WEST PALM BEACH – Facing a six-point deficit with just 22.3 seconds left and needing to travel 60 yards to win the game, the King’s Academy Lions offense took the field needing a miracle to defeat the First Academy Royals.
The Lions got exactly that when quarterback Justin Wake, who was battling what he called a fractured foot, threw a Hail Mary pass to wide receiver Cory Croteau, who walked into the end zone. The play was followed by Bernardo Cueto’s extra point, which gave the Lions a 23-22 win in the Class 3A Region 2 finals.
Following the game, coach Keith Allen called the play another moment of “Justin Wake magic”.
“We have a play we call,” Allen said, “Then we say sprinkle some Wake magic on it, do some Houdini and make it go.”
The Hail Mary capped off a nine-point second half comeback that saw the Lions score 23 points, including 13 in the final four minutes in order to win.
“We challenged our kids, like we did last week, to start playing King’s style football in the second half and we’ll see what happens,” Allen said. “They did just that.”
After a scoreless first half, the Lions began their scoring in the third quarter, when running back Presley Almond’s 35-yard run set up his own 11-yard touchdown run. Later in the quarter, a 33-yard field goal by Cueto gave the Lions their first lead at 10-9.
That lead would quickly be lost on the next drive, when First Academy running back Nate Edwards scored on a 73-yard run, giving the Royals a 15-10 lead that was followed by a missed two-point conversion.
While the Lions offense struggled for the better part of the game, the defense stepped up when it was needed the most.
After a third down stop on the Royals offense, Wake connected with Drew Luchey for a 44-yard pass that was followed by another crucial Lions touchdown, a 6-yard touchdown run from Dillon Larson with two minutes remaining.
On the Royals’ final chance to win the game, a sack by the Lions ended the game and gave the Lions their first trip to the state semifinals since 1996.
“It feels great,” Wake said about reaching the state semifinals. “But we want to get to the state championship.”
The Lions will travel to Tallahassee to play Florida State University High School, who defeated Taylor County by a score of 30-22 in their 3A Region 1 final last night.
