Bradenton Christian makes the most of homecoming, beats Out-of-Door Academy

Bradenton Christian made homecoming a festive occasion by picking up its first victory of the 2016 campaign with a 40-22 win over Out-of-Door Academy in a crucial Sunshine State Athletic Conference Coral Bay Division game at Dan van der Kooy Field.

Senior quarterback Dominick Otteni threw three touchdown passes and accounted for 386 yards of total offense for the Panthers (1-4, 1-1 in Coral Bay Division play). Of the 386 yards, 277 of them came through the air with junior wide receiver Kevin Etienne catching eight of Otteni’s passes for 205 yards.

“There is no question about it, (Etienne) is a special talent,” said Bradenton Christian head coach Allan Gerber. “He’s a work in progress as far as polishing his game. At the end of the day, he does have some skill vertically and some nice ball skills. Our quarterback did a great job finding him down the field.”

Out-of-Door Academy (1-4, 1-2) struck first as junior quarterback Gus Mahler found Ethan Bertrand for a 57-yard touchdown with 10:23 left in the first quarter. Bradenton Christian responded on its first drive as Otteni converted three crucial third downs with a 19-yard pass to Etienne and a pair of 16-yard runs before Travis Windham scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Brett Gerber’s two-point run gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish.

“The way the thing started it was vital that we respond to that jab,” Allan Gerber said.

After Windham recovered a Mahler fumble to put Bradenton Christian at the Thunder 15, Etienne’s 15-yard reverse on the first play of the second quarter went for a touchdown. He caught the two-point pass from Gerber to make it a nine-point game.

Bathie Thiam, who accounted for the Panthers’ final score with a 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Otteni with 4:37 left before halftime. On the next play from scrimmage, Thunder freshman wide receiver Colin Castro made what might be the highlight of his team’s season as he caught a pass from Mahler with a Bradenton Christian defender draped all over him and raced 80 yards to the end zone.

Bradenton Christian needed just five plays to find pay dirt on the first drive of the second half. Etienne capped the five-play scoring drive with a 35-yard touchdown reception. Cameron Pasco hauled in Otteni’s third touchdown pass of the night from 10 yards out with 8:41 remaining.

“This meant more than any other game this season,” said Otteni. “We’ve been working hard for this ‘W.’”

Mahler closed out the scoring with a 6-yard run with 6:20 left. The Thunder managed just 79 yards on the rest of their offensive plays outside of Mahler’s two touchdown passes and lost 161 yards on 15 penalties.

“It certainly didn’t determine the outcome,” said Thunder head coach Ken Sommers. “The kids got frustrated with the penalties, but it definitely did not determine the outcome. It is hard for an offense when you’re starting second-and-20. It’s an offensive coordinator’s nightmare.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Bradenton Christian makes the most of homecoming, beats Out-of-Door Academy."