The CCA Patriots faced two foes Friday night at Patriot Field – the Munroe High Bobcats (Quincy, Fla.) and the weather – and bested both for a come-from-behind 28-20 win.
The game started under threatening skies but the rain and lightning kept their distance for the first half. CCA made a big statement on both sides of the ball in the opening quarter. The Bobcats took the opening kick and marched down the field, eventually getting inside the Patriot 10. Ultimately, the drive stalled at the seven yard line and the Patriots took over on downs.
Sam Ables and the CCA offense took it from there and went 93 yards on 15 plays, eating up 8:40 off the clock. On the last play of the first quarter, Ables hopped into the end zone from the one for a Patriot touchdown. The point-after was no good but CCA had struck first and led 6-0.
The post-touchdown kickoff was the first play of the second quarter. The Bobcats turned the tables and made another trip downfield. This time, the drive ended with Munroe quarterback Landon LaRosa scoring on a short run. Running back Chris Jackson converted the two-point attempt for an 8-6 Bobcat advantage with 6:43 left in the second.
On the Patriots’ ensuing possession, Munroe forced a punt but a roughing the kicker call gave CCA new life. The Patriots weren’t able to take advantage of the gift and had to punt again. This time, the snap went over Ables’s head and the Bobcats recovered on CCA’s 30. LaRosa connected with Jackson for another score. They went for two but LaRosa was picked off by Clay Phillips to keep the Bobcats’ lead at 14-6 with 50 seconds left in the half.
Another CCA miscue, this time a fumble on the first play after the kick, led to another LaRosa touchdown but a missed two-point attempt. With only six seconds remaining in the half, Munroe was up 20-6.
Then the Patriots went to work.
The Bobcats kicked to Tyson Crosby, who went 73 yards for a touchdown as time expired. Bo Roberts made the two-point conversion to get CCA within six. As the two teams headed to the locker room for halftime, the Bobcats held a 20-14 lead.
During the break, the skies opened up and things got nasty. The weather led to a 45-minute delay. When the teams returned to the field, a steady rain was falling and they played under a running second-half clock.
Late in the third quarter, Crosby broke another long touchdown run, this one 77 yards on a direct snap. He also took a direct snap on the two-point conversion and made it to regain the lead 22-20 with 1:03 left in the period.
Neither team scored until late in the game when Phillips hurried quarterback Liam LaRosa (Landon LaRosa had left the game with an ankle injury) and forced an interception to defensive lineman Brayden Tanner. Tanner rumbled to the Munroe six, eventually leading to a third Crosby touchdown. Time ran out before the Patriots could attempt any kind of point-after for a 28-20 CCA win.
Crosby rushed for 173 yards on 14 carries with two rushing touchdowns and a 73-yard kickoff return for a score. Ables scored once while Roberts came away with a two-point conversion. Phillips and Tanner each picked off Munroe passes.
“I’d call that hard fought. We didn’t do things the way I wanted to. We didn’t come out and establish the game I wanted to but we came out and we won a hard fought game. That’s something we didn’t see last week. It shows improvement. We just have to keep doing that each week,” said head coach Jed Marsh after the game.
After three games at home, CCA hits the road next week to face the Georgia Christian Generals in Valdosta. CCA is 2-1 on the season while Georgia Christian is 1-2. The Generals lost to Vidalia Heritage 28-24 on Friday.
