Late Fourth Quarter Rally Propels University Over Seabreeze

DAYTONA BEACH — Orange City University trailed Seabreeze 23-14 with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter and only had one timeout at their disposal. Despite the decked being stacked against them, the Titans scored two touchdowns in 5 minutes and 25 seconds to rally for a 27-23 win over the Sandcrabs.

University jumped out to a 14-0 lead after Tazz Figueroa threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Demari Taylor in the first quarter and Figueroa scored on a 2-yard run with 11:42 left before halftime.

Seabreeze quickly cut into the lead after Blake Boda tossed a 39-yards touchdown pass to Denali Campbell to make the score 14-7 with 11:09 left in the second quarter. Boda finished the game 12 of 22 for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Sandcrabs narrowed the gap to 14-13 after Toma Pouncey Jr. scored on a 3-yard run with 7:23 left before halftime.

Seabreeze took the lead at the 2:17 mark when Mason Motto kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 16-14.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Sandcrabs extended their lead to 23-14 after Blake Boda connected with Tashod Troutman for a one-handed catch that resulted in 20-yard touchdown with 10:20 remaining in the game. Troutman ended the game with 97 yards receiving on 4 catches.

University cut into Seabreeze’s lead when Rubens Joseph scored on 4th-and-goal from the one yard line to make the score 23-20. The extra point hit the left upright and was no good.

After the Sandcrabs had a three play drive which resulted in a punt, University took possession of the ball with a chance to complete the rally.

Titans quarterback Tazz Figueroa scrambled on a 4th-and-14 play which kept the drive alive. Three plays later, Figueroa scored on a 2-yard run to give University a 27-23 lead with 45 seconds left in the game. Figueroa finished with 203 yards passing, 144 yards rushing and three total scores.

The score proved to be the game winner as Seabreeze was not able to answer on their final possession of the game.

Next week University (2-0) will travel to take on Longwood Lyman (0-2) in a District 7A-4 contest. Seabreeze falls to (1-2) and will have a bye week before they travel to Deltona (1-1) for a District 5A-7 matchup.