ISLAMORADA — Playing in a revenge game in front of his home fans for the final time this season, Island Christian School junior Daniel Pratt put on an offensive clinic Saturday afternoon in the Eagles’ homecoming game against visiting Donahue Academy.

Pratt scored five touchdowns — two rushing, one passing, one receiving and one on a kickoff return — including the game-winner in overtime to lift Island Christian’s first-year six-man program to a hard-fought 41-40 victory. The win came just 22 days after the Shamrocks topped the Eagles, 41-6, on their home turf in Naples. That score wasn’t far from anyone’s mind on the Island Christian sideline Saturday.

“They whooped us up there on their home field, so we had to return the favor,” said Pratt, who accounted for 323 all-purpose yards in the win. “I had to do everything I could for my team. We just had to do everything we could, at all costs.”

The conclusion certainly didn’t lack for excitement.

Down by six, Donahue (1-3) scored a touchdown with just three seconds remaining in regulation to even the score. ICS (2-2) came up with a big stop on the ensuing conversion attempt, and the teams went into overtime tied at 34.

The Shamrocks got the ball first in the extra period and Gabe Allan ran it in from 15 yards out on the second play to retake the lead. Again, though, the Eagles’ defense came up with another huge stop on the conversion attempt.

Facing a third-and-goal from the 5-yard line on the ensuing possession, Pratt took a handoff and then tossed a 5-yard scoring pass over the middle to Christian Ledwith to even the score at 40-all. Pratt kept it himself on the 1-point conversion attempt from the 3-yard line and ran it in for the game-winning point.

“It was a great win for the guys and our program,” ICS coach Robert Lucas said. “This team pushed us around all day when we traveled to play them earlier this year. My guys had been very disappointed with the way we played and had been looking forward to meeting them again.”

After fumbling at the Donahue 1-yard line on their first possession, the Eagles took an early 6-0 lead midway through the first when quarterback Matt Cavenagh found Pratt in the end zone from 3 yards out. The Shamrocks scored on each of their next two possessions to go ahead, 16-6, with just five seconds remaining in the first half. Pratt took the following kickoff, however, and burst 65 yards down the Donahue sideline for a touchdown on the final play of the half that cut the Eagles’ halftime deficit to 16-12.

“That kickoff return at the end of the half was big,” Lucas said. “It sparked life into us.”

Pratt also sparked some life into his team with his words in the locker room.

“He did an incredible job of chewing everybody out at halftime,” Lucas said of Pratt. “He called the guys to play, and they responded. I didn’t have to say anything at halftime, he did it for me.”

The Eagles came out of the break on fire. Pratt capped off the first drive of the second half with a 6-yard touchdown run, and then he blocked a punt on the next Donahue possession that went through the end zone for a safety and a 21-16 lead. Running back Jon Cruciger then got in on the scoring with a 42-yard TD run that put ICS ahead, 28-16, going into the fourth.

“I told the guys at halftime that we had to play with heart,” said Pratt, who was one of several players, including Cavenagh, Ledwith and Kalen Carter, who played every snap of the game. “I don’t even know how we finished the game. I know I was running on pure emotion. We had to win this one.”

Pratt finished the day with 156 yards and two scores on 23 rushing attempts, was 4-of-6 for 23 yards and a touchdown passing, and had one catch for 3 yards that also went for a score. Cavenagh was 3-for-13 passing for 32 yards and a score, and Cruciger finished with 103 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Defensively, Ledwith led the way with 19 tackles, including two sacks, and Pratt finished with seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

Following the victory, an exhausted Pratt said he never considered coming out of the game.

“At some point, you don’t even think, you just do,” Pratt said. “You just have to suck it up and win.”

The Eagles will look to finish with a winning record when they wrap up their inaugural season Oct. 26 against Solid Rock Community School in New Port Richey.

wjacobson@keysnews.com

ISLAMORADA — The wait wasn’t long for Island Christian School’s first-year six-man football program.

Just three games into their inaugural season — after 13 years of no football at all — the Eagles tasted victory Saturday on their home field with a 43-31 win over visiting Westwood Christian. The win improved Island Christian to 1-2 on the season, and made the Eagles the only gridiron winners of the week from the Keys.

“Everybody had a great time,” ICS coach Robert Lucas said of the win. “The guys really enjoyed it. There were smiles everywhere. You could see the excitement in the kids.”

The Eagles put together a balanced attack in picking up their first victory.

Matt Cavenaugh finished 5-for-8 passing for 146 yards and three touchdowns, and Daniel Pratt rushed for 103 yards and two scores on 16 carries and also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass. Jon Jon Cruciger racked up 120 yards on the ground on 15 rushes, also with a touchdown, and 6-foot-6 receiver Christian Ledwith had two catches for 115 yards that both went for touchdowns.

The win was especially exciting for the young Eagles, as it came in their home debut. Lucas estimated about 250 spectators turned out to see the school’s first football game in over a decade.

“It was nice for the fans,” Lucas said. “For us not having played a football game there in 13 years, it was very nice.”

ICS gave the home fans plenty to cheer for. The Eagles capped off the first half with a 35-yard TD pass from Cavenaugh to Cruciger with just 15 seconds remaining to take a 30-25 lead into the break.

“That definitely gave us the momentum going into the half,” Lucas said. “I’m just thrilled with all of the hard work that these guys put in.”

The teams played a scoreless third quarter, and ICS took over in the fourth, thanks in large part, according to Lucas, to superior conditioning.

Lucas said the team’s two-week break, since a loss at Donahue Academy, allowed for a lot of improvements.

The Eagles, however, also found some areas in Saturday’s victory that they will need to work on — namely, kickoff coverage. Westwood returned three kickoffs for scores, as the special teams unit outscored the offense, 18-13.

“We blew assignments and we just did not contain on the outside,” Lucas said. “They had a guy who could fly and we gave him the corner, and it doesn’t take much to get the corner on a kickoff with six guys. That’s something that we definitely have to work on.”

Up next for ICS is a rematch with Donahue on Saturday afternoon at 2:30, this time on the Eagles’ campus.

“They’re going to be a challenge,” Lucas said. “They’ve got 18 kids and they’re fast. But