Southeast High handles Hardee, moves into first-place tie
WAUCHULA -- The first signature win of the John Warren era could not have come at a better time for the Southeast football team.
Tyler Stevenson's 12-yard touchdown reception from Kevin Johnson with 1:20 remaining in Friday night's Class 5A-District 11 game capped a six-play, 63-yard drive that enabled the Seminoles to preserve their playoff hopes with a 21-14 win over host Wauchula Hardee.
With the win, Southeast (4-4, 3-1 in 5A-11) will head into next week's district finale at Sarasota Booker in a first-place tie atop the Class 5A-11 standings with Lemon Bay, a 21-20 winner over Booker on Friday night, and Hardee.
"Stay believing and stay positive," said Warren, who is in his second year as the Seminoles' head coach. "We're only a year removed from a 1-9 season, when winning was so hard. We're still trying to learn how to win. To get a monumental victory like this hopefully puts us on the right path and we can keep moving forward."
A week after failing to capitalize on early chances, Southeast wasted no time against Hardee as sophomore Schneider Jean-Pierre recovered a fumble at the Wildcat 3 on the game's opening play. Kevin Johnson, the Seminoles' leading rusher, who played most of the game at quarterback after Joey Giardina left the team this week, took a direct snap 2 yards for the game's first score two plays later.
The Seminoles thwarted a fourth-and-10 from their own 21 and forced a failed 37-yard field goal on Hardee's second and third series of the game, respectively. Southeast would record three interceptions in the second half, including one that was returned 85 yards by sophomore Lee Martin for a touchdown and a 13-7 lead with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
"I thought it was a dream," Martin said. "I'm just glad that I got it. The touchdown flashed in front of my eyes, but I thought I was going to get caught. I'm just glad that I got the touchdown and that I didn't get caught."
Taking advantage of a 17-yard punt by Southeast, Hardee answered Martin's interception return for a touchdown by putting together a 50-yard drive that was capped by quarterback Hayden Lindsey's 23-yard touchdown run with 4:20 remaining. It was the second touchdown run of the game from Lindsey, who led all rushers with 94 yards on eight carries.
Rigo Rodriguez's extra-point kick gave the Wildcats (4-3, 3-1 in 5A-11) a 14-13 lead.
"The old Seminole team would have probably folded up shop after they went ahead 14-13, but we get the ball back with four minutes and put together a nice little three-minute drive," Warren said.
After Stevenson's touchdown grab, Hardee started its final possession from its own 43. The good field position was partly the result of an excessive celebration penalty assessed on the touchdown that forced Southeast to kick off from its own 25.
After Lindsey threw a pass that could have been picked off on the first play of Hardee's final possession, Southeast sophomore defensive back Damon Poole did not let opportunity slip through his hands and his interception sealed the victory.
"We have been saying that we need a victory that we can hang our hat on with a new regime," Warren said. "(Former Southeast) Coach (Paul) Maechtle had win after win after win. We're still trying to get that signature win, where we could say our kids never quit and they never quit. We were finally able to climb that mountain and get to the top of it."
This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Southeast High handles Hardee, moves into first-place tie ."