By: Donny Rieber
HIGHLIGHTS OF MELBOURNE BULLDOGS WIN, HOLY TRINITY MOVES TO 3-0
It is a rare occurrence to have high school football in Brevard County on a Monday but thanks to Hurricane Dorian wiping out Friday’s action, we had two games that were played on Monday night.
In a game broadcast here on #321Sportscast, the Bayside Bears were on the road against Melbourne High and Holy Trinity visited Orangewood Christian.
Melbourne Bulldogs 26 Bayside Bears 21
Melbourne and Bayside put on quite a show at Tom McIntyre Stadium, with the two teams coming up with big plays in the first quarter. The Bulldogs got on the board first when Logan Brabham found Luis Sanchez for a 48-yard touchdown.
Following a Bayside fumble, Tony Wright, one of the best running backs in central Florida, took a pitch and 59 yards later found pay dirt for his Bulldogs. A blocked extra point kept it 7-6.
Senior signal-caller Justin Popovich had a very good night. On the drive that put Melbourne ahead for the first time, he found Kaiden Heaney for passes of 39 and 25 yards, leading to another Wright score from four yards out, making it 13-7.
While Popovich gets credit for a 49 TD pass on the next Bulldogs score, freshman Michael Petite did the majority of the work. After hauling in a quick pass on the Melbourne sideline, Petite followed his blockers 49-yards down the field and into the end zone to put the Bulldogs up by two scores, 20-7.
Bayside closed the gap late in the second quarter, on 4th and 1 from their own 29, Ravion Smith beat the Melbourne defense and scampered 68-yards before punching it in two plays later, making it a 20-14 game.
After Melbourne missed a field goal in the third quarter, a pass from Brabham to Chase Smith was good for an 80-yard touchdown, and that put the Bears up 21-20.
Melbourne would not be denied in this one and with nine seconds left in the third quarter, Popovich found Jalen Clarke on an 18-Yard TD pass to put the Bulldogs up for good.
The extra point was blocked again, but Melbourne led 26-21 and leaned on their defense in the fourth quarter to make several critical stops. Jared Spragins sealed the win for Melbourne with a late interception of a Brabham pass.
Melbourne Bulldogs Running back Tony Wright was named the Carlsens Trophy Shop Player of the Game during the broadcast.
The Bulldogs (2-1) have a district game against Harmony this Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Bears fall to 1-2, they will host Space Coast on September 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Holy Trinity 22 Orangewood Christian 14
The Holy Trinity Tigers scored 14 points in the first quarter but Orangewood Christian answered with 14 of their own in the second quarter.
The Tigers got a seven-yard run by Kevin Chandler and a 1-yard run by Larry Hill. Hill also had a 90-yard score called back on an illegal shift in the second quarter.
The Rams got on the board with a rushing touchdown with 7:13 to go in the half, and they got another touchdown to tie it with 1:25 left. The game was tied at 14 at the half.
The Rams would have a pick-six called back in the third quarter because of a personal foul. The Tigers would score the decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter, as a Holy Trinity interception led to Chandler’s second touchdown of the night from seven yards out with 5:02 left. The two-point conversion was good, and it was 22-14.
Holy Trinity did fumble late in the game, but they were able to keep Orangewood Christian off the board.
Holy Trinity is now 3-0 and will take on Space Coast this Friday at 7:00 p.m.