Palmetto goes for two in overtime to beat Treasure Coast in football region semifinal
Palmetto never led in regulation Friday in Port St. Lucie, so Mike Manasco took a gamble after Brashard Smith found the end zone on the Panthers’ first play of overtime against Treasure Coast. Rather than try to further extend the game, the coach decided to go for two.
Ryan Borum rolled slightly to his right and completed a throwback pass to Jahmal Lapomarel, wide-open in the back left corner of the end zone, to give Palmetto a 22-21, overtime win in the Region 3-Class 8A semifinals.
Smith, who is orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes as a wide receiver, once again played a significant chunk of the game out of the wildcat because of an injury to star quarterback Kevin Smith earlier in the postseason and also threw a touchdown pass to Jason Marshall, who’s committed to the Florida Gators as a cornerback. Miami commit Leonard Taylor also added four tackles for loss and a sack to anchor the Panthers’ stout defense.
With another close win, Palmetto (4-1) is in into the Region 3-8A championship and will go back on the road Friday to face Vero Beach.
St. Thomas Aquinas 45, Bradenton Manatee 0
St. Thomas Aquinas scored just 42 seconds into the game and rolled to a blowout win Friday in a Region 4-Class 7A semifinal in Bradenton.
Zion Turner ran for a 4-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage to put the Raiders up 7-0 on Manatee and the star quarterback added three touchdown passes in the road win.
St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 22 by Maxpreps, is now three wins away from repeating as the 7A champion. The Raiders (5-1) will host Venice on Friday after the Indians beat Homestead, 50-13, on Friday in Miami. It’s the fifth straight year St. Thomas Aquinas will face Venice in the region finals.
Miami Central 31, Naples 21
Central trailed 14-0 in the first half in Naples before rallying to beat the Golden Eagles in the Region 4-Class 6A semifinals.
Down 14-3 at halftime, the No. 18 Rockets scored touchdowns on their first two drives in the third quarter to take a 17-14 lead, then answered a Naples touchdown with another early in the fourth quarter to take the lead for good at 24-21. Star running back Amari Daniels, who’s committed to the Texas A&M Aggies, ran for 210 yards in the victory.
Central will return to Southwest Florida on Friday for the Region 4-6A championship against Fort Myers Dunbar.
Plantation American Heritage 26, Rockledge 14
Quarterback Blake Murphy threw for three touchdowns in the first half and Hurricanes commit James Williams helped create three takeaways to help American Heritage hold off Rockledge in the Region 4-Class 5A semifinals Friday.
Murphy’s three first-half touchdowns sent the No. 24 Patriots into halftime with a 21-7 lead in Rockledge and American Heritage held off a late push to win on the road. Williams forced a fumble and recovered another in the first half, and grabbed late interception in the fourth quarter to seal the Patriots’ victory.
American Heritage will stay on the road for the Region 4-5A championship Friday against Eau Gallie.
Champagnat Catholic 67, Community School of Naples 7
Community School struck first in Naples, but Champagnat answered immediately with an 80-yard kick return touchdown and the rout was quickly on. The Lions added touchdown passes of 68, 32 and 23 yards in the first quarter to enter the second with a 27-7 lead in the Region 4-Class 2A championship.
Champagnat, the defending 2A champion, was supposed to host the game in Hialeah, but had to move the game to Community’s home field because of a lack of available fields in South Florida.
The Lions will stay on the road Friday for the 2A semifinals against Seffner Christian.
