WELLINGTON – Down 18-7 during the latter portion of the second quarter, it seemed as if Wellington (10-2; No. 2 in Palm Beach County; No. 12-ranked team in Florida) was on its way to a blowout win at home.
But true to form, Martin County (11-0; No. 1 in the Treasure Coast; No. 5-ranked team in Florida) did not allow the pouring rain nor the 18-0 first half run by Wellington to get it down in any way, shape, or form.
With less than two minutes left in the second frame, the Lady Tigers used a trick play to reach the end zone and shock the Lady Wolverines in the process.
Head coach Jeff Padgett broke down the play and how it unfolded for the Lady Tigers.
“This is gonna sound uber-nerd, but in Madden, end of the game, all these people play all this prevent,” Padgett said. “They give a little dive to the running back and next thing you know, the guy goes for 56 yards. So they dropped back and we rank a hook and lateral. We don’t ever really run it like that. We ran it a different way. If they’re gonna drop back, then we’re gonna try and hit them with it and get our girl who I think is one of the fastest players around.”
Guess who scored on that game-changing play?
“Hailey Walsh,” Padgett said of our No. 2-ranked overall flag football player in the Treasure Coast.
“We’re gonna try to get her one-on-one,” Padgett said. “The girl got sucked in on the corner and she beat her on the edge.”
Walsh was a force to be reckoned with in the first half, as she also scored on the game’s first play to help Martin County open up a 7-0 lead over Wellington.
“Both were over 50-yard touchdowns,” Padgett said.
So with the second Walsh touchdown, Martin County turned an 18-7 deficit to an 18-13 deficit going into the half.
This was critical because the second half was all about Martin County.
Here’s how it happened.
It was one drive that occurred at the end of the third quarter. It was a touchdown pass from quarterback Cali Scornavacca (No. 7-ranked overall player; Treasure Coast) to wideout Laniyah Smalls that gave Martin County the 19-18 lead and eventual road victory.
Padgett broke the game-winning play down.
“Against their Cover 2, I kind of set them up earlier in the game,” Padgett said. “We were running a certain route. Looking back at film last year, they were real aggressive towards it. I figured once she saw it, they were going to jump back so we flooded that middle. We put the safety in a situation where she had to cover the corner or cover the deep route.”
Martin County now has one game left in the regular season. It will be held on Thursday (April 13; 6 p.m. start time) against Palm Beach Gardens (9-4; No. 6-ranked team in Palm Beach County) for Senior Night.
“They play really hard and physical,” Padgett said. “It’s gonna be a tough one.”
NOTE: Wellington will finish its regular season on Wednesday for Senior Night against Glades Central (1-7) at home. The start time is set for 6:30 p.m.
PHOTO CREDITS: July Sanchez
