Marion County game of the week: Vanguard goes overtime to defeat Dunnellon
DUNNELLON — Vanguard quarterback Fred Gaskin tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a score, and the Knights' defense stopped Dunnellon's two-point run in overtime to post a 21-20 win over the Tigers on Friday night.
Dunnellon scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and ran for the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14. Neither team was able to score again and the game went to overtime.
Each team got the ball on the 10-yard line in the extra period. Vanguard won the coin toss and struck first as Gaskin hit wide receiver Josh Rembert in the end zone for a 10-yard scoring strike. Matthew Gomez booted the extra point to give the Knights a 21-14 lead.
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Dunnellon answered as freshman quarterback Dylan Curry hit wide receiver Lacodrick Brown for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers decided to go for two points and the win, but running back Amari Francois was stopped short of the goal line by the Vanguard defense to seal the hard-fought victory.
The win improved Class 3S Vanguard to 2-1 on the season.
"It was much different than people expected but we got the win and that's all that matters," said Vanguard coach Edwin Farmer. "In football you never know and you have to come ready to play. You can't underestimate any team and what you see on film is not always the way it's going to be. We just didn't play well tonight, but Dunnellon came ready to play and you can't take anything away from them."
The loss dropped the Class 2S Tigers, who forced three turnovers, to 1-2 overall.
"I could not be more proud of the way we fought and battled tonight," said first-year Dunnellon coach Tommy Sutton. "We checked a lot of boxes but just came up a point short. That last call we'll always go for two in that situation, we just have to execute a little better."
Some takeaways from the game.
Fred Gaskin good from the get
Vanguard got on the scoreboard first after a short punt gave the Knights great field position on the Dunnellon 21-yard line. Gaskin showed his elusiveness and speed with a 10-yard touchdown run around right end, giving the Knights a 7-0 lead with under a minute remaining in the first quarter.
Defense dominates in second quarter
Both defenses played well and dominated the second quarter until Vanguard was forced to punt. A low snap was fielded by the punter whose knee touched the ground giving the ball to Dunnellon on the Knights' 8-yard line.
Dunnellon capitalized on the excellent field position as Francois powered his way into the end zone on first down.
Vanguard returned the ensuing kickoff to the Dunnellon 45. Gaskin, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions, engineered a seven-play scoring drive he capped off with a perfect 29-yard touchdown pass to Rembert. Vanguard led 14-6 at the half.
Late game action
Neither team scored in the third quarter. After an exchange of punts, Dunnellon took possession on its 26 and Curry led the Tigers on a methodical drive with Francois picking up chunks of yards with powerful runs.
Curry hit running back Dylan Donahoe for a key 43-yard pass play to the Knights' 4-yard line. Francois then bulled his way into the end zone. Dunnellon went for two points and Francois, who gained 72 yards on 23 rushes, leaped over the pile to tie the game at 14 with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter.
Going to overtime
After having a running play stuffed on first down in overtime, Gaskin found Rembert in the left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Dunnellon refused to quit and scored on a pass from Gaskin to Brown to pull within a point, 21-20. The Tigers wasted no time in deciding to go for two and the win, but Francois was stopped on the 1-yard line by Vanguard defenders to end the game.
"We played well, but there are no moral victories at Dunnellon," Sutton said. "We're going to build from this game and grow from it. We've got a bye next week and it comes at a good time because we're a little banged up."
For Vanguard, it may have been a closer game than the Knights would have liked, but they'll take the win.
"We got the W, but we'll take a look at the film and make sure this doesn't happen again," Farmer said. "We just didn't play like we did the first couple of games. It was just one of those nights and we'll get on the practice field, get some things cleaned up and get ready for our next game."
On deck
Vanguard is at Leesburg on Friday night, while Dunnellon has a bye next week.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school football: Vanguard tops Dunnellon in overtime
