Week 10 roundup: Astronaut beats Titusville for Hudson Trophy return

TITUSVILLE — For Astronaut’s senior class, they’ve never held the Hudson Trophy as Titusville entered Oct. 23 with a four-game winning streak in the rivalry series.

After conceding a last-minute touchdown in the first half, Astronaut regrouped and scored a touchdown, recovered an onside kick and scored another touchdown to take the lead.

The War Eagles held that lead to the very end, recording a red zone interception to seal a long-awaited 14-6 win over their crosstown rival.

“I’m so proud of our kids. We’ve worked really hard for the last four years,” Astronaut head coach Logan Hallock said. “To come out with a win in year four over these guys just means so much to our kids, our program, our staff and myself. This is a rivalry for a reason.”

Defense, special teams propel War Eagles

Astronaut’s defense limited Titusville to a season-low six points, including pitching a second-half shutout after falling behind 6-0. The War Eagles intercepted Titusville quarterback Remy Vigne twice, blocked a field goal and recovered an onside kick.

“To hold those guys to six points is an outstanding effort by our kids and coaches. Our coaches had a great game plan for the week,” Hallock said. “Obviously they got a lot of firepower over there, especially with Tank (Harvey). Credit to our defense and those guys just keep fighting and playing.”

After Astronaut took a 7-6 lead with 6:59 left in the third quarter, the War Eagles opted for a surprise onside kick with senior Connor Lamothe. The senior kicked the ball to the Astronaut sideline and recovered his own kick after junior Jack Affeld initially got his hands on the ball.

“We’ve practiced it all week, really all year long and hadn’t used it. I saw the look that we thought we would get and I went for it,” Hallock said. “In a game like this, you got to take some chances especially with those guys over there and how good they are on offense. I felt like we needed to steal another possession. You live by the sword and die by the sword and it went in our favor.”

That spearheaded a 14-play, 8:19 drive that was capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass by senior Jaquan Hagans to sophomore Landon Buck to push the War Eagles’ lead to eight.

Titusville went three-and-out in 58 seconds on the first possession of the second half. Because of the onside kick recovery, the Terriers defense was on the field for 13:24 straight.

“The defense fought their tails off. They were out way too long. Some of that was penalty related,” Titusville head coach Matt Diesel said. “We make a nice stop there and then we get the pass interference call. They have a very limited passing attack and unfortunately, they bit us with one down here, but they do a good job at what they do.”

On Titusville’s second and would-be final possession of the second half, the Terriers drove the ball to the Astronaut 10-yard line with under four minutes remaining. On a Vigne dropback, senior Montrell Gordon bobbled the pass and corralled it for the game-clinching interception.

“It was just adrenaline. Just seeing the ball, went over to catch it,” Gordon said. “I fiddled a little bit. I was scared.”

Gordon, a four-year player with Astronaut, soaked up the feeling of finally taking down rival Titusville. In the last three years, the War Eagles were outscored 106-9 by the Terriers.

“It feels amazing. It feels like a dream,” Gordon said. “I’ve been wanting this for four years since freshman year and it finally happened. It means everything. I’m still in shock. We’ve just been working and working just to finally win it.”

Gordon and fellow four-year player Hunter Buck recorded the two interceptions as both stuck it out through some tough seasons.

“I’m so proud of both of those kids,” Hallock said. “My message to those guys has just been to continue to be faithful in life and in football. It’ll reward you if you’re faithful.”  

Hagans leads gritty offensive performance

Astronaut’s senior quarterback made play-after-play with his legs. For a team reliant on its running game, it was two Hagans passing touchdowns that was the difference.

Hagans put Astronaut into the lead with a 30-yard touchdown completion to sophomore Jayden Brown out of the backfield with 6:59 left in the third quarter. With a clean pocket, Hagans found Landon wide open in the end zone.

The senior finished the game with 23 rushes for 78 yards along with completing all four passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Brown posted 100 total yards on 13 rushes and two receptions.

“I can’t say enough about (Hagans). We had a couple college coaches here (tonight) and I sure hope they see what I see in that kid because he’s special. He’s the leader for us on offense,” Hallock said. “Obviously, our offensive line is really good but he’s a leader for us and does an outstanding job of making this thing go. His legs are deadly when he can extend plays. Our guys just find a way to get open. Just an all-around team effort.”

Titusville struggled on offense, losing the time of possession battle and possessing the ball just five times. It ended the night with two punts, two interceptions and one touchdown.

“We did not play well enough to win. At times, we showed that we were playing well. We had two touchdowns called off the board,” Diesel said. “That’s always tough in a rivalry game when points are hard to come and you got a team that nurses the ball at 3 yards and a cloud of dust.”

Vigne finished the night completing 4-of-11 passes for 90 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Seniors Tank Harvey and Tamarion Walker were held in check. Harvey touched the ball four times for 27 yards and Walker recorded two runs of at least 25 yards on 10 attempts.

The lone Titusville score was a 30-yard touchdown completion to senior Jason Dunlap with 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

“Offensively, the holding penalties killed us. We’re picking up first downs and we’re coming backwards on repeat,” Diesel said. “The offense, when it was going, was pretty electric. We weren’t out there as much as we would like to and that was part of their strategy.”

Titusville was plagued all night by penalties. It finished the game with 14 penalties for 135 yards. After its touchdown, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty resulted in a long PAT that was missed.

The Terriers forced a fourth down on Astronaut’s final possession of the game, which would have given them the ball with about two minutes remaining. However, an offsides penalty gave Astronaut an automatic first down and the ability to run out the remaining clock.

