Palmetto delivers in final moments, tops Pinellas Park

Apparently, making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons wasn’t satisfying enough for Palmetto High, which rallied twice Friday night against Pinellas Park, including the decisive touchdown in the waning seconds for a thrilling 28-24 comeback win.

“Gentlemen, welcome to playoff football at the highest level,” Palmetto coach Dave Marino said in a postgame address to his team. “That is the way it is.”

The Tigers (7-3) never led until the final seconds, overcoming two 14-point deficits before outscoring the Patriots (8-3) by a 21-3 margin in the second half.

That second-half rally was capped by Elijah Davis’ 18-yard scoring run up the middle with less than a minute to play.

“Our kids knew they were going to be in a fight (against third-ranked Pinellas Park), but we pride ourselves in playing for 48 minutes,” Marino said.

After the Patriots took a 24-21 lead on Santiago Tovar’s 26-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 35 seconds left in regulation, Davis, who gained a team-high 118 yards on 17 carries, capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with a strong run up the middle. He made a nice cutback to his right after splitting a pair of defenders.

“As long as they were going to two-high at the safeties, we had to take advantage of that,” Marino said.

For Davis, that run will not soon be forgotten.

“I had to cut it back and right now it’s No. 1,” he said. “Senior season, to get a win in the playoffs … it’s got to be No. 1.”

Trailing 21-7 at halftime, the Tigers got two quick touchdowns in the third quarter. Anthony Marino, the coach’s son, capped a 10-play, 72-yard drive by scoring from 4 yards on a bootleg.

On Pinellas Park’s ensuing possession, Lawrance Toafili fumbled – Derrick Bradley forced the turnover and Alonzo Houston recovered the loose ball. That set up Anthony Marino’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone before Alfredo Manriquez tied the game at 21 with a PAT kick.

Earlier, after spotting Pinellas Park a 14-0 lead on two Derek Bryant touchdowns — a 9-yard pass from Brandon Coppola and a 73-yard run — Palmetto pulled within a touchdown on Anthony Marino’s 16-yard scoring pass to Johnny Jones.

Anthony Marino completed 22 of 36 passes for 174 yards. Kobe Mays had nine receptions for 98 yards.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Palmetto delivers in final moments, tops Pinellas Park."