The highlight reel plays from University Christian?s seventh football state championship will undoubtedly be the game-sealing, 83-yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Hamlin, preceded by a 26-yard scoring dash from freshman back Hussein Howe.
But it?s what the Christians did on defense, a three-play sequence in-between those epic runs, that delivered a 28-10 victory over Miami Dade Christian Friday for the Class 2A title at Orlando's Citrus Bowl.
?Our defense was probably on the field longer than they had been all season,? said UC head coach David Penland III. ?We just couldn?t get anything going offensively until the second half. The defense just stuffed them at a critical time.?
With his team clinging to a 14-10 lead after Howe?s TD, the Crusaders drove to the UC 9 with over four minutes remaining and had a second-and-4 situation. The Christians? biggest defensive stand began with DC running back Marial Steadman being thrown for a 1-yard loss by defensive linemen Ryan Tisdale and Josh Allen.
Had the Crusaders even made a modest gain, they likely would have continued running it with quarterback Gary Sampson, DC?s leading rusher. Instead, Sampson dropped back to pass on the next play and was immediately sacked by Marquis Hands before he could even look for a receiver.
On fourth-and-11, a Sampson pass over the middle for DC?s best wideout, Terrance Alls, was broken up by safety Jake Stoshak, who also had an interception to thwart the Crusaders? last drive.
All UC (13-1) was trying to do at that point was run out the clock, but Hamlin made things a lot easier with an 83-yard run off right tackle to give the state champs a two-score advantage. Quarterback Tim Betros later added a 5-yd TD run to finish the scoring.
?We could see we were wearing [Dade Christian] down at the end of the game,? said UC defensive coordinator David Penland, Jr., father of Penland III. ?It was really hot and guys were cramping up [for DC]. The whole defense did a great job.?
Sampson, who gives DC a more diversified attack with his option running ability, had to leave the game in the fourth quarter for five plays, which stalled one drive. Both teams played 5-7 players both ways, and UC eventually won a battle of attrition.
?We did the same thing against Warner Christian [in the 2A semifinals],? Penland III said. ?I think we were in a little better shape than they were. As their guys were going down, we were able to take advantage of it.?
On a day where a fumble return for a TD by Howe opened UC?s scoring, following a jarring hit by Chase Moody on Sampson, it was appropriate that the Christians? defense made the big plays that finished off UC?s seventh state title and first since 1994.
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