Turnovers doom Spruce Creek in 42-14 loss to top-seeded Winter Park
WINTER PARK — Spruce Creek head coach Andy Price knew his offense could ill afford to make any mistakes against top-seeded Winter Park. The Hawks certainly could not overcome three of them.
Tyrone Davis scored four touchdowns, and Cameron Legree threw for two more as the host Wildcats pulled away to eliminate the Hawks, 42-14, at Showalter Field on Friday night. Spruce Creek (8-2) committed three costly turnovers, two in the opening minutes of the second half.
"We're on a fine line," Price said. "If you don't have athletes who can score from long distances at multiple positions, like we don't, you really can't make mistakes. And we made too many of them."
The Wildcats (11-0) advance to the Region 1-8A semifinals and will host fifth-seeded Apopka at 7:30 p.m. next Friday. Spruce Creek drops to 6-9 all-time in postseason play, last recording a win in 2008.
Going the distance
Trailing, 14-7, late in the third quarter, the Hawks were pinned deep in their own end. Facing 3rd-and-9 from his own 5-yard line, quarterback Kyle Minckler threaded the needle for a 15-yard completion to Kyle Thiel to move the chains.
Minckler then hit Jacob Tweed for a 2-yard gain on the Hawks' second 4th-and-1 gamble of the half, followed by a 16-yard strike to Hayden Flood. To cap a 96-yard drive, Minckler found Tweed open on the left side of the field for a 19-yard catch-and-run.
"That's my pace. I like no-huddle, being on the ball," Minckler said. "It was those situations we had to have. The turnovers really killed us; I think that was the game."
The senior quarterback picked the Wildcats apart in the first half, completing 13 of his first 16 passes for 178 yards with two scores.
"He kept plays alive and extended drives," Price said. "That was a lot of him making good throws."
Gut punches
The deadlock lasted all of 36 seconds. Winter Park jumped back in front just before the break thanks to a huge kickoff return.
Brian Gomez found a seam and broke off a 47-yard return, bolstered by a horse-collar tackle out of bounds. Three plays later, Legree hung tough in the pocket and dumped the ball off to Davis with blockers in front for an 8-yard touchdown.
It got worse just after halftime. On the Hawks' first play from scrimmage, gifted good field position by a short punt, Winter Park defensive back J.J. Valle-Smith stripped Jacquez Lord and cruised 46 yards for a touchdown.
Lord, who rushed for 1,380 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season, found very little room to operate. The 5-foot-7, 150-pound senior gained only 12 yards on 16 attempts and put the ball on the ground three times, losing a pair of fumbles.
What's next?
Much like in 2015, Spruce Creek will have to withstand heavy losses on the offensive end as Minckler, Lord, Thiel, offensive tackles Caleb Valentine and Ryan Severinsen and others are set to graduate.
The Hawks' biggest defensive losses will be linebacker Vinny Sneed, who recorded an interception in the third quarter, safety Jhemez Hull and middle linebacker Daniel Diacont.
"It was a joy to see this group grow and to have some of these experiences that a lot of people at Creek have not had," Price said of a senior class which won 15 games the previous two years and notched consecutive playoff trips for only the fourth time in program history.
There are some building blocks in place, though. Flood, a junior, led the area in receiving, leading tacklers Nick Passamonte and Ty Berrong will be back, as will cornerback Travon Killins.