Braden River falls to Venice in another classic

It was out of the ordinary.

It was uncharacteristic.

A snap made so many times in practice and in games with ease sailed over quarterback Bryan Gagg and through the back of the end zone.

“It was just a bad snap, got too excited, it’s my fault,” Braden River senior center Brendan Bengtsson said.

The resulting safety followed by Jaivon Heiligh’s third touchdown reception vaulted Venice past Braden River 41-32 in Friday’s Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal.

The Indians (11-1) eliminated the Pirates (9-2) for the second straight year in the second round of the 7A playoffs and earned their fourth consecutive victory in the series.

Venice advanced to the 7A-Region 3 final, where it will host Tampa Bay Tech next Friday.

“If there’s a better six games that have been played by two schools in the last three years, I’d love to see it,” Braden River head coach Curt Bradley said. “Hopefully it wouldn’t be on a Friday night, I’d go watch it. These are two really good programs. Unfortunately, we are on the end that is down by two right now.”

The latest installment in Braden River’s rivalry with Venice featured big plays and lots of back-and-forth swings fitting for the classic shootout that the two sides played to a packed crowd at Powell-Davis Stadium.

The Pirates marched down the field on the opening possession in seven plays, capped with Gagg’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Daveon Wortham.

Venice countered with one of its offensive stars, quarterback Bryce Carpenter. He galloped 52 yards for a touchdown, but the Indians missed the first of two extra points on the night because of a Braden River block.

After getting a 17-12 halftime lead that got extended to 24-12 early in the second half, Braden River was poised to pad its lead even more.

That’s when the momentum started to turn in Venice’s favor.

Knowledge McDaniel, who churned out another spectacular game with 13 catches for 213 yards, hauled in a leaping grab between two defenders. But McDaniel lost the ball to a Venice defender on the way down at the Indians’ 3-yard line.

“We had a chance to go up two possessions, even if we kick a field goal we’re up nine,” Bradley said. “A touchdown would up, whatever, 13 at the time.”

After that sequence, Venice scored with Carpenter and Heiligh for two quick touchdowns to take a 25-24 lead entering the fourth quarter. Venice added another touchdown to go up eight points.

Braden River, though, tied the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion from Gagg to Craivon Koonce.

But after Braden River’s defense held firm, the Indians delivered a pinning punt that turned even bigger after a holding penalty and snap over Gagg’s head ended in a safety and two-point Venice lead.

“Little things like that, you just can’t do that,” Bradley said. “They continue to win third and fourth down, unfortunately.”

Heiligh, who had four catches for 176 yards, made the game-sealing touchdown against Missouri commit Tyrone Collins on a 4th-and-three play from near midfield.

“I don’t think anyone’s defended him this year,” Bradley said. “He’s had a great year. We had chances to make plays. He went up and made some contested catches.”

Braden River’s final series ended in a turnover on downs.

“We are all brothers out here,” Bengtsson said. “We sweat, we bleed, we cry. We do everything together. ... If it wasn’t for this team, I don’t know where I would be.”

The Indians held South Carolina committed running back Deshaun Fenwick in check on the ground. Fenwick finished with 83 rushing yards on 16 carries in his final high school game.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Braden River falls to Venice in another classic."