Saint Stephen's ends season with a thud in the SSAC championship against Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic
OVIEDO -- Saint Stephen's felt it had time for two plays to cut into a six-point deficit just before halftime in the Florida Bowl against Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic. With eight seconds left and the Falcons beyond midfield, Tod Creneti wanted SSES to pick up one chunk of yardage through the air to set up a field goal.
Jordy Edwards ran a drag route along the 25-yard line and Fred Billy tried to find his wide receiver. Henry Perry IV waited and when the quarterback left the throw short, he jumped the route. The cornerback hesitated for a moment as his blockers set up. He finally had a seam and 75 yards later was in the end zone.
Billy walked to the sideline and pounded the bench in frustration. The disaster scenario had unfolded for Saint Stephen's in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship. A six-point deficit became a 12-point hole with Santa Fe Catholic getting the ball out of the break.
"Coming out for the locker room you could definitely feel it changed things," Perry said.
The Hawks marched down the field for seven-minute touchdown drive to start the third and the Falcons (9-2) could never recover. Billy finished with a season-high four interceptions, SSES managed only 65 yards of total offense and Saint Stephen's ended its season with a 33-0 loss to Santa Fe (11-0) at Pennington Field in Oviedo.
For the entire first half and early into the second the game was a defensive struggle. Both teams managed only six rushing yards in the first half and after marching 80 yards on its opening possession SFC only moved seven more yards.
The Falcons' offense was even worse. SSES finished the first half with 14 yards on 21 plays. Billy, who both threw and ran for 11 touchdowns during the regular season, completed only 1-of-8 passes in the first half and rushed for negative-10 yards. Saint Stephen's only made it into the red zone once when nose guard Charlie Meech intercepted a screen pass down to Santa Fe's 10.
The Falcons only moved the ball seven yards before turning it over on downs.
"I thought our defense was lights out in the first half," Creneti said. "We just really couldn't get it going in the first half."
But a one-possession game ran out of control after the last-second pick six.
Perry, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player after scoring twice on offense to go along with the interception, went from the center of the field, deep in his own territory to the left sideline where he finally found a hole and the game-changing play for a 12-0 lead.
The Hawks started the third quarter at their own 17-yard line. A stop would give the Falcons a chance to stop the bleeding. Twelve plays 7:01 later, quarterback Walker Richards connected with wide receiver Kenard King for a 32-yard touchdown and an 18-0 lead. Even after the game, Creneti didn't regret taking a shot at points before the end of the half.
"It's a tight window," Creneti said. "To be down 18, yeah, that's tougher, but our kids at that point we're all standing on the sidelines doing the math going, Hey, two touchdowns and a field goal we're back in it."
SSES marched down into the red zone for the only other time after Billy found wide receiver Peyton Vining for a 21-yard pass, Saint Stephen's longest play of the game. At the 6, Billy darted to his right, looking for the end zone. SFC found him in the backfield and popped the ball loose for another Falcon turnover.
For the first time in 2015, SSES turned the ball over five times and failed to score a single point. The most successful season in school history ended with a fizzle and with only two seniors leaving the program Saint Stephen's can remain optimistic after a deflating finish.
"I'll sleep tonight," Creneti said, "knowing that these guys have earned the right to be thought of as a very good football team."
This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Saint Stephen's ends season with a thud in the SSAC championship against Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic ."