It’s always nice when you get to praise a group of players who normally go without much recognition.
Such was the case Friday night at Thomas E. Whigham Stadium in the Tim Raines Athletic Complex as host and Class 7A No. 3 ranked Seminole High School (1-0) got a huge evening from its Special Teams in a 34-14 victory over Class 5A No. 13 ranked Heritage High School (1-1) from Palm Bay.
On a night when the Fighting Seminoles, who moved up to No. 18 overall in the Florida MaxPreps rankings, were held to just 121-yards of total offense and only one touchdown, it was the third group _ offense, defense and special teams _ that came up big for the home team.
The Tribe took the lead for good when J’Len Chapman took the opening kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.
Later in the period, placekicker Liam Allen, who made 3-of-4 PAT kicks, knocked through the first of his four field goals, including a 41-yarder, on the night to give the Noles a 10-0 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
The hosts would score their only offensive touchdown of the game late in the second period when quarterback Michael Clayton (who was 9-for-21 passing for 52-yards and carried the ball three times for 7-yards) scooted in from 3-yards out to make the score 17-0 at halftime.
Allen’s second field goal would make the score 20-0 before Heritage would get on the board on a scoring pass with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, making the score 20-7.
Allen would nail his third field goal early in the fourth period before the Panthers would find the end zone again with 8-minutes remaining.
But that would only set the stage for more Seminole Special Teams excitement as Juan Berchal would pop through a seam and return the ensuing kickoff 88-yards for the Fighting Seminoles’ second kickoff return of the evening.
The Tribe would tack on a safety with 6-minutes remaining and Allen (14 points) would add his fourth field goal to close out the scoring with two minutes left to give the Special Teams, which also had a blocked punt, 28 points on the night.
The defense also had a big night, recording 15 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries and 3-1/2 sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Seminole will now make its first road trip of the regular season, heading down 427 to Longwood to take on Lyman High School (1-1) at the Carlton Henley Sports Complex on Friday starting at 7 p.m.
