FLEMING ISLAND – Tied at 12 in double overtime, Martin County athlete Lizzy Spears literally put her teams playoff hopes souly on her feet.
Spears, who plays multiple positions, lined up at quarterback and on second down from the 3 yard line rolled left and found a seam to get to the edge and sneak in for a touchdown giving the Tigers a 18-12 win over host Fleming Island.
The win sends the Tigers (14-1) to Boca Raton this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. to play in the Class 2A Final Four against state power Tampa Alonzo.
From the get go the game had that feeling it was going to be tough to score against two solid defenses and likely headed to overtime.
It didn’t disappoint as early on both teams spent the better part of the first half feeling each other as both offenses struggled to move the ball.
After a quick three and out by Fleming Island on its opening possession, Martin County took advantage of solid field possession to put itself in the red zone.
However, the Eagles defense didn’t break holding the Tigers on fourth and goal to deny them a go ahead score with five minutes left in the opening quarter.
After one quarter of play, the game remained scoreless in a defensive battle.
Later in the second quarter after forcing another quick three and out on defense, Sarah Gill fielded a punt and returned it 60 yards down the left sideline untouched for an apparent touchdown to give Martin County a 6-0 lead.
However, officials ruled the Tigers had committed unnecessary roughness on the play at a midfield and the score was nullified.
The Tigers reached the red zone again but couldn’t punch it in again. Madison Mas broke up a pass nearly picking it off on third down for the Eagles.
As the half ended still scoreless, both teams knew they were going to have to make more adjustments to pull this one out.
Choosing to go on defense to start the third, the Eagles wanted to set the tone for the rest of the game.
A quick three and out on defense gave the Eagles the ball back almost to midfield providing a huge spark for its offense.
The Eagles picked up their first first down of the game on the drive and then another to set them across midfield for the first time in the game.
Quarterback Ashely Byrd hit Mas on a quick out play and Mas juked one defender and raced down the sideline for a 22 yard touchdown catch giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Now trailing, the Tigers went back on offense late in the third quarter trying to tie it up.
It took one play, as Spears, who lined up quarterback again, took off and raced down the Tiger sideline untouched for a 80 yard touchdown run tying the game at 6-6 on the final play of the third quarter.
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, both teams couldn’t move the ball as both traded punts.
The Eagles put together a solid drive on its last drive of regulation moving the chains down to the five yard line with 14 seconds left. Yet, the Tigers denied them the chance to win it in regulation with a fourth down stance.
Taking over from its own 20, the Tigers had one final chance to pull out the win in regulation themselves. Martin County was able to move the ball down field driving near midfield before turning the ball over on downs to end regulation.
As the teams remained tied at 6-6, the game went into first overtime, with the ball placed at the 10 yard line and each team given four downs to score.
On fourth and goal, quarterback Elise Liggett found receiver Ashley Caicedo wide open across the middle in the end zone giving Martin County a 12-6 lead.
Byrd found Hope Rozier wide open across the middle for a score tying the game at 12-12. Neither team made their extra point attempt forcing a second overtime.
Fleming attempted a double pass play on its extra point attempt but the ball was just short of the finger tips of the intended receivers hands.
The Eagles started the second overtime on offense looking to take the lead again.
On third and goal, Byrd threw a pass near the end zone to Amelia Sailing but Sailing appeared to be run into by the Tiger defender and fell to the ground but no penalty was called.
Fourth and goal, Byrd’s pass intended for Aubrey Burke was well short and hit the ground, turning the ball over on downs.
Martin County had held on defense and had their chance to break the tie and steal the win.
On first down, either Spears or Hall took an end around sweep and was tackled and flag pulled around the three yard line, setting up the dramatic ending.
An elated Martin County head coach Jeff Padgett talked about the game and his team going back to the Final Four again after finishing as state runnerups in 2016. Ironically both trips to the Final Four have come with regional wins over Fleming Island in 2016 and 2019.
Fleming Island (10-3) saw their season end again at the hands off the Tigers, after a regional final loss at Martin County in 2016.
Eagles head coach Clint Lyons talked to his team immediately after the game and with us about the tough loss.
NOTE: Pictures courtesy of Josh Wilson from FloridaHSFootball.com
