Braden River High senior nose guard Don Ward didn't see anything special about his fourth-down stop of Avon Park quarterback Albert Moses on the goal line in the second quarter Friday.
But head coach Josh Hunter was visibly impressed by the goal-line stand that preserved a 6-0 lead and valuable momentum in the Pirates' 16-6 Class 3A-District 12 victory.
"That defensive stand on the goal line - good God, you couldn't ask for anything more," Hunter said after Braden River improved to 4-2, 1-1 in the district. "That was awesome."
After the Red Devils (0-5, 0-2) marched from their 33-yard line to Braden River's 5 midway through the quarter, the Pirates' defense stiffened, keeping Avon Park out of the end zone despite drawing an offsides penalty.
On 4th-and-goal from the 1, Ward got enough penetration to throw Moses for a 1-yard loss, getting late help from Ty Williams and Joey Meador.
"I gave all my effort. I just did my job," Ward said. "I knew my teammates would do their job, and I just happened to be there."
After the stop, Pirates quarterback Stephen Fischer hit tight end Casey Hunt on the run on 3rd-and-10 from the 2 for a valuable first down.
Consecutive runs of 16 and 40 yards by Jajuan Bell and a 10-yard completion from Fischer to Willie McNeal led to a 31-yard field goal by Kadin Kerns and a 9-0 halftime lead.
Bell gained 102 yards rushing on 25 carries.
"We persevered. We were successful despite ourselves at times," Hunter said. "Avon Park is big, strong and athletic up front, and at times we did a decent job running the football."
The Pirates' first scoring drive began late in the first quarter on their 46 after a fumble recovery by defensive back Mick Olitsky. Ruben Roderick ran for 14 and 4 yards but left the game after his second run with an apparent ankle injury.
Fischer completed passes of 9 yards to McNeal and 11 yards to Sharrod Neasman before hitting Neasman down the middle for a 22-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
Braden River's offense started humming again in the fourth quarter, but only after Bell broke free from a would-be tackler for a 3-yard gain on 4th-and-1 from the Pirates' 36.
A holding penalty pushed the Pirates back, but Fischer and Hunt hooked up for a 29-yard completion on 3rd-and-24. Four plays later, Fischer dashed 21 yards on a keeper, setting up his 8-yard touchdown run with 4:35 remaining.
The Red Devils scored with 2:06 remaining on an acrobatic 32-yard touchdown catch by Alonzo Robertson on a heave from Moses, but Olitsky sacked Moses on the 2-point conversion attempt to sew up the triumph.
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