South Lakes Holds Off Centreville’s Late Rally For 16-14 Win And Playoff Berth

By BRIAN McNICOLL

Befitting of a game played the night before Halloween, things got downright scary for the South Lakes High Seahawks Friday night at home against Centreville.

The Seahawks built a two-touchdown lead then survived a 70-yard punt return TD, a penalty-aided scoring drive and a mulligan on an onside kick to hold off the Wildcats, 16-14, and earn a spot in the Class 6 regional playoffs.

South Lakes went up 13-0 at halftime on two touchdown passes from Christian Wyatt to Joshua Dagbe – one for 45 yards on South Lakes’ first possession and another for 54 yards in the second quarter. Centreville struck back with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown and, then after a field goal by South Lakes, struck again to close within two with 1:08 left in the game.

Centreville then recovered an onside kick at the South Lakes 48, but the officials ruled they had blown the whistle before the Wildcats controlled the ball and ordered a re-kick. This time the Seahawks recovered – barely – and appeared to have clinched the victory.

But Centreville used its timeouts, a clock-stopping penalty by South Lakes and a play in which they forced Wyatt out of bounds to get the ball again with 21 seconds left. They got two completions and another penalty from South Lakes to move into Seahawk territory at the 49, but a last gasp pass fell incomplete as the game ended.

“That’s the blessing of having a good team,” said Seahawks Coach Jason Hescock. “We knew this was not going to be a walk in the park. We definitely did not hit on all cylinders tonight. We have a lot to clean up. But at the end of the game, we did what we had to do.”

Westfield Matchup To Decide Second Place

With the victory, South Lakes improves to 8-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Concorde District. The Seahawks will finish second in the Concorde and get a home game in the first round of the playoffs if they can win next Friday night at Westfield. The Bulldogs are also 8-1, 3-1, and would finish second with a victory over South Lakes. Centreville, 5-4 overall, 1-3 in the Concorde, was eliminated from the postseason with its loss to South lakes.

Wyatt, Dagbe Connect For Two Touchdowns

Early on, it looked as if the Wyatt-to-Dagbe combination and running back James Smith’s first 100-yard game in three weeks (25 carries-110 yards) and third of the year, would be enough by itself. Four plays into the game, Wyatt hit Dagbe on a bubble screen with his first pass of the game – a skinny post on the right side in which the two connected perfectly.

After two long but fruitless drives by Centreville, South Lakes had first down on its 39. Dagbe gained seven on an end-around, then caught a bubble pass, made a defender miss, used a stutter-step to get past another, then raced 54 yards for another touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

“A bubble and a post,” Dagbe said. “A lot of work goes into plays like that. It requires a lot of practice, a lot of familiarity. Our guys have put in that work.”

The Seahawks didn’t produce a lot of offense after that. They had two drives end in missed field goals and another on a failed fourth down attempt. But thanks to their defense, which allowed less than a yard per carry and sacked Centreville quarterback Dhillon Ball four times, that 13-0 lead seemed huge – right up until the moment it didn’t.

Centreville Punt Return Changes The Game

That moment came late in the third quarter when South Lakes punter/kicker James Marburg booted a 43-yard rugby-style punt. The low line drive went straight to Nick Solomon, one of Centreville’s best athletes. He broke free up the middle then outraced the Seahawks to the end zone to make it 13-7.

The Seahawks then took advantage of their veteran quarterback and receiving corps and their big and effective running back to produce what would become the winning score. South Lakes moved from its 25 to the Centreville 1 thanks to a 15-yard penalty on the Wildcats, a 27-yard pass from Wyatt to George Zarechnak on a third-and-15 and a 15-yard completion to Nick Picarelli, the school’s all-time leading receiver and a key third-down run for a first by James Smith.

With 9:36 left, Hescock eschewed going for a fourth-and-goal at the 1, and Marburg nailed an 18-yard field goal to make it 16-7.

It again seemed the Seahawks finally had things under control with a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. Cameron Soto even ended a key Wildcat possession with an interception that gave South Lakes the ball with 5:44 left.

Late Touchdown, Onside Kick Add Drama

Two plays later, it was first down South Lakes on the Centreville 26. Surely another score would occur and the game would be out of reach. But South Lakes lost a fumble, and Centreville got a chance with 3:32 to go. It took the Wildcats 16 plays and three South Lakes penalties to drive 81 yards for a score

Surely taking all that time – there was just 1:08 left when Ball hit Henry Porter for the touchdown – would finally subdue the Wildcats. But after the Wildcats recovered the ensuing onside kick the refs conferenced and changed their ruling.

“That’s Concorde football for you,” said Wyatt.

“That was a hard-fought win,” said Soto. “We made a lot of mistakes – it wasn’t really our brand of football with all those penalties. But we did survive, and that’s what counts.”

SOUTH LAKES 16, CENTREVILLE 14

Scoring

SL — Joshua Dagbe 45 pass from Christian Wyatt (James Marburg kick)
SL — Dagbe 54 pass from Wyatt (kick blocked)
C — Nick Solomon 70 punt return (Patrick Cosden kick)
SL — Marburg 18 field goal
C — Henry Porter 5 pass from Dhillon Ball (Cosden kick)

Team statistics

Individual statistics

Rushing — Centreville: Kenny Johnson 16-28, Ball 12-minus 3, Gianluca Torres 1-2. South Lakes: James Smith 25-110, Wyatt 14-20, Dagbe 3-12, Picarelli 1-minus 6.

Passing — Centreville: Ball 23-12-1, 143 yards, 1 TD. South Lakes: Wyatt 18-10-0, 186 yards, 2 TDs.

Receiving — Centreville: Porter 8-78, 1 TD; Solomon 3-63; Johnson 1-2. South Lakes: Dagbe 4-113, 2 TDs; Picarelli 4-28; George Zarechnak 2-45.