Bayshore falls just short of first win in 9-7 loss to North Port

A sea of Carolina Blue and white jerseys surrounded Devon Allen as he emerged to sprint downfield without looking back.

The senior quarterback for North Port (3-2) ran a 45-yard keeper to the end zone early in the first quarter of Friday’s game against Bayshore (0-4). It would be the only touchdown — which was followed by a missed PAT — for the Class 7A Bobcats in a 9-7 win over the Class 5A Bruins.

Dodging defenders left and right on his drive to the house in front of a packed homecoming crowd at the Preserve, it was questionable whether Allen would even play against Bayshore.

He was playing on a fully torn ACL, an injury he sustained in a 27-6 loss to Sarasota three weeks prior. After a few pats on the helmet from teammates in the end zone, Allen limped off the field to sit out the half.

“I tweaked it a little bit in the first play of the game trying to block — I shouldn’t have done that,” Allen said. “It’s not going to stop me from playing … I got to play for my brothers.”

After several attempts to ice his leg, Allen was back in once again after it looked like he was going to be observing from the sidelines the rest of the night.

“My heart dropped [when Allen left the game] … I mean, that’s my brother,” said senior wide receiver CK Poulos. “Even away from football I want him as healthy as he can be.”

Allen went on to lead the offense in the fourth quarter through a nail-biter as North Port intercepted a pass from Bayshore junior quarterback Brian Coleman at their own nine-yard line. The Bobcats weren’t able to produce anything on the drive, as the Bruins took over and moved down the field with 20 seconds left on the clock.

A tilt by CK Poulos and several other defenders on a pass by Coleman to the end zone saved North Port from a Bayshore win. Sophomore John-Victor Oliveira was the only other scorer for the Bobcats with a field goal in the second quarter.

North Port moves on to face district rival Venice High School in an away game Oct. 13, with Bayshore up against Class 5A-11 Hardee on Oct. 12 in Wauchula.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Bayshore falls just short of first win in 9-7 loss to North Port."