By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
SEBRING - It had nearly all the ingredients one could hope for on a Homecoming night.
A cool breeze under an earlier darkening sky drifted across Firemen's Field, a fully healthy Blue Streak squad fighting tooth and nail in an evenly matched and exciting contest with George Jenkins, a halftime show that brought the house down and time on the clock for a potentially winning drive.
That it ended with a 17-14 Eagle win perhaps ended the night on a more dour note, but the promise shown couldn't be denied.
Big plays would be the predominant theme of the night, and it's how things started as on the first play from scrimmage, Jenkins quarterback Jaylen Odum hit running back Trent Rains with a pass in the flat that went for a 68-yard gain to the Sebring 12.
But the defense would stiffen, forcing six more plays from the Eagles before Rains found a hole from the one for a 7-0 lead at the 8:36 mark.
The Blue Streak offense moved the ball a bit on its' first possession, pushing it out near midfield behind the running of A.J. Gayle, but a delay of game flag and an incompletion forced a punt.
Which is how it would go for both teams for most of the rest of the first half - relatively sustained drives that ultimately ran out of gas.
That was, until late in the second quarter when, backed up at their own five, the Streaks went on a roll.
Gayle ran for 12, then 31 yards before a Jair Watson pass fell incomplete.
But Gayle broke off another seven-yard run and Jake Bryan bulled up the middle for seven yards on two carries to get it to midfield.
Watson then dropped back in the pocket and patiently went through his reads before spotting Decaris Jones deep down the middle of the field.
The unleashed throw was hauled in just outside the 10, with Jones taking it in the rest of the way for the tying score with 14 seconds left in the half.
The excitement of the late score was still making its' way through the crowd, but was about to be taken up a notch as the Homecoming King and Queen were soon announced and presented during the halftime ceremony.
A strong round of applause arose when senior football player Larry Scott was named as King, though it paled by comparison to the explosion of excitement, cheers and tears when a surprised and delighted Samantha Alamo heard her name called as Queen.
Alamo, who has Down syndrome, was soon swarmed by her classmates as the applause continued with nary a dry eye in the house.
When the celebration slowly wound down, it was back to the action on the field and things soon went south.
After three Sebring plays totaled seven yards to their own 33, a miscue on the punt snap put the ball into the Eagles talons at the Sebring four.
Moments later, Rains took it in to put Jenkins back on top with barely a minute and a half gone in the third.
The defense would settle back in after that, with Ezell Gammage and Jacquae Pert coming up with big sacks to help thwart Jenkins' drives, but the offense couldn't quite get into gear, with two Eagle interceptions halting drives that had barely begun.
A 41-yard Rains run later in the third had the visitors to the Sebring 17, but this time would not get across the goal line, settling for a Chandler Jones field goal at the onset of the fourth quarter to up the lead to 17-7.
Willie Allen, though, would soon get a takeaway for the Streaks, picking off an Odum pass at the Eagle 29.
A holding call pushed them back, but Watson hit Scott for a 24-yard gain to the Jenkins 17.
Gayle then rattle off 12 yards on three runs with Watson taking the next two carries to get the touchdown and narrow the deficit to 17-14 with 3:28 left on the clock.
The defense then provided the stop it needed, forcing a three-and-out and getting the ball back to the offense with 2:14 left.
But the last-ditch drive would not get much traction with a penalty, two incompletions and a quarterback sack negating the positive gains.
"It's growing pains," head coach LaVaar Scott said. "We have some positive plays and then shoot ourselves in the foot.
"We had a good effort tonight and it's getting better," he continued. "The offensive line did a great job making holes for A.J. and we almost pulled it out at the end. We gave ourselves a chance and that's all you can ask for."
Gayle finished the night with 24 carries for 150 yards as he capitalized on that work by the line.
"We'll continue to grow," Scott added. "But we better grow up fast this week with Winter Haven coming up."
The Streaks travel to face the Blue Devils Friday, Oct. 19.
Sunday, October 14, 2012 - www.newssun.com/SUN-10-14-12-SebFB