Dan@BcTelegraph.com
Josiah Bardier fell on a Bell (4-1) fumble in overtime Friday night, sealing a 16-13 Keystone Heights (2-3) win the Indians nearly let slip away in the final two minutes of regulation.
Keystone’s overtime possession started at the Bell 10 and went backward before it went forward. Dalon Blankenship lost 2 yards, and a Bell defense led by Kolten Mauro stopped him again on third down. Connor Mooneyham then muffed a snap but scooped it up and ran to the 4, setting up a short field goal by Ryder Thomas. A personal foul against Bell on the kick pushed the Bulldogs’ possession back to the Keystone 25. After Ben Scott stopped Kaleb Williams at the 22, Bell quarterback RJ Leffler fumbled on the next play, and Bardier recovered to end the game.
“Adversity comes in both positive and negative ways,” Keystone coach Cameron Porch said of his postgame message to the team, “so we’ve got to be able to fight back and overcome the negative stuff and go win again next week.”
Porch credited his defense for the difference.
“They flew around to the ball,” he said. “This is the best we’ve tackled as a unit. That was the big difference to me.”
Keystone took the lead after recovering a Leffler fumble at midfield midway through the first quarter. On third-and-12 from the Bell 41, quarterback Cole Crabtree found Trey Simmons for a 12-yard gain, and a Bell offside penalty later extended the drive. Mooneyham, who started the game at running back, then broke several tackles on an 11-yard run to the Bell 3. Two plays later, with 47 seconds left in the quarter, Crabtree scored from the 2. Thomas added the extra point.
The Indians threatened again in the second quarter, driving to the Bell 26, but Thomas’ field goal attempt missed with 5:37 left in the half. Tyler Kerner sacked Leffler late in the half to stall a Bell drive, and Keystone took a 7-0 lead into the break.
Bell opened the second half with an onside kick, but Aiden Shealy recovered it at midfield for Keystone. That drive ended on downs at the Bell 30, with Mooneyham now at quarterback in place of Crabtree, who Porch said sprained an ankle.
Bell struck quickly. Williams broke loose around the left side for a 70-yard touchdown run, and Leffler’s extra point tied the game 7-7 with 5:58 left in the third quarter.
Keystone answered with a long drive that carried into the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-4 at the Bell 25, Mooneyham handed off to Mikey Gamble, who picked up the first down at the 20. On the next play, Mooneyham threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Simmons in the right corner of the end zone. Simmons was stopped at the 5 on the two-point try, leaving Keystone ahead 13-7 with 10:03 remaining.
The Indians’ defense forced a punt, with Jacob Montgomerey dropping Williams for a loss. But Keystone gave the ball back when Bell’s Dean Glass intercepted Mooneyham with 7:03 left. Williams then ripped off a long run into Keystone territory, and Bell reached the Keystone 18. DJ Hill ended the threat by intercepting a double-reverse pass at the 15 with 5:01 to play.
Penalties and a big loss on a tackle by Bell’s Corbin Abarca pinned Keystone deep, forcing the Indians to punt from near their own goal line. Thomas’ punt took favorable bounces all the way to the Bell 48 with 3:33 left.
Leffler then led Bell down the field. He hit Lane Sheffield on a third-down catch-and-lateral play, then found Sheffield again on fourth-and-11 for a first down at the Keystone 20. A pass interference penalty against Keystone gave Bell first-and-goal at the 7, and Leffler scored on a 4-yard run with 1:30 left. Keystone blocked the extra point to keep the game tied 13-13.
A personal foul against Keystone on the touchdown let Bell kick off from the Keystone 45, and the Indians started their final drive at their own 16. Mooneyham ran for gains to the 30 and 34, but Keystone came up short on a fourth-down run near its own 40 with 9.3 seconds left. On the final play of regulation, Leffler completed a pass to Blake Steck, who was brought down before reaching the end zone.
Porch said he considered Keystone’s earlier win over P.K. Yonge the season’s true turning point, but he said the Indians would take every small step forward.
“Every little victory that you can get, whether it’s a day in practice, a rep and a drill or a big game like this, we’re going to take it,” he said.
Keystone hosts Port Orange Atlantic Friday at 7 p.m.
