Seminole coach Karl Calhoun may have summed up his Seminoles 24-20 FHSAA Regional Semi-Final win over University Orange City the best.
“Adversity is inevitable, it’s not about when it hits or how it hits, it’s about how you respond to it,” the coach said
Down 14–0 at half, the host Seminoles outscored the Titans 24-6 in the second half to advance to the FHSAA Regional Finals and a rematch with Lake Mary on Nov. 22 at Lake Mary.
“We came out a little flat but we fixed that,” Calhoun said. “Twenty four points in the second half was just an amazing effort by our team.”
One of those “amazing” efforts was running back Khamani Robinson’s 149 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown that proved to be the game-winner that put the Noles in the Regional Finals for the second straight year.
“Khamani is just special, you never know if he’s going to go for 5 or 50 and a touchdown,” Calhoun said of his senior running back. In Friday’s case. Robinson took a hand-off up the middle and went 25-yards for his lone touchdown on the night that proved to be the game winner for the 10-1 Seminoles.
The game was slowly starting to shift to Seminole’s favor early in the fourth before the Noles eventually put the game away.
Down 14-10, Omari Griffin grab an errant University pass and ran it back 40-yards for a touchdown to give the Seminoles their first lead of the game.
“That was a big play, we called his number, he came in made a big play,” Calhoun said. “We saw something we wanted to attack and it was a momentum shift for us.”
On the night, quarterback Michael Clayton was 16-of-27 for 146 yards and a rushing touchdown. Anthony Gay III was his favorite target with 87 yards on 9 catches.
Rodney Grant III added 41 yards on 6 carries. Defensively, Jack Gable 9 tackles and Ethan Pritchard 8 tackles led the Seminoles.
Now the task ahead is to travel to Lake Mary to face the Rams for the second time this season. On Oct. 14 coming off a forced break for a Hurricane, limited practice and numerous injuries, the visiting Rams downed Seminole 29-14. This time the Seminoles are healthy, with the majority of the players back at full strength.
“We’re going into there healthy and with a full week of practice,” Calhoun said. “We’re going be able to practice a full week and we’re going to be ready to go in there and play.”
Game time is set for 7pm on Nov. 29 at Lake Mary with a trip to the state Final Four on the line.
