Saint Stephen’s shakes off poor start to defeat St. Pete Shorecrest

Fred Billy kept his head down as he trudged to the sideline after another mistake, silent as his coaches shouted at him.

He needed to stop trying to do everything, something the quarterback is good about acknowledging between evenings on the field but sometimes finds unavoidable when he’s between the lines. Billy had grown accustomed to being the primary — and sometimes only — playmaker for Saint Stephen’s.

During the week leading up to the most important regular-season game in Falcons history, Billy pulled head coach Tod Creneti aside. He finally understood his role, Billy told his coach.

“For years here, he really had to be the guy who made plays for us,” Creneti said. “He’s in a position now where he’s got people around him who can make plays, as well, and he was going to focus more on being a distributor, more on making good decisions and making plays when they were there instead of trying to force them.”

With the first division or district title in program history on the line, Creneti watched his team press through the opening moments of an eventual 56-28 win at Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Fields on Friday. Billy was the biggest culprit.

He tried to pick up a pair of high snaps rather than fall on them, setting St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep up for two touchdowns in three minutes. He fumbled again when he held the ball for too long during an option handoff. He eventually led the Falcons to the Sunshine State Athletic Conference’s Coral Bay division championship with five total touchdowns, but it took time.

The gaffes came a week after Billy’s shakiest performance of the season. The junior lost two fumbles and tossed an interception against Out-of-Door Academy. After the pick, Billy slammed his helmet to the ground and avoided eye contact with his coaches as they scolded him. It was the most visible sign of frustration the quarterback displayed during his three-year run of success with the Falcons.

But Creneti trusts his quarterback. He gave Billy the choice of how to return to the field after Saint Stephen’s (6-1, 4-0 Coral Bay) third turnover, and the Falcons took a rare snap under center. Billy handed the ball to running back Chase Brown, who broke a 77-yard touchdown run to cut Shorecrest Prep’s lead to 14-7.

“Everybody came ready to play and then those first three mistakes — all on me,” Billy said. “I’m over here trying to make a play when I don’t need to.”

A week his best performance of the season, Brown topped it. The junior carried the ball six times for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow running back Demetrius Davis added two touchdowns through the air as part of a three-catch, 62-yard performance. Billy deferred to his help early, and it let him ice the game during the second half on his 18th birthday.

Billy began the second half with a keeper. He started to his left as his blockers set up and Shorecrest (5-1, 2-1) drifted with him, then bounced back to the right sideline. He weaved through the defense and scampered 44 yards for a touchdown, stretching the Falcons’ lead to 28-20. Three minutes later, Billy floated a 34-yard touchdown pass over the Chargers’ defense and into Davis’ hands to give Saint Stephen’s its first two-touchdown lead of the game.

Billy finished with 12 carries for 157 yards and three touchdowns, plus 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air.

“I know with the additional pieces we’ve got I don’t have to make everything happen,” Billy said, “and when I don’t do that we score 56 points.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 12:27 AM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s shakes off poor start to defeat St. Pete Shorecrest."