PORT ST. LUCIE – The first varsity football season for Tradition Prep has been a learning experience, to say the least.
After finishing the regular season at 0-6, the Pirates found themselves in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference’s 3A state semifinal round this past week. They went on the road to play against the Boca Raton Christian Blazers.
On Thursday, Oct. 27 in Boca Raton, this one turned out to be a 36-21 win for Tradition Prep – its first one in school history.
How did the Pirates get it done?
They were led by freshman quarterback Mason Brown, who had his personal-best game to date. He finished with 18 pass completions out of 28 pass attempts for 330 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Pirates head coach Shawn McGrath spoke on Brown’s amazing performance in the SSAC 3A state semifinal game.
“Simply it was incredible,” McGrath said about our Offensive Player of Week 10 nominee. “This young man didn’t practice until walkthroughs on Wednesday. He did some real light work to prove he could play to both the staff and the trainer after the doctor cleared him Wednesday morning. After we installed an entire new offense all week, he stepped up on Thursday and just trusted his teammates and himself to make big plays.”
Two players who stepped up in a big way for Brown were sophomore athlete JahZion Drummond (seven catches, 125 yards, three touchdowns) and junior athlete Trey Scayle (eight catches, 185 yards, one touchdown), who was nominated as our Breakthrough Player of Week 10 nominee.
“He leaned on Trey and JahZion and for a combined 15 receptions for 310 yards and four touchdowns,” McGrath said of Brown. “A huge play before half to spike the ball and set up a touchdown to JahZion after we didn’t practice this week and just having clock management. He played like a four-year starter. It was impressive to see his maturity as a freshman. He is going to be special.”
On the defensive side of the ball, junior athlete Marvin Gay tallied 15 tackles and five tackles for loss against Boca Raton Christian (4-4 final record).
“That kid is special,” McGrath said of Gay. “We call him the Troy Polamalu of our defense.”
At least one more Tradition Prep players needs a shout out from this past game:
•Junior offensive lineman Olivier Candy – five pancakes against Boca Raton Christian
McGrath spoke on Tradition Prep’s first win in school history, which has also resulted in his program winning our Team of Week 10 honor.
“The players always believed, always pushed and work every day to improve,” McGrath said. “This win, two years in the making, is the result of that work. This team is special and they show it with the resilience and grit they show every day. The win is simply a byproduct of them believing in us being one heart, one soul, and one team. They trusted in each other and pushed each other past any limitations they had subconsciously set for themselves.”
With the win, Tradition Prep (1-6) will play for the SSAC 3A title against Faith Christian (4-5).
The title game is set for Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. The game’s location will be at Lawnwood Stadium in Fort Pierce.
“Faith Christian is a great coaches team,” McGrath said. “They play hard and are physical. Defensively we know we need to play fast, physical and disciplined. We know that we can play with them and are excited to see what we can do defensively. Offensively we are going to rely on our play makers to make plays, and our leaders to step up and make plays. We are a pass-first team, but we want to run the ball and show how physical we can be. If everything goes right, we should be able to win the game.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Mason Brown
