Pirates earn berth in state Final Four

The Braden River High football team will carry its perfect 13-0 mark into the Class 7A state semifinals Dec. 4. 

The Pirates will play host to defending Class 7A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. 

The Pirates earned a berth in the Final Four after capturing their first regional championship with a 17-7 victory against Plant City in the Class 7A-Region 3 finals Nov. 28. 

Trailing 7-0 midway through the first quarter following a 23-yard touchdown pass by Plant City quarterback Corey King, Braden River, who initially centered its defensive scheme around Plant City running back Markese Hargrove, unloaded the box and moved an additional safety back to cover the middle of the field. 

“We thought they were going to come out and run the ball,” Braden River coach Curt Bradley said. “They have a 1,600-yard rusher, and we thought they were going to attack us on the ground, and they came out throwing it. 

“We kind of loaded the box in our game plan this week, and that game plan went out the window real quick when they caught us on a couple seams early on,” Bradley said. 

The plan worked for Braden River, which forced three interceptions. Following linebacker Noah Arce’s first interception, quarterback Jacob Huesman made a goal-line pass to DeShaun Fenwick to tie the game. 

“That was kind of the big key for us to break their momentum because they had it rolling there in the first quarter,” Bradley said. 

Braden River kicker Kyle Thoma hit a 30-yard field goal with 23 seconds to play in the half to give the Pirates a 10-7 advantage heading into the locker room. 

Huesman connected with Juwaan Jenkins for a 17-yard score with 5:24 left to play to seal the victory for Braden River.