Cardinal Mooney holds off Southeast on special night for two head coaches

As players shuffled through the customary post-game handshake line, the two opposing coaches did more than shake hands.

Paul Maechtle and Brett Timmons embraced each other with a hug, signifying their long relationship with each other.

The bond started when Timmons played for Maechtle at Southeast High, helping the Seminoles capture back-to-back state championships in the 1990s, and then continued as Timmons became a coach himself, emulating what Maechtle did at Southeast with his head coaching stops.

That included Out-of-Door Academy and now currently at Timmons’ alma mater, Southeast.

Timmons wasn’t the only familiar face for Maechtle, who is in his first season as Cardinal Mooney’s head coach — the team that held off a late Seminoles rally to secure a 30-20 victory Friday night at John Heath Field at Austin Smithers Stadium in Sarasota.

“It’s a game, but you cherish these moments,” Timmons said. “You don’t know how long Coach (Maechtle) is going to be out coaching, so you just cherish these moments.”

Cardinal Mooney (6-0) held a 27-0 lead before Southeast (3-3) slowly worked its way back into the game, which also saw Seminoles senior Kam’ron Green return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The defensive lineman, who is committed to UCF, looked sharp as Timmons said they had him “on a pitch count” in his first game back.

The Seminoles scored twice in the fourth quarter to close the Cougars’ lead to seven points, with the second touchdown coming after Mooney fumbled a kick return.

Southeast quarterback Maleek Huggins shot-putted a pass toward Calvin Clark that ricocheted off defensive back Miles Curley toward Clark, who juggled the ball before tucking it away.

Mooney, though, got the ball back and grinded out a drive that yielded an Anthony Einhorn 20-yard field goal. Soon after, Rees Swink intercepted Huggins to seal the game late.

When Timmons, who played on Tulane’s undefeated 1998 college football team, started his coaching path, Maechtle was there to visit him at the University of Cincinnati — where Timmons was a graduate assistant.

Additionally, Southeast athletic director Joe Collis, who was on the visiting sideline Friday night, has a long relationship with Maechtle. He played college baseball and was roommates with Maechtle’s stepson Matt Vassallo on Brewton-Parker’s 1997 NAIA national championship team that won 31 straight games to close out the year with a 64-7 record despite starting the season 4-4.

But Friday was the first meeting for Timmons to coach against his former high school coach.

“We’re just trying to carry on those traditions that were created by Coach (Maechtle) and the rest of his staff there,” Timmons said.

Timmons first coaching job after he got back home from Cincinnati was Southeast’s junior varsity team. It was a time that Maechtle said he could tell Timmons was built for coaching.

Well, that and what he’d seen from Timmons, who played linebacker, during his high school career.

“At that time, I was on offense and he knew the plays we were going to run and he would call them out,” Maechtle said. “I remember ... going, ‘C’mon Brett, give us a break.’ He was trying to stop Peter (Warrick) and he was stopping Peter. It was good.”

Maechtle added about Timmons’ early coaching days with the JV team: “I enjoyed watching him talk to the kids as a JV coach and try to cheer them on and build them up. And talk about traditions and stuff that we had going. It was interesting to hear him say that as a young coach, and I thought that was the beginning steps for grooming him for those kind of things that he’s doing right now.”

Mooney’s offensive leaders Friday were Sam Koscho (seven carries for 93 rushing yards and a touchdown), Tray Hall (78 rushing yards, 56 receiving yards) and Geno Giardina, who assumed the starting quarterback role with Ryan Bolduc out injured, with 109 passing yards on 8 of 13 passing.

Southeast’s offensive leaders were Huggins (183 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 88 rushing yards with a touchdown) and Chauncey Wilson (50 rushing yards).