Western overcomes late arrival to knock off No. 1 seed Palmetto in Region 4-8A semifinal
The Western football team found a way to prevail Thursday night.
The Wildcats, thanks to buses that arrived at their school in Davie more than an hour late and then had to deal with a major tie up on the turnpike, didn’t arrive at Harris Field in Homestead until 7:15 for a 7 p.m. game which ultimately started 45 minutes late.
When it was all over, No. 4 seed Western overcame all of the adversity to stun No. 1 seed Palmetto 21-19 in a Region 4-8A semifinal. The Wildcats (9-2) move on to next week’s regional final and will travel to Tropical Park to take on No. 2 seed Columbus at 6 p.m. Thursday. Columbus buried Miami High 35-2 in the opposite semifinal.
Palmetto, trailing 21-13 with 2:08 left, scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Smith to Brashard Smith on a fourth-and-9 play. But a run up the middle by Smith on the potential game-tying two-point attempt came up a yard short.
With only one timeout left, Palmetto tried an onside kick but didn’t get it and Western ran out the clock.
“I’m just in awe of these kids right now,” said Western head coach Adam Ratkevich. “To go through everything they went through getting down here to this game tonight and still have the resiliency to go out there and find a way to beat a great team like Palmetto speaks to the character and drive of every last one of them. Can’t be more proud of them.”
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Wildcats, known more for their tremendous defense all season led by five-star safety James Williams, came through on offense.
On the fifth play of the second half, quarterback Collin Hurst, who was clutch all night long despite his slight, 5-9, 145-pound frame, found Johnny Hoffman over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown to put Western up for good at 14-10.
After Palmetto (10-2) sliced the lead to one with a 23-yard Cole Schmidt field goal with 3:13 left in the third the Wildcats came through with what turned out to be the winning score thanks to a big Ratkevich gamble.
Facing a fourth-and-goal at the Palmetto 12 with 8:05 left, Ratkevich left his field goal kicker on the sideline, spurning a 29-yard field goal attempt.
Hurst, who finished his huge night completing 14-of-31 for 234 yards and three scores, rewarded his coach by dropping back and firing a dart on a quick slant to Omar Simpson in the end zone to make it 21-13.
It appeared the Wildcats had wrapped things up with 4:42 left.
That’s when Kevin Izquierdo made a remarkable defensive play as he stole the ball from Kevin Smith’s grasp as he was about to sneak into the end zone. That gave Western the ball back on its own 1.
Two plays later, Hurst threw another perfect quick slant to Hoffman who split the secondary and took off for a 98-yard putaway score. But a motion penalty nullified the play and two plays later, a short Western punt gave the Panthers the ball at the Wildcat 25 setting the stage for the frantic finish.
“Everyone was pretty upset on the bus because of all the crap that was going on getting down here, but it was just a matter of getting off the bus and getting ourselves refocused and we did a great job of that tonight,” said Hurst. “Learning to deal with adversity is all a part of coming together as a team and that’s when it all comes down to preparation. If you prepare and are ready to go, you can overcome anything.”
Western grabbed the lead early in the second after a scoreless first quarter. On third-and-goal from the 9, Hurst found Shamarr Wright in the left flat. Wright dove for the corner of the end zone and stretched the ball over the pylon for the score and 7-0 Wildcat lead.
The score was set up when Hurst, on 4th and 8 from the Palmetto 32, found Kauran St. Louis for a 24 yard gain.
Palmetto had a quick answer to Western’s touchdown drive with its own. The Panthers drove 62 yards in 7 plays and punched it in when Kevin Smith sprinted around the left side from 4 yards out on a quarterback keeper.
Palmetto took a 10-7 lead just 1:29 before the half on a 25 yard Cole Schmidt field goal. The Panthers got a break minutes early when Schmidt missed form 31 yards out but got a new set of downs when Western roughed the kicker.
“Everyone was crying and whining on the bus and I just told them to forget it and that when we get there, we’ll just go play,” said Williams, a Class of 2021 five-star prospect who will basically go wherever he wants. “Now we’ve got a real opportunity in front of us next week. We’re just going to stay humble and go to work next week.”
For Palmetto, it was a crushing end. For the first time in the 60-plus year history of the school, the Panthers had a legitimate shot to go to the state final.
“It’s a pretty tough moment for all the kids right now,” said Palmetto coach Mike Manasco. “There was a lot of sacrifice and hard work that went in to getting ourselves to this point tonight but we just didn’t take advantage of some opportunities when we had them and paid the price. Hats off to Western. They came down here and played a great game tonight and deserve to be moving on.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 11:01 PM.