Bradenton Christian outlasts Out-of-Door Academy in football shootout, 55-40

If offense is your thing, Friday night's matchup between host Out-of Door Academy and Bradenton Christian is where you needed to be.

The Panthers pulled away in the second half to seal the win, 55-40, as the two teams combined for 839 total yards while showcasing some electrifying quarterback play.

Junior Dominick Otteni lead Bradenton Christian with 269 yards passing, four touchdowns and no interceptions, competing 13-of-18 passes to go along with 115 rushing yards on 17 carries and two scores.

"We played well as a team, it all started with the guys up front. They gave me the time to throw and I was able to hit my guys," Otteni said. "The second half, we played with a sense of urgency and made big plays."

The Panthers (2-3) outscored ODA (1-4) 35-13 in the second half, grounding freshman quarterback Anthony Squitieri, who was starting his first game in place of Gus Mahler.

Squitieri threw four touchdowns, three coming in the first half, and ran for another while starting in place of Mahler, who was sitting out due to a concussion he suffered in last weeks game.

"I felt like I played well but didn't do enough for my team to win," Squitieri said. "It was an exciting game, and I learned a lot from this experience to make me a better quarterback."

Otteni connected with Kevin Etienne on a 31-yard touchdown pass and catch that gave his squad a 34-33 late in the third quarter.

"We hung in there with their offense and were able to make big plays when we needed to," Panthers head coach Allan Gerber said.

After driving the offense right down the field, Otteni punched in a 1-yard run to begin the fourth quarter.

The Thunder went three-and-out before fumbling a punt attempt, giving Bradenton Christian a first and goal. Otteni took advantage, scoring on another run, this time from six yards out.

"We made too many mistakes down the stretch and we just couldn't recover," ODA head coach Ken Sommers said.

Squitieri hit Noah Osborne on a 42-yard touchdown, giving the Thunder some hope. Following the the score, ODA recovered an onside kick but was unable to score, ending the game.

"I'm proud of the way our guys played tonight," Sommers said. "We kept fighting and that's all I can ask for from my team."

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Christian outlasts Out-of-Door Academy in football shootout, 55-40 ."