Trick for a treat: Matanzas holds off Clay in a district football battle

Daniel DeFalco caught a touchdown pass and threw for a touchdown off a trick play to help the Pirates improve to 6-2.

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Matanzas tight end Daniel DeFalco received the lateral pass from quarterback Dakwon Evans, faked a run to draw in the safety and threw a perfect pass to Andre Andrews for a 30-yard touchdown.

It was just the way the play was designed, and it gave the Pirates a 24-14 lead against Clay High with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Matanzas went on to win the district battle 24-21 on Oct. 20 at home to help solidify its spot in the Class 3S football playoffs.

The Pirates (6-2) were ranked fourth among Region 1-3S teams before their win against the Blue Devils (4-4). Matanzas has two regular-season games remaining, beginning with a district showdown at northern neighbor Menendez (3-5) on Friday, Oct. 27, before closing the regular season at home against Winter Springs on Nov. 3.

Against Gainesville a week earlier, DeFalco underthrew his receiver on the same play and was intercepted. The senior also threw an interception earlier in the game against Clay. But his coaches never lost confidence in DeFalco's ability to execute the trick play at a critical point in the game.

We needed a big play, and our guys couldn’t have executed it better.”
— MATT FORREST

“We’ve been practicing that,” Pirates coach Matt Forrest said. “We practice all of our special plays multiple times during the week. We felt it was the right time to try it again, because they knew our quick screens are a key part of our offense. It worked out in our favor. Kwon showed composure by giving him a good ball he could handle, and Daniel did a good job selling it, getting the safety to come up. He made such a great throw. We needed a big play, and our guys couldn’t have executed it better.”

DeFalco also caught a touchdown pass as Evans found him wide open for a 69-yard play in the second quarter. Evans and Andrews also hooked up with Andrews catching a screen pass and running 49 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Clay pulled to within three points on Merrick Rapoza's third short touchdown run with 1:52 left in the game. With 42 seconds remaining, Forrest called on DeFalco to take a direct snap on a fourth-and-2. DeFalco gained the first down, allowing the Pirates to run out the clock.

“Daniel had to get 2 yards, and he got 2 and a quarter,” Forrest said. “We wanted to end it there. The players wanted to go win it. We could have punted, and we have a great punter in Landon Grover, but we wanted to control our own destiny.”

Grover kicked a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter after the Blue Devils took an early 7-0 lead. Matanzas went up 11-7 on Evans’ touchdown pass to DeFalco and Cole Hash’s 2-point conversion pass.

The Pirates’ offense had an up-and-down night.

“We’re still waiting on that breakout game offensively,” Forrest said. “We’re not having 11 guys in sync all the time. We’re making mental errors. We’re putting the ball on the ground.”

Matanzas lost a fumble when it led by 10 in the fourth quarter. The Pirates fumbled three other times but recovered them.

“Our guys on offense know they have to clean that stuff up,” Forrest said. “We’re proud of (DeFalco), and we’re proud of all of our guys. They’re not afraid of those moments. We’re turning into a team that finds a way to win.”

 

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