Prep roundup (Oct. 31-Nov. 5) Saint Stephen's boys win regional golf title
WEDNESDAY
BOYS GOLF
Class 1A-Region 3
At: Eagles Golf Club, Odessa
Team standings: 1. Saint Stephen’s 292, 2. Cardinal Mooney 305, 3. Bishop Verot 309, 9. Out-of-Door 322
Saint Stephen’s, Alex Long 68 (t-medalist), Beni Long 74, Eddie Gu 75, Leo Li 75
Cardinal Mooney, Nicolas Bencomo 68 (t-medalist), Tommy Tyler 74, Lukas Wahlstrom 80, Finlay Murphy 83
TUESDAY
VOLLEYBALL
Class 3A-District 3 final
Clearwater Central Catholic 3, Cardinal Mooney 1
18-25, 25-19, 25-19, 26-24
Class 4A-District 3 final
Academy of the Holy Names 3, Lemon Bay 0
25-9, 25-13, 25-16
GIRLS GOLF
Class 1A-Region 3
At: Cove Cay Country Club, Clearwater
Team standings: 1. Community School of Naples 304, 2. Bishop Verot 322, 3. Carrollwood Day 337, 7. Out-of-Door 375, 10. Saint Stephen’s 398, 12. Cardinal Mooney 458
Class 3A-Region 3
At Las Colinas, Howey-in-the-Hills
Team standings: 1. Plant 318, 2. Gulf Coast 323, 3. Lakewood Ranch 331, 7. Venice 391, 8. Riverview 396
Lakewood Ranch, Lauren Hosier 78, Emily Storm 80, Jessica Kobetitsch 85, Sierra Yeomans 88
BOYS GOLF
Class 2A-Region 3
At: Country Club of Sebring
Team standings: 1. St. Petersburg 302, 2. Cypress Creek 305, 3. Sebring 311, 6 Parrish Community 335
MONDAY
FOOTBALL
Lemon Bay 34, DeSoto County 22
ENGLEWOOD – The Lemon Bay High football team displayed their grit and depth.
In only their second home game of the season, the Manta Rays bounced back from an excruciating loss minus three starters, lost more players Monday and still managed to come away with a victory.
After DeSoto County took a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Lemon Bay drove the length of the field for the winning touchdown and added an insurance score to defeat the Bulldogs, 34-22, on Halloween Night at Veterans Stadium.
Five nights earlier, the Manta Rays opened a 22-6 halftime lead and ran out of steam before falling to Booker High 33-22 on the road, losing a number of players to injuries. Lemon Bay lost even more Monday, including quarterback Trey Rutan, who got his team off to a terrific start.
Backup quarterback Lorenzo Mauceri came on and picked up where Rutan left off with his arm and legs.
After AJ Villagomez booted a 29-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 22-21 lead, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Mauceri engineered an eight-play 62-yard drive with a couple of passes to Ryan Mickey and Layton Aurelia and three runs that produced first downs before 5-7, 125-pound Taron Sanders bulled his way into the end zone from 3 yards out with 37.4 seconds left.
DeSoto took over with 37 seconds left needing a touchdown. On the third play, Daniel Romanelli knocked the ball loose from quarterback Lane Fullerton and into the hands of teammate Gabe Dickerson who rumbled 25 yards for a bonus score.
Even though Lemon Bay was flagged for excessive celebration, kicker Jason Slicker added the long extra point, putting the final touches on the victory.
In the overall picture, DeSoto (5-3; 2-1 in Class 2 Suburban-District 15) still will win the district title because of its huge edge in the FHSAA power points system, and the Manta Rays (3-5; 2-1 in 2S-15) will be on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
The Manta Rays’ victory could help Booker (2-1 in 2S-15), but the Tornadoes still need enough power points to finish among the top eight in the region.
The Bulldogs fumbled on their first three possessions, and Lemon Bay cashed in the first two on an 11-yard scoring run by Aurelia and an 86-yard fumble return by Peyton Mason for a 14-0 lead with 7:49 gone.
Five running plays, the final a 1-yard run by Lil’Dreco Tompkins got DeSoto on the board just before halftime.
The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with four straight running plays, including a 20-yard touchdown by Tompkins to pull within 14-12, as both PATs failed.
On its next possession DeSoto grabbed its first lead of the game, as Fullerton hooked up with Tompkins for a 9-yard scoring pass. The PAT kick was good and the visitors took a 19-14 advantage.
Back came the Manta Rays. On a drive when Rutan was injured during an 8-yard run, Mauceri came on and finished the drive with a 27-yard pass to Aurelia and two runs, the second a 1-yard plunge, putting Lemon Bay up 21-19 after Slicker’s kick.
DeSoto got to the Manta Rays’ 13 where the drive stalled and settled for Villagomez’s go-ahead field goal.
Lemon Bay plays again Friday at home against North Port High.
Lemon Bay takeaways
• A two-year backup, it was Mauceri’s time to shine. Mauceri went 3-for-6 for 44 yards passing and ran nine times for 52 yards in a quarter-and-a-half. “He’s gotten some play this year,” Lemon Bay coach Don Southwell said. “In our climate today when kids transfer and leave when things don’t go their way, for him to stay here and keep working and be ready when the moment happened and lead his team to victory, it’s pretty darn special. When Trey went down, he just looked at me and said, ‘I’ve got it.’ I believed him.”
• Nothing could be accomplished without the play of the Manta Rays’ offensive line. Ayden Wear, Owen Tannehill, Michael Ward, Tennyson Bontjes, Aiden Bell and Austin Freud provided protection for the quarterbacks and lanes for the running backs. “Englewood tough came through tonight,” Southwell said.
• And Southwell did not want to forget the contributions from the defense, including the two touchdowns. “The defense did well,” he said. “And they’ve got some dudes over there. Just proud of our kids. They fought and weren’t going to be denied.”
BOYS GOLF
Class 3A-Region 3
Boys
At: Crescent Oaks Country Club, Tarpon Springs
Team standings: (top three teams advance to states) 1. Lakewood Ranch 288, 2. Gulf Coast 298, 3. East Lake 300, 4. Riverview 304, 5. (tie) Venice 308
Lakewood Ranch, Parker Severs 66 (t-medalist), Preston Severs 72, AJ Hovermale 73, Henry Burbee 77
Class 2A-Region 3
Girls
At: Bardmoor Golf & Tennis Club, Seminole
Team standings: 1. St. Petersburg 344, 2. Lemon Bay 357, 3. Cypress Creek 359, 6. Parrish Community 390 (top three teams advance to states)
Lemon Bay, Sophia Stiwich 75, Rachel Gillis 90, Madison Hanson 95, Haley Hall 96
Individual, Taryn Nguyen, Braden River 81
Quote: “This group of girls have been on a team quest since Day 1 of the season to qualify for the elite Florida State Golf Finals. To see them rise to the occasion as a group today, after having to overcome so much interruption to their golf, and their lives this past month, was an emotional experience for everyone," said longtime Head Coach Darrell Roach. "Something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Action between regional golf, regional volleyball, football
