With all eyes on him, Palmetto’s kicker leads Panthers to OT win against South Dade

Tyler Larco needed redemption.

His botched kickoff late in the third quarter drained his Palmetto Panthers of all the momentum they carried into the second half against South Dade. A 16-point lead slowly vanished into oblivion.

With the game coming down to him, Larco came through, bombing a 25-yard attempt through the uprights to seal Palmetto’s 33-30 overtime win over South Dade in a critical District 16-8A matchup on Friday night at Tropical Park.

“It’s kind of like a penalty kick in soccer to win the World Cup” Larco said. “You have a 50-50 chance. All eyes are on you. The world is watching. It just feels good.”

Larco, a senior who began kicking for the football team last year, made four of his five field-goal attempts on the night from 20, 26, 40 and 25. His lone miss, a 43-yard attempt midway through the fourth quarter, fell about 2 yards short.

“Tyler Larco’s a Division I kicker,” Palmetto coach Mike Manasco said. “He’s one of the better kickers. ... He’s been solid for us all of last year and so far this year.”

His game-winner capped off a game that seemed to be in Palmetto’s hands for the majority of the night. After Southridge went up 8-0 two plays into the game on a 40-yard rush by Roderick Grissom, the Panthers (7-1, 2-1) scored 24 unanswered points on three Larco field goals, a 25-yard touchdown pass from Cairiq Rackley to Kentron Poitier, a safety and a 1-yard Rackley rushing touchdown to take a 24-8 lead with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

Then came Larco’s botched kickoff, which set South Dade (7-1, 1-1) up with field position and momentum.

“That was a missed call,” Manasco said. “That should have never happened.”

A nine-play, 53 yard drive capped with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Demetrius Burns to Clemson commit Frank Ladson made it 24-16. Burns’ second touchdown pass a drive later, this time from 27 yards to Trevon Sanders, made it 24-22 with 6:30 left on the clock.

Palmetto added some breathing room with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Rackley to Poitier to make it 30-22, but the Bucs marched 71 yards down the field in 11 plays with Burns finding Demetrius Randolph in the end zone for a touchdown. A two-point conversion forced overtime.

Palmetto’s defense, led by Miami Hurricanes commit Cornelius Nunn, forced a pivotal stop to set its offense up for the chance to win.

Two 1-yard rushes put the Panthers at the 8-yard line. Lanco took care of it from there.

Redemption obtained.

“I know what I can do,” Larco said. “Mistakes happen. And, I mean, we won. So things worked out.”

District implications

Palmetto’s win on Friday sets up the potential for a wild finish next week for the District 16-8A title. If the Panthers defeat Killian on Thursday and South Dade defeats Southridge on Friday night, there will be a three-way tie at the top of the district with Palmetto, South Dade and Southridge all sitting at 3-1 in district play. According to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s tiebreakers, a district tiebreaker in this scenario shall be based on the point system throughout the entire regular season to include week 11 games.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 11:36 PM.