Columbus outlasts Ocoee in shootout to return to state for second time in four years
Sedrick Irvin kept nagging his son, Sedrick Jr., in recent weeks about not having run for over 200 yards in a game yet this season.
Irvin Jr. finally did it on Friday night.
And it came at a perfect time for the Columbus Explorers.
Irvin Jr. eclipsed that mark with his final carry of the evening, which ended up being the game-winning touchdown run in a 41-36 victory for the Explorers over Ocoee in a Class 4M state semifinal at Tropical Park.
Irvin Jr. ran for 203 yards with the final seven coming on that score, which sent Columbus (13-1) to the state final for the first time since 2019 when it won its school’s lone state football championship.
“This means everything,” Irvin Jr. said. “This is everything we’ve worked for and I love everyone on this team. It’s the closest team I’ve ever been on. We’re a fourth quarter team so it’s always about finishing the drill and it showed in this game.”
Columbus, which entered the game ranked No. 21 in the nation by High School Football America, will take on Apopka - the same school it beat for that championship four years ago - in the Class 4M final on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
It will be the third time since 2014 that the schools play each other for a state title. It’s also the sixth-ever trip to the state finals for Columbus.
“It’s crazy because we went unbeaten in 2020 and we made it to the state semis last year with a really young team and some people thought it was a disappointing season, but we thought it might have been one of our best coaching jobs we’ve ever had here,” Explorers coach Dave Dunn said. “We knew we had what needed to get back to this game and here we are.”
After cruising through its first three playoff games, Columbus found itself in a battle from the start with Ocoee (9-5), a program which had never made it past the first round of the playoffs before this season.
The Knights took a 36-35 lead with 3:28 to go when, with no timeouts remaining, they converted a fourth and goal from the 15-yard line when quarterback Darien Wharton found Ahlston Ware in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
But Columbus answered with a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by Irvin’s touchdown with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter of a game that had five lead changes.
“We knew the drill. We had full confidence and we just knew we’d pound the rock and get it done,” Mendoza said.
The Explorers sealed the outcome when cornerback Cameron Pineda intercepted an overthrown pass by Wharton, allowing their quarterback Alberto Mendoza to take a knee and run out the clock on the ensuing play.
Irvin’s prolific performance was vital, but hardly the only one in a victory that required a complete effort in all three phases for Columbus to pull off.
Ocoee led by scores of 17-7, 24-14 and 30-21 in the first half.
Wharton passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns on 24 of 29 passing while Keyondray Jones ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Ocoee’s Asaad Waseem also returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
Mendoza completed 17 of 21 passes for 240 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and ran for a score to help Columbus keep pace through the high-scoring first half. His touchdown tosses went to Darriel Harper (five catches, 59 yards), AJ Arellano (five catches for 79 yards) and Andrus Fadrelle.
Daylen Russell finished with a pair of sacks and two tackles for loss in the second half as the Explorers held Ocoee to only six points after halftime. Columbus forced three turnovers overall as Hector Chavez recovered a fumble in the third quarter on a Knights’ advance into Explorers territory. Jancent Wallace stripped the ball from an Ocoee receiver early in the fourth quarter and Hector Chavez recovered to end another potential scoring drive.
“We had full confidence in our defense,” Mendoza said. “Even with our highs and lows, we never stopped pushing. The offensive line had great push and the running game was phenomenal. Sedrick ran like a mad man. We’re two weeks away.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2022 at 11:34 PM.
