Blazer Football hosted Saint Stephen's Episcopal School on Friday evening in a game that came down to the final minute of play. The Blazers scored a touchdown with just a few minutes to go to push the score to 35-26, but the Falcons weren't finished as they came back down the field and scored a touchdown of their own, but it was too late as they'd line up for the upcoming kickoff with just four seconds to go in the game and a three point deficit. The Blazers would kneel the ball down on first down to seal the victory at 35-32 Blazers.

The game would begin with the Blazers forcing a three and out, with Reed Gibson receiving the punt off the bounce at his own 45 yard line and returning it to the Falcons 28 yard line. The Blazers would get inside the ten yard line on their first drive, but failed to get the ball into the end zone as they turned the ball over on downs. The Blazers would force another three and out, with the punt only traveling out to the seventeen yard line this time. After an Elijah George run to the left side for four yards, Tait would complete a pass to Cale for another three yards before William Hughes found enough room up the middle to get to the first down and another first and goal. On third down and goal, Tait would find Noah Spenn in the back corner of the end zone for the first score of the day. Jack Campbell was perfect on the PAT, making it 7-0 Blazers early on. The Blazers would get the ball back on downs as they'd once again deny a first down to the Falcons. Using a mixture of Hughes and George to move the ball down the field, the Blazers would be set up with a 1st and fifteen at the twenty yard line before Tait would release another pass to Spenn in the end zone. Spenn would go up and above the defender to take the ball in and make it 13-0. Campbell again put the PAT straight through the uprights to increase the lead to 14 just before the end of the first quarter. To open up the second quarter, the Falcons bounced the ball outside and broke two tackles as they raced to the end zone for an 85 yard score. The PAT went wide right, with the score remaining 14-6 Blazers. The Tait to Noah connection would come through again as the Blazers would move the ball back inside the 25 yard line again using the run before they'd try the right corner of the end zone. Spenn would again go up above the defender to pull the ball in, scoring his third touchdown of the game. Campbell would remain perfect in kicks, bringing the score to 21-6 Blazers.

The Falcons would score their second touchdown of the game on the upcoming drive as they'd find their way around the right side of the line again and find a hole that led into the end zone. The Blazer defense would hold strong again on the PAT, making the score 21-12. The Blazers would block a field goal attempt by the Falcons just prior to the end of the second quarter. The Blazers would mostly play inside Falcon's territory during the third quarter, but couldn't up the lead. The Falcon's would mount a drive near the end of the third quarter and would take on a 3rd down and four at the fifteen yard line to begin the fourth quarter. The Falcon quarterback would float the ball just over his wide receiver and into the hands of Senior Eli Ford. Ford would take the interception and race down the field, all the way to the Falcon's 30 yard line before they'd catch up to him. The Blazers would use the legs of Hughes and George to get the ball inside the five yard line before Hughes received a handoff and pushed through a defender and into the end zone to make the score 28-12 after another Campbell PAT. The Falcons weren't done yet as they'd also move the ball down the field and score a touchdown of their own, while making the two point conversion, making the score 28-20 with around 8 minutes to go in the game. The Blazers would turn the ball over on downs back over to the Falcons, who would score another touchdown just a few plays later to make it 28-26 Blazers. The Blazer special teams defense held strong again, refusing the two point conversion to keep the two point lead. The Blazers would take the ball with two minutes to go and in need of a first down, when, on second down, Tait Zeltwanger would come around the corner on the option and keep the ball, racing all the way down to the Falcon's 8 yard line, a 54 yard run. Elijah George would take the next handoff and race into the endzone before the ball would be stripped and recovered by the Falcon's, making the score 35-26 and all but sealing the game for the Blazers. The Falcon's weren't finished yet as they'd score once more, but it was too late as the Blazers came through with the 35-32 victory.

"This was a great win for us. We talked about adversity during the week and certainly had to deal with some in the game. Really proud of how the team responded." Coach Spenn wnt on to say, "St. Stephan's makes me nervous, they were physical but we were ready and really played our brand of football."

T. Zeltwanger finished 11 of 23 with 132 yards passing, three TD's, and 1 interception. The Blazers rushed for 195 yards, George 10 carries for 73 and a TD, Hughes 22 carries for 80 and a TD, and T. Zeltwanger 5 carries for 42 yards. Spenn and Cale Zeltwanger would reel in four catches each, with Spenn gaining 58 yards and scoring 3 TD's, and Zeltwanger gaining 55 yards. Jacob Lester came away with 5 pancake blocks in the game. On the defensive side, Tristan McConnell Haas (10 total tackles) and Wyatt Campbell (11 total tackles) both had standout games, while Eli Ford finished with two tackles to go with his 60 yard interception return. Jack Campbell finished with six kickoffs, traveling 346 yards with a long of 68 and one touchback, to go with his five perfect PAT's. 

The Blazers will head on the road next week as they travel to Fort Myers for a match-up with the King's of Southwest Florida Christian Academy at 7pm next Friday evening. The King's are 1-1, coming off of a win against Marco Island Academy 14-0.

Links
Max Preps Box Score
MaxPreps Season Stats
SSAA Leader Board
Hudl Highlight Video
Herald Tribune Story