High school football: Gulf Coast second-half rally falls short at Sarasota in spring game
Editor's Note: Corrected Justin Mattia threw the 57-yard touchdown pass.
SARASOTA -- A fourth-quarter rally fell just short as Gulf Coast felt to Sarasota, 23-17, in a spring football game Thursday night.
Justin Mattia and Bryce St. Amand threw touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to bring Gulf Coast to within a touchdown, but the Sharks ran out of time in the head coaching debut of Tom Scalise.
“We’re young and I think at the end of the day the best part is we never quit,” Scalise said. “It didn’t matter until there were zeroes on the clock to the point where our guys are just taking swipes to take any chance they can to win a football game. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for is for your young men to give every single thing they have and I feel our young men responded in a positive way.”
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The Sharks were trailing 16-3 with 1:54 to go in the third quarter after a snap from center went through punter Nick Herber’s hands and out of the end zone for a safety. But Gulf Coast got the ball back on a fumble recovery, and Mattia hit Luke Baker with a 57-yard scoring strike on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 16-10.
The Sharks defense stopped Sarasota, and the offense got the ball right back with the momentum swinging their way. But Sarasota’s Terrell Pack made a leaping play to knock an attempted screen pass in the air for an interception at the Sharks 38-yard line. Three plays later, the Sailors were in the end zone on a 5-yard shovel pass from Tyler Hill to Zachary Smith with 8:31 to go in the game.
“Those kind of things happen. There are swings in football,” said Scalise, a former assistant who replaced longtime coach Pete Fominaya, who took a job out of state. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to make more plays than they do. Tonight we just fell short of it.”
The Sharks gave up the ball on downs on their next possession, but got the ball back one more time on their own 14-yard line. St. Amand completed a pass to Brandon Jones for a 43-yard gain to move the ball into Sailors territory, then found Ryan Lai for a score from 19 yards out with 56 seconds to play to make it 23-17.
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But under the spring football rules, onside kickoffs were not permitted and Sarasota was able to run out the clock.
St. Amand split time at quarterback with Mattia. St. Amand finished 7 for 13 passing for 89 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Mattia was 4 for 11 for 95 yards with a TD and an interception.
“We lost Kaden Frost who is a tremendous kid,” said Scalise, referring to the four-year starter who will be a preferred walk-on at Florida Atlantic. “We have two really great young guys at the quarterback position and they both competed. It makes you feel comfortable as a coach to know you have two capable kids that can both compete and take your team down the field and win a football game."
NIck Zierhut was the leading rusher for the Sharks with 86 yards on 20 carries, while Anthony Henderson added 52 yards on 10 attempts. Baker was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 84 yards, and Jones had two receptions for 67 yards.
After a 30-minute rain delay at the start, Sarasota got the ball first and moved downfield for a score. Hill completed consecutive passes to Charles Ward for first downs, then Ward took a handoff and raced 33 yards for a touchdown to give the Sailors a 7-0 lead with 8:39 to go in the first quarter.
Gulf Coast got its turn with the ball and quickly moved into Sarasota territory behind the running of Henderson. The Sharks got deep into Sailors territory before the drive stalled and Jacob Strassel kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 3:31 to go in the first period.
Both teams were forced to punt on their next possessions, but Ward gathered in the punt at the 40, cut to his left and went the distance untouched for a 60-yard punt return that gave the Sailors 14-3 lead with 9:25 to go in the second quarter.
The Sharks again moved deep into Sarasota territory twice before the half. The first drive was derailed by a fumble at the Sarasota 20,and Gulf Coast was stopped on downs this second time with 1:45 to go before halftime.
An interception by Nick Dimarzio got the ball back for the Sharks, but Sarasota’s Kyle Manitz intercepted a Mattia pass two plays later, and the Sailors went to the locker room with a 14-3 lead.
SARASOTA 23, GULF COAST 17
GC 3 0 0 14 -- 17
S 7 7 2 7 -- 23
First quarter
S -- Ward 33 run (Matthews kick)
GC -- Strassel 22 FG
Second quarter
S -- Ward 60 punt return (Matthews kick)
Third quarter
S -- Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
Fourth quarter
GC -- Baker 57 pass from Mattia (Strassel kick)
S -- Smith 5 pass from Hill (Matthews kick)
GC -- Lai 19 pass from St. Amand (Strassel kick)
Spring football schedule
Wednesday, May 16
Oasis vs. Bonita Springs at Estero, ppd., rain
Bishop Verot, Island Coast at St. John Neumann (jamboree)
Charlotte 49, Palmetto Ridge 6
Thursday, May 17
Clearwater-Superior Collegiate School 33, First Baptist Academy 20
South Fort Myers 27, Barron Collier 7
Friday, May 18
Golden Gate 30, Estero 21
Lely 24, North Fort Myers 21
Naples 36, St. Petersburg 0
Immokalee 36, DeSoto County 7
Monday
Oasis 34, Bonita Springs 14
Thursday
Sarasota 23, Gulf Coast 17