By Cameron Valdez
The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent
The Sunlake football team entered its home contest against Class 6A-District 6 rival Nature Coast knowing a loss would likely end any chance at back-to-back postseason berths.
The Seahawks (4-1, 2-1) clung to a one-point lead with 1:04 left in the contest when senior Eddie Burgos made the play to preserve a 14-13 win Oct. 5 that kept their playoff dreams alive.
The Sharks (3-3, 2-1) faced a fourth-and-10 near midfield. Junior quarterback Trevor Castro fired a deep pass to Jonathon Thomas, but Burgos picked it off to seal the victory.
“It was a real big game (this week),” Burgos said. “We felt like we weren’t really playing as a team the last few weeks.”
Sunlake struggled to a 17-12 victory over winless Wiregrass Ranch Week 2 and lost 13-7 at district rival Springstead in its next game. The Seahawks rebounded last week with a 36-7 win against 6A-6 opponent Mitchell and now control their own playoff destiny.
“Last year, Nature Coast gave us a run for our money, and we beat them at the last minute just like today,” said senior quarterback Josh Zifer. “Nature Coast is a really good team. I have to give it up to my team. The offensive line, everybody did their job. That’s what it came down to.”
The Seahawks defense forced a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession. The offense quickly drove down the field on the ensuing possession, but came up empty after being stopped on a fourth-and-1 in the red zone.
Sunlake got on the board first during its third drive when senior kicker Conner Gilboy hit a 29-yard field goal.
Nature Coast answered with a 64-yard drive capped with a touchdown to go into the locker room leading 7-3.
“I didn’t think much of (being down at the half) because I knew we were going to be starting the second half with the ball,” Zifer said.
The signal caller engineered a 76-yard drive to the Sharks’ 1-yard line on the Seahawks’ opening possession of the second half, but Nature Coast forced a Zifer fumble just before he could run across the goal line.
The Seahawks returned the favor by forcing a fumble on the ensuing drive to set up Gilboy’s second 29-yard field goal.
Sunlake coach Bill Browning wasn’t worried about being down by a point because of how his squad was moving the ball.
“Offensively they really hadn’t stopped us,” Browning said. “We would get into the red zone, but we weren’t finishing drives, so it was just a matter of finishing some drives.”
It was a special teams miscue that provided the spark for the Seahawks’ winning touchdown.
The Sharks punter tried to field a low snap on fourth-and-long on his own 15. His knee touched the ground while reaching down for the ball, which allowed the Seahawks to take over eight yards from pay dirt.
Zifer, who competed only one pass but ran for 102 yards on 20 attempts, capitalized on the opportunity, punching it in on a 4-yard keeper and then found Burgos on a critical two-point conversion to go up 14-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Castro was able to find Thomas on a 25-yard touchdown pass in the fourth and the game was briefly tied after the extra point, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the attempt back to a 27-yard attempt.
Nature Coast’s holder bobbled the snap and was quickly swarmed by Seahawks with 6:36 left to play.
The Sharks’ defense forced a three-and-out, which afforded them one last chance before Burgos’ interception.
Sunlake travels to 6A-6 opponent Hernando Oct. 12. A win would move the Seahawks into sole possession of second place in the district.
