Streak is over: Late heroics lead Indians over archrival Vikings

FORT WALTON BEACH — Down both its quarterbacks and trailing 10-3 with less than three minutes remaining, Choctawhatchee appeared in need of a miracle to avoid a sixth straight loss to archrival Fort Walton Beach.

Enter Trey Randolph.

Choctaw’s junior defensive lineman picked an opportune time to score his first touchdown, batting Fort Walton Beach quarterback Ryan Thompson’s third-and-5 pass in the air at the line of scrimmage and then corralling the ball as it fell from the sky and returning it 21 yards for a game-tying touchdown.

Moments later, following another Thompson interception from deep on the Vikings’ end of the field, running back Freddie Gray, running a wildcat offense strictly out of necessity, plunged into the end zone from 4 yards out with 24 seconds remaining to complete a jaw-dropping comeback that sent the capacity crowd at Joe Etheredge Stadium into a frenzy.

Choctawhatchee 17, Fort Walton Beach 10.

The streak is over.

“Coach was telling us to look out for the screen,” Randolph said. “I saw the quarterback was about to pass and I threw my hands up. Luckily the ball came back down in my hands.”

“I don’t know how we did it, but we did it,” Indians coach Greg Thomas said. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was a great game for the fans I know.”

Those fans, which had gathered around the south end zone as the Gray-led offense moved closer to the goal line on the eventual game-winning drive, spilled onto the field when Choctaw defensive back Stephen Heidelberg intercepted a last-ditch pass by Fort Walton Beach’s Robert Willis near midfield to secure the win.

Gray ended the night with 75 yards rushing and one touchdown while Charlie Lott carried the ball 23 times for 132 yards. Fort Walton Beach sophomore running back T.C. Carter led all runners with 165 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.

The win pushes Choctaw to 7-3 on the year entering next week’s playoff game at Andrew Jackson while Fort Walton Beach ended the regular season at 5-4 as it prepares to travel to Pine Forest.

“Poor coaching,” Vikings coach Mike Owens said. “That’s the bottom line. I said earlier in the week we couldn’t turn the ball over and we did.”

Choctaw spent much of the night sputtering on offense, particularly in a first half that saw the Indians miss on one golden scoring opportunity after another.

Following Jackie Bush’s game-opening 84-yard kickoff return to the Viking 11, the Indians missed on a 23-yard field goal. Then, after hitting a 32-yard field goal on its next possession, Choctaw missed a field goal from 47 yards out and failed to capitalize on a first-and-goal at the 6 just before half.

Ahead 7-3 at the half, Fort Walton Beach pushed its lead to 10-3 with a 10-play scoring march to open the third when Eric Leurinda connected on a 25-yard field goal. Fort Walton Beach then recovered the ensuing kickoff at the Indians 32, but the Choctaw defense held, forcing a punt after three plays.

“If it wasn’t for our defense it would have been a long night,” Thomas said.

With the score knotted at 10-all, it was Branden Williams outjumping Fort Walton Beach receiver Brandon Goldston for the ball near midfield for a second costly interception. With Gray running the offense, Choctaw went to work as Gray gashed the Vikings defense on runs of 30 and 20 yards setting up a first-and-goal.

Three plays later Gray ended five years of agony for Choctaw fans, breaking through the right side of the Indians’ line for the game-winning score.

Choctawhatchee 17, Fort Walton Beach 10

FWB                   7        0        3          0—10

Choctaw           3        0        0       14 —17

First quarter

C – Dillon Drake 32 field goal; 4:10

F – T.C. Carter 30 run (Eric Leurinda kick); 0:06

Third quarter

F – Leurinda 25 field goal; 7:40

Fourth quarter

C – Trey Randolph 21 interception return (Drake kick); 2:19

C – Gray 4 run (Drake kick); ):24

                                              FWB        Choctaw

First downs                            12            15

Rushes-yards                  34-205        30-220

Passing yards                        66            47

Compl./Att./Ints.                10-18-3      8-14-0

Fumbles-lost                         1-1           1-0

Penalties-yards                11-100       12-81

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—FWB: T.C. Carter 17-165, J.T. White 12-34, Dale Smith 1-1, Rece Drake 1-1, No. 15 3-4. Choctaw: Charlie Lott 23-132, Freddie Gray 10-75, Luke Clark 4-6, Jesse Adams 2-5, Justin Savage 1-2.

PASSING— FWB: Ryan Thompson 10-16-2 66, William Fowler 0-1-0, Robert Willis 0-1-1. Choctaw: Jesse Adams 4-7-0 29, Luke Clark 4-7-0 18.

RECEIVING— FWB: Robert Willis 3-37, T.C. Carter 2-12, Carter Liufau 2-1, Brandon Goldston 2-18, J.T. White 1-(-2). Choctaw: Justin Savage 5-41, Alec Shubele 1-6, Cody Brannen 1-1, Freddie Gray 1-9.