Palmetto rolls to victory on homecoming

Homecoming is all about memories, and the Palmetto Tigers made sure to make some with a 45-7 victory over Lakewood Ranch.

The biggest memory is one that summed up the night on the field for both teams. Within a matter of 57 seconds, Palmetto put the ball in the end zone twice.

Already leading the game 21-0, Palmetto’s Herman White first found the end zone with 11:39 remaining in the second quarter. The defense came out onto the field and made an impact of its own as Andrew Duncan intercepted a Justin Curtis pass and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.

Palmetto head coach Dave Marino knew this got his team confident and said, “They have to finish each game, and we told them that after each play, that’s our motto this year, is to finish.”

Palmetto allowed Lakewood Ranch to score a touchdown with 1:30 remaining in the second quarter and were unable to score on the first drive of the second half. However, Marino said of his teams effort, “Proud of the way they came out in the second half, went 3-and-out but were able to put points on the board the next two drives.”

There was a running clock for much of the second half after Palmetto scored its final touchdown with 6 minutes left in the third quarter on a 7-yard touchdown by Johnny Jones.

One of the more interesting moments of the night saw Derek Marino score on a 2-yard fumble recovery early in the first quarter.

Palmetto will take on North Port next week.

Dave Marino expects his team to be ready: “Each week presents a different set of challenges, and we will get that next week.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Palmetto rolls to victory on homecoming."