Football hit the road again, facing the Winter Park Wildcats, and going home with a 37-17 win.
Right off the bat, the Braves surprised everyone in the stands with a successful onside kick giving them early possession. Although after gaining a very early possession, they gave it up by trying to go on fourth down, giving the Wildcats the ball. Shortly into Winter Park’s first drive, senior Malik Washington made the interception, which then turned into a successful field goal for the Braves, giving them a 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats quickly responded, and their quarterback rushed in for a touchdown, taking over the scoreboard to make it 3-7. The Braves immediately retaliated when junior Brandon Bush broke tackle after tackle for a 20-yard touchdown, putting the Braves up 10-7. Winter Park didn’t keep the ball for long, on their second down, senior Zachariah Sites dove for an interception regaining possession for the Braves, which then led to another rushing touchdown by Bush, putting the score at 17-7.
The second quarter was a constant back and forth between both teams. Key focus points in the second quarter were the Braves defense forcing a field goal for the Wildcats, putting the score at 17-10, and Thomas Verzi III connecting with junior Nikolas Deloach for a 35-yard touchdown.
The intensity, and determination remained the same from the Braves in the third and fourth quarter. Instantly, Verzi hit Deloach with a 40-yard first down, then Bush yet again rushed in for another touchdown, increasing the gap to 31-10. Surprising efforts by the Wildcats lead to their quarterback rushing in for a touchdown, minimizing the gap to 31-17.
After that neither the Braves (5-3) nor the Wildcats (4-4) scored again, freezing the score at 31-17 for the final.
Verzi III, Bush, Deloach, Colby Ritten, Jonathan De Luca, Sites and Alexis Bergan had notable plays.
Come out and support the football team at home, as they face Colonial (1-7) on Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.