IMG rallies past Trinity Christian
After two quarters Friday in Jacksonville, IMG Academy entered the break with a rare halftime deficit.
A missed extra point put IMG in a hole against Trinity Christian Academy, but Kellen Mond lifted the Ascenders out. The quarterback ran for three touchdowns during the second half to lead IMG, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today, to a 34-21 win against Trinity Christian.
Mond’s three-touchdown game gives him 11 on the season, five off of Bo Scarborough’s program record with four games remaining.
His quest continues next Friday in Long Beach Calif., when the Ascenders (7-0) take on Long Beach Poly.
Arcadia DeSoto County 22, Bayshore 14: Bayshore nearly erased a 22-point fourth-quarter lead, only to fall a touchdown short against DeSoto County in Arcadia.
The Bulldogs blanked the Bruins (0-7, 0-3 Class 5A-District 11) for three quarters before Ryan O’Neill broke through for the first of his two touchdown passes. The quarterback connected with wide receiver Miguel Rodriguez early in the fourth quarter and then found slot back Jerry Robinson for a touchdown with about seven minutes remaining to pull Bayshore within one score of its district rival.
The Bruins made a pair of stops during the final minutes, but turned the ball over on downs once and failed to convert a Hail Mary as time expired. Bayshore will have another chance to win its first game next Friday when the Bruins play host to Englewood Lemon Bay at Balvanz Stadium.
Bradenton Christian 46, St. Pete Canterbury 6: Quarterback Dominick Otteni ran for three touchdowns and Bradenton Christian used a blocked punt late in the first half to pull away from Canterbury in St. Petersburg.
The Panthers (4-4) closed the regular season with a rout of the Crusaders, forcing six turnovers and blocking six punts to pull to .500.
“No win is easy this late into the season,” head coach Brett Gerber said. “The win really speaks of our team’s effort. They were resilient tonight.”
BCS travels to Jacksonville next Friday where it will face Christ’s Church Academy in the first round of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoffs — the first postseason game in program history.
Cardinal Mooney 21, Victory Christian Academy 18: In Lakeland, Cardinal Mooney kicker Ryan Blechta converted all three of his extra points while Victory Christian went 0 for 3 in the Cougars’ victory Thursday at Southeastern University.
Cardinal Mooney (7-1) also smothered a fake field goal try from the 24-yard line on the game’s final play.
Cougars running back Bryce Williams and quarterback Tristan Hillerich combined for 242 yards — 145 by Williams and 97 by Hillerich — and three touchdowns.
Cardinal Mooney plays for the Class 3A-District 5 title next Friday when Clearwater Central Catholic travels to Sarasota.
This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 12:14 AM with the headline "IMG rallies past Trinity Christian."