“I’m going to look at the film and see what in the world some of this stuff was. We certainly had some stuff that was questionable at times,” Diesel said. “We got to clean penalties up. How many times are we making a stop on defense and then we get a face mask or whatever it may be.”

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Playoff aspirations still intact

Titusville concludes the regular season with a 6-4 record. The Terriers will await their seed and opponent for a likely fifth-straight state playoff berth. Their regional quarterfinal game would take place on Nov. 13.

“This is where we got to regroup. We’ve played well enough along the way that we should be able to get into the playoffs,” Diesel said. “Circumstances arise, adversity comes, how do you respond will determine a lot of how it turns out. We got to respond. This one certainly wasn’t fun. They’re pretty hurt right now, so we’ve got to chin up, chest out and get ready to move on to the playoffs.”

Astronaut began the season 2-3 with three blowout defeats to New Smyrna Beach, Merritt Island and Eau Gallie. The team rebounded from the tough stretch with a four-game winning streak entering the final week of the regular season.

“You obviously want to play well early in the season, but you’re remembered for how you play in the end of October and November. Super proud of our kids for just showing up every day,” Hallock said. “There’s been a lot of turmoil and a lot of things that have come against us and just some self-inflicted stuff and just some growing pains, culture things and maturity things. I’m just so proud of our kids for fighting and believing and trusting the process.”

The War Eagles entered the week as the first team out in the Class 3A, Region 2 playoffs. This victory certainly improves its chances to qualify, but they’ll need to defeat University on Oct. 30 to ensure there’s no doubt.

“I want them to enjoy this one, but we cannot have a letdown next week. It’s crucial. It’s pivotal. It’s senior night too,” Hallock said. “These guys have worked really hard and we got to come out and play a really good, clean football on Friday night next week."

Oct. 23 scores

FHSAA

Merritt Island 49, Rockledge 0

Merritt Island clinched its first district title in five years with its second shutout win of the season.

The Mustangs remain undefeated at 9-0 heading into the regular season finale on Oct. 30 at Viera. Rockledge dropped to 1-8 and it’ll head to Cocoa for the BBQ Bowl on Oct. 30.

Eau Gallie 63, Palm Bay 0

The Commodores recorded their biggest win of the season to finish district play with a 4-1 record.

Eau Gallie senior Joseph Allen threw three touchdowns and junior Zay Hawkins rushed for two touchdowns. Senior Lukas Viselli caught touchdowns from Allen and sophomore Brody Tymchuk. Juniors Troy Silberzahn and Tay Johnson were the beneficiaries of Allen’s touchdown passes.

Defensively, senior Zay Floyd returned an interception for a touchdown and junior Gabriel Player entered the end zone on a fumble returned for a score.

The Commodores improve to 6-3 and they’ll host Vero Beach on Oct. 30.

Holy Trinity 34, Space Coast 21

Holy Trinity closed out the regular season with a 13-point win at Space Coast as sophomore Bo Mobley threw three touchdowns and ran for one.

Tigers senior Chandler Hendley caught two touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown. Junior Nathan Reeve hauled in one touchdown.

Space Coast got rushing touchdowns from senior Damarion Kidd and sophomores Ryland Travis and Chad Johnson.

Holy Trinity completes the regular season 7-2 and will await to hear its likely playoff opponent in the Independent Division. Space Coast finishes the regular season 6-4 as it awaits to see who it’ll play in the SSAA Atlantic state playoffs.

Melbourne 69, Lyman 0

The Bulldogs finish as the district runner-up following their shutout win over Lyman coupled with Oviedo’s victory against Lake Howell.

Melbourne sophomore Tyrese Jefferson rushed for two touchdowns. Junior Will Reinhold threw touchdown passes to Jeremiah Thomas and to senior DJ Scott. Senior offensive lineman Carter Black tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Scott.

Bulldogs senior Kamarre Jennings scored two defensive touchdowns on a pick six and a scoop and score. Junior Marvell Cunningham returned an interception for a touchdown. On special teams, sophomore Julian Baxter took the opening kickoff 95 yards to the house and and senior Ej Hall returned a punt 30 yards for a score.

Melbourne moves to 7-2 and it’ll head to Deltona on Oct. 30.

Viera 38, East River 3

Viera senior Duke Butler rushed for four touchdowns as the team snapped a three-game losing streak. Butler compiled 142 yards on the four scores. Sophomore quarterback Jaamal Crittington opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run.

The Hawks improve to 4-4 and they’ll host Merritt Island on Oct. 30.

Melbourne Central Catholic 56, Specially Fit Academy 32

In their first game in three weeks, the Hustlers ran away from Specially Fit Academy in the second half to extend their winning streak to four games.

MCC sophomore Trenton Washington recorded five total touchdowns. Senior Noah Flores scored four touchdowns, three receiving and one rushing. Seniors Grady Bonenberger and Isaiah Crockett and junior Triston Washington hauled in one receiving touchdown.

Melbourne Central Catholic improves to 6-1 and it’ll host Heritage on Oct. 30.

Raines 35, Cocoa 20

The Tigers put up a respectable effort against top-15 Raines losing by two scores. Cocoa sophomore Kadin Claflin-Coy threw touchdown passes to junior Anthony Whaley and senior Jamal Smith. Senior Kyree Brooks forced a fumble that was scooped up by junior Elyias Wilson for a touchdown.

Cocoa falls to 3-5 and it’ll host Rockledge in a rivalry game on Oct. 30.