Saint Stephen's reaches second straight SSAC title game
A third straight dominating playoff performance has Saint Stephen’s on the verge of back-to-back Sunshine State Athletic Conference championships.
The latest victim was Jupiter Christian, which the Falcons defeated 44-7 in Saturday night’s semifinal at the Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Field.
Saint Stephen’s, which has outscored three playoff foes by a 135-7 margin, remained unbeaten at 9-0 while the Eagles’ season ended at 8-3.
“I have not seen a team as good as this team at this level in 15 years,” Jupiter Christian coach Jim Davis said during a postgame huddle with both teams.
“That means a lot,” Saint Stephen’s coach Tod Creneti said. “What means the most is that our kids are seeing the fruits of their labor.”
The Falcons came within two minutes of a third consecutive shutout, but the Eagles got a late touchdown against the second defensive unit when quarterback Maurice Johnson connecting with Dion Fernander on a 42-yard scoring play.
The Saint Stephen’s defense forced five turnovers and even contributed to a pair of scoring plays. Truman Carlsen tackled Johnson, who threw an interception and lost four fumbles, in the end zone for a safety that gave the home team a 30-0 lead.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Johnson mishandled a snap from center and bobbled the football twice as he retreated. Dylan Davis and Camden Vining pounced on the loose ball in the end zone with Davis eventually coming up with it. That gave the Falcons a 44-0 lead.
“Cam tried to take it from me,” said Davis, who scored the first touchdown in his eight seasons playing organized football.
“We both had it and he’s stronger than me, so he took it,” added Vining, who also had a fumble recovery.
Sydney Brown contributed to the Falcons’ stalwart defensive effort with a fumble recovery and an interception.
“They’re physical,” Creneti said. “They pay attention to details.”
Saint Stephen’s was just as dominant on offense with quarterback Fred Billy and running back Chase Brown leading the way. Billy combined for 164 yards (128 rushing, 36 passing) and three touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 14 and 55 yards and completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Vining.
Chase Brown gained a game-high 106 yards on 14 carries, which included touchdown runs of 48 and 2 yards. On the drive that culminated in his second touchdown, Brown had five carries on a seven-play, 58-yard move down the field that included gains of 15 and 32 yards.
“I just didn’t want to go down, to be honest,” he said.
This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Saint Stephen's reaches second straight SSAC title game."