Deerfield comes back, tramples Minneola

MINNEOLA — After spotting the Minneola Wildcats 16 early points, the Deerfield Spartans bounced back for a 60-30 victory Friday in Minneola. The win keeps Deerfield's record perfect at 6-0.
    The first half was filled with big plays from both teams. On his team's second play from scrimmage, Deerfield running back Jesus Navarrete ran for 46 yards down to the Wildcats' 17. But on the next play, the Spartans mishandled a pitch, and the Wildcats recovered the fumble on their own 20-yard line. 
    One play later, Wildcat quarterback Ethan Ediger kept the ball on the option and scampered 59 yards to pay dirt. Ediger found James Temaat in the end zone on a pass play for the two-point conversion, and Minneola led 8-0.
    Deerfield quickly turned the ball over again. On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, the Wildcats recovered a Deerfield fumble on the Spartan 25-yard line. 
    Two plays later, Minneola's Trevor Yost bounced off three would-be tacklers and scored the Wildcats' second touchdown. The Cats completed a pass for the two-point conversion and led 16-0 less than three minutes into the game. 
    The Spartans threatened to score on their next possession, but the Wildcats' Kameron Ptacek intercepted a wayward Spartan pass in the end zone. Minneola's possession ended with a punt that was downed on Deerfield's 1-yard line.
    Deerfield head coach Randy Richter was not pleased with the way his team started the game.
    “Obviously, the first three minutes were not our best by any means,” Richter said.
    Starting from their own 1-yard line, the Spartans marched down the field. The drive stalled deep in Wildcat territory. 
    Facing fourth down and goal from the Wildcats' 10-yard line, Spartan quarterback David Gonzalez hit Navarrete in the end zone for a Deerfield touchdown. Devin Nolde ran in the two-pointer, and the Minneola lead was cut in half.
    Minneola coach Curtis Albin felt the momentum changing after Deerfield's first score.
    “We lost a little fire when they converted on that fourth-and-ten and scored that touchdown,” he said.
    Another Minneola punt backed the Spartans up to their own 3-yard line, but it only took six plays for Deerfield to go the length of the field again.
    Navarrete capped the scoring drive with a 2-yard plunge. Gonzalez ran in the conversion points, and the game was knotted at 16.
    Minneola's next three possessions all ended with punts, and Deerfield capitalized on the opponent's stagnant offense with three touchdowns. Navarrete scored on runs of 27 and 19 yards.
    Gonzalez also ran in another touchdown, and the Spartans led 40-16 at the half.
    “They (Deerfield) have a really good football team,” Albin said. “After they got some momentum, we had a hard time stopping them.”
    But the Wildcats weren't finished. Minneola started the second half by driving 65 yards in 13 plays, and Clinton Schriner finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to make the score 40-22 in the Spartans' favor.
    The Spartans answered quickly. After recovering a Minneola onside kick attempt at midfield, Navarrete only needed three carries to reach the end zone and increase the Spartans' lead, 46-22.
    A touchdown run by Nolde and a Gonzalez-to-Navarrete touchdown pass put Deerfield up 60-22. 
    Minneola added a late touchdown completion from Ediger to Temaat. The Ediger-to-Temaat connection worked on the two-point conversion, which put the score at 60-30.
    “You have to take your hats off to them — their kids ran hard and blocked well,” Albin said. “It was a well-played game, but tonight they played better than we did.”
    Richter said: "I am proud of the boys; they (Minneola) are a good ball club. We could have tucked our tails and headed back to the locker room. Instead, we kept running. We did what we like to do. Our line did an excellent job tonight.”
    Minneola drops to 4-2 on the season, with a 1-1 district mark.
    The Wildcats will play at Tribune at 7 p.m. next Friday.