COSTLY PENALTY DOOMS EAGLES, 24-20
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Down 14-0, Southwest fought back to take a 20-14 lead before falling to Coral Gables, 24-20, Thursday night at Tropical Park. The Cavaliers (5-5) used two big plays to take a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter. The second Gables touchdown, a 72-yard pass, came when the Eagles had only 10 men on the field. Southwest (1-9) needed only two plays to answer; a 14-yard run by Derrick Ferguson followed by a 66-yard scoring pass from Deandre Pique to Antwan Delancy, Jr. The Eagles defense stiffened allowing the Cavaliers only 12 total yards on their next two possessions. Southwest got the ball back with under a minute left in the half with great field position at the Gables 38. A big catch by Delancy moved the ball to the 13-yard line, where Pique ran it in for the tying touchdown with just seven seconds left on the clock. The Eagles had the first possession of the second half and drove 67 yards in just 1:07, scoring on a 20-yard Pique to Delancy pass. A bad snap led to a missed extra point, leaving Southwest with its only lead of the game at 20-14. A defensive struggle ensued, and things looked bright for the Eagles when the defense forced Gables to punt on fourth-and-five from the Eagles 46 with less than six minutes remaining in the game. Southwest roughed the punter, and the penalty gave the Cavaliers a first down at the Southwest 31-yard line. Four plays later, Gables scored to take a 21-20 lead with 4:34 left. Southwest turned the ball over on the first play by throwing an interception and a 20-yard field goal with 1:34 to go ended the scoring. The Eagles threw another interception on third down and the Cavaliers took two knees to seal the win. |
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