Cardinal Mooney falls to Clearwater Calvary Christian in overtime

Cardinal Mooney’s winning streak is over.

The Cougars suffered a 19-16 overtime loss at home to Clearwater Calvary Christian on Friday night, ending a three-game winning streak in the series and their perfect season. They had beaten their Class 3A-Region 3 opponent by an average of 9.7 points the previous three games.

The loss came after Cardinal Mooney’s kicker missed a 38-yard field goal attempt by a wide margin. He couldn’t match the Calvary Christian kicker, who made a 24-yard field goal just moments earlier.

“It’s as tough as it gets,” Cougars coach Drew Lascari said. “You never want to drop a game in overtime. It certainly stings. We just couldn’t finish the [darn] game.”

The loss ruined an excellent fourth quarter from Cougars running back Bryce Williams, who entered the final period with 43 yards on 14 carries before rushing six times for 59 yards. The University of Minnesota commit finished with 103 yards on 21 carries, giving him four consecutive games this season with at least 100 rushing yards.

Williams scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Cougars (3-1) a 16-13 lead with 10:32 left in the game. But Calvary Christian (3-1) evened the score about 5 minutes later on a field goal.

The defeat also ruined what had been a stellar performance by Cougars quarterback Jack Koscho, who completed 8 of 15 passes for 138 yards and rushed 14 times for 73 yards.

“It felt like we found a rhythm,” Lascari said. “It felt like we were the better conditioned football team. It felt like we were wearing them out.”

The Cougars built a 3-0 lead with a 37-yard field goal from senior Ryan Blechta with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter. Calvary Christian attempted to even the score on a 50-yard field goal attempt later in the opening period but missed.

The Cougars then helped set up Calvary Christian’s first score.

With 5:36 left in the second quarter, Cardinal Mooney’s center snapped the ball over Koscho’s head, and the Warriors recovered the fumble at Cardinal Mooney’s 30-yard line. They then scored on an 11-yard rushing touchdown for a 7-3 lead with 2:14 left in the first half.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, giving Calvary Christian a 13-9 lead entering the final period. Williams soon gave his team the lead, but it didn’t last.

The Cougars travel to Southeast — which beat them 28-7 last season at Cardinal Mooney — at 7:30 p.m. next Friday, the first of two consecutive road games for them.

“I went and saw them (Thursday) night,” Lascari said. “They’re very good, very talented, very fast, very physical. We’re going to have our hands full again.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Cardinal Mooney falls to Clearwater Calvary Christian in overtime."