Double Trouble? Not For AP

Dwayne Council Jr. made a few mistakes on Friday night, but when the game was on the line, the junior linebacker stood tall and saved his best for last.

Council blocked an extra point and forced the fumble in overtime, sealing a 34-27 double-OT shocker over Bartow in front of a proud homecoming crowd at Joe Franza Stadium on Friday.

"I missed some tackles and made some mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter, that I was hoping wouldn't come back to haunt us," Council said. "But we never quit as a team and I didn't quit. And I was able to come back and come up big for my team when they needed it the most."

Avon Park junior tailback Teddy Allen, who rushed for a team-high 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns, scored his second touchdown on the night on the first play of overtime for the Red Devils - a beautiful 10-yard touchdown run that saw him shed multiple defenders to reach the end zone.

But Yellow Jacket running back Eric Rookard blocked Paul Calero's kick to keep the score knotted at 27 and send the game into another overtime session, where quarterback Albert Moses tossed a perfect pass over the Bartow defense to Alonzo Robertson for the touchdown.

The extra point by Calero gave Avon Park a seven-point lead, and on the first play for Bartow, Council hit Smith immediately at the line of scrimmage and the ball popped free.

Avon Park recovered, and the celebration began.

"This is the biggest game of my career so far, and it really is special when you can have a game like this during homecoming," said Red Devil senior Virgil Cooper, who rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns and nabbed a pair of interceptions. "I'm going to savor this one."

The win improves Avon Park to 2-5 on the season and gives the Red Devils its first two-game winning streak since 2006, while Bartow slips to 3-5.

With doubters coming at them from all angles, Council, Moses and Cooper were all happy to have proved so many people wrong about the Red Devils.

"We proved we have heart." Council said. "I told these guys on Monday that we weren't going to listen to everybody and just go out and win this game."

"For me, I knew we were going to win as soon as we stepped onto the field," Cooper said. "There was no way we were going to let them embarrass us on our home field."

Red Devil head coach Andy Bonjokian was happy to get a win in front of the alumni, but was happier to take another step in ending the culture of losing that has festered too long at Avon Park.

"We've been losing for so long that it can be contagious," Bonjokian said. "These kids are better than their record says they are, and they came out and proved it tonight.

"All season, we hadn't been able to put certain aspects of our game together and over the last few games, things have been coming together for us. This team could've folded tonight, but they got through all the distractions they've had all week and gave this community a performance from a team they can be proud of."

Avon Park, which never trailed in the game, scored on its opening possession - an 11-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown run by Allen.

Bartow responded by moving the ball down field seemingly at will against the Avon Park defense, but Cooper stepped in front of a pass by Bartow quarterback Christian Clay for the interception. AP, however, couldn't capitalize on the good fortune as their ensuing drive stalled near midfield.

With the score tied at seven, Cooper's second interception gave the Red Devils the ball at their own 14-yard line with just over a minute left in the half.

Allen then ran for a 15-yard gain and Moses connected with Terrill Conner for a 19-yard gain to put the ball at the 50-yard line with 19 seconds left.

Moses then went to Conner once again for what seemed like a minimal 10-yard gain, but the senior receiver threw a picture-perfect lateral to a streaking Cooper, who raced down the left sideline before crossing the goal line untouched to give Avon Park a 14-7 lead at the half.

"That was a play we've been working on all week," Cooper said. "The misdirection and trickery on our part was what broke me free."

Cooper would score once again untouched on a beautiful 30-yard touchdown run down the same stretch of ground to allow Avon Park to hold on to a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The play that Council laid the responsibility at his feet for a huge gain by Bartow came late in the fourth quarter.

With Avon Park leading 21-14, the Red Devils had the Yellow Jackets on the ropes as they stared at a long 3rd-and-13. Clay snuck past the Avon Park defense for a huge 25-yard gain that saw the Yellow Jackets sitting with a first-and-goal from the AP eight.

"Clay always seemed to know when to scramble out of the pocket and catch us with our guard down," Council said. "Smith was doing a number on us, and we keyed on him getting the ball not the quarterback."

Bartow tied the game at 21 on a quarterback sneak by Clay with 7:54 left in the game.

Bartow's star running back Rod Smith, who torched Avon Park for 195 yards and two touchdowns on the night, broke through for a three-yard touchdown, but Council was able to get enough of a rush up front to block sophomore Joe Cannon's extra point attempt to give Avon Park a glimmer of hope.

Council was all business during the overtime and was at the right places at the right times and lifted his Red Devils to a win.

"We never quit, even when it looked like they were going to run all over us," Council said. "This gives us so much confidence going into the DeSoto game next week.

"We're going for three in a row."

Avon Park hosts DeSoto next week in a pivotal Class 3A-District 12 match-up.

Avon Park 34, Bartow 27

Friday at Joe Franza Stadium

Bartow 0 7 7 7 6 0 - 27

Avon Park 7 7 7 0 6 7 - 34

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

AP - Allen 9 run (Calero kick), 7:59

Second Quarter

BT - Clay 4 pass to Polite (Cannon kick), 5:37

AP - Conner 40 lateral to Cooper (Calero kick), 0:19

Third Quarter

BT - Smith 36 run (Cannon kick), 9:18

AP - Cooper 30 run (Calero kick), 2:28

Fourth Quarter

Clay 1 run (Cannon kick), 7:54

First Overtime

BT - Smith 3 run (kick blocked)

AP - Allen 10 run (kick blocked)

Second Overtime

AP - Moses 7 pass to Robertson (Calero kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING Bartow; Smith 29-195-2, Johnson 5-13, Wiley 1-4, Clay 7-52, Brooks 3-20, Lawson 1-1, Carter 1 minus-1. Avon Park; Allen 22-111-2, Cooper 8-67-2, Moses 5-17, Hinson 2-6.

PASSING Bartow; Clay 6-10-50-1-2. Avon Park; Moses 10-18-90-1

RECEIVING Bartow; Putnam 2-12, Johnson 1-8, Polite 1-4-1, Lawson 1-19, Carter 1-7. Avon Park; Robertson 3-27-1, Cooper 2-4, Conner 3-46, McKenzie 2-13.