee Stadium and second place in Class 4A-District 11, which means their first trip to the playoffs since 2006.
Following the blocked field goal, the Tigers got the ball back but were stymied on four plays that sparked a wild celebration on the Lakewood Ranch sideline.
“I usually come from the outside, I have short legs,” Snell said. “I’m only 5-foot-6, but Jared said, ‘No, I’m taking outside this time.’ Jared’s a big playmaker, and I don’t think they saw me ... he took his guy outside ... and there was just a huge hole between the second-to-last guy and the last guy.”
The Mustangs (5-4, 2-1) will travel for a first-round playoff game in two weeks against the District 12 champion, a year removed from a 1-9 campaign.
Snell and Brinton’s late heroics eliminated Palmetto (4-5, 1-2) from its bid for a third straight postseason berth.
“I was going through the motions, and I went to kick it, and needlessly to say, they were there and they blocked it,” Tarpley said.
Both defenses played a part in keeping the other off the scoreboard when it mattered most.
Palmetto kept the game 3-0 in the second quarter thanks to a goal-line stand when they stopped four straight Lakewood Ranch runs from the 1.
The Mustangs followed suit, when they forced the third first-half Palmetto turnover as Donald Campbell’s end zone toss found Brinton’s arms. Lakewood Ranch scored six plays later after Taryn Laws opened the drive with a 45-yard run.
Palmetto struck back when Mustangs quarterback Reggie Lindsey’s pass to Octavious Washington bounced from his possession after Ty Scott jarred the ball loose on a bone-crunching hit.
Tigers defensive back Brian Ackerman returned the interception to the 1, setting up a Campbell touchdown.
A botched snap on the extra point kept the game 10-6 at halftime.
Then Marquis Green (23 carries, 109 yards) gave the Tigers a cushion with a 14-yard score to begin the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were driving again late in the fourth, but the Mustangs defense rose up to force the field-goal try that would result in the winning touchdown.
“I told the kids when we had the timeout, that you know I think we can force them into a field goa,l then we could still do something, so we couldn’t give up the first down,” Mustangs coach Shawn Trent said.
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