11/20/2009 - Miami
- Traz Powell Stadium -
By J.T. Wilcox - Miami Herald
- Sometimes its better
to be lucky rather than good. Carol City cashed in
on a lucky play when punter Teandric Slocum outwitted
and outran the Cypress Bay defense for an 82-yard
touchdown to seal the Chiefs' 30-16 victory Friday night
at Traz Powell.
Clinging to a 7-point lead and facing fourth-and-13 from
their own 18 yard line, with 21 seconds remaining in the
game, Carol City coaches instructed Slocum to run around
the back of the end zone and take a safety to run down
the clock.
Slocum, however, took the snap, ran into the left corner
of the end zone, then dashed up the Cypress Bay sideline
because the Lightning defense had run upfield try to
block the punt. Slocum said he saw an opening on
the side and decided to make a play.
"All of Cypress Bay defenders were
chasing me and they didn't have a returner back there,''
Slocum said. "When I saw the opening I decided to take
off and try to score. I wanted to make a play for my
team. . . . I'm ecstatic right now, this is what it's
all about, Chief football.'' The victory was also
the first playoff win for Carol City head coach Harold
Barnwell.
"I'm
glad that we finally got this one,'' Barnwell said.
"It was a tough game and Cypress Bay played great. The
defense stood up strong for us, like we tell the kids
all the time - defense wins championships - and they
responded [Friday night].'' Carol City (7-4)
advances to the region 3-6A semifinals next Friday,
where they will play district foe Krop. The Chiefs
defeated Krop 14-0 during the regular season.
Down 23-16 after two Derek Soven field
goals, Cypress Bay had a chance to tie the score late
when they were on the Carol City 5-yard line with a
minute to play. But after two false start
penalties and a 5-yard sack, the Lightning had their
hopes dashed when quarterback Zach Green had trouble
taking the snap from under center and lost the ball.
Cypress Bay coach Mark Guandolo said he
felt for his seniors. "We had a lot of guys out
coming into this game, then we lost two others during
the game, so it was tough,'' Guandolo said. "I'm
very proud of this senior group though, they worked
their butts off and did everything we asked of them.''
The Chiefs built a 15-0 lead going
through the second quarter, scoring their first points
of the night on a safety. Sophomore quarterback
Devonte Mathis provided the next two touchdowns.
Mathis connected with Dwane Jackson on a 21-yard
touchdown strike in the first quarter, then capped off
another drive midway through the second quarter with a
seven yard run into the end zone.
Juan Montoya led Cypress Bay, finishing
with 125 yards and a 1-yard score.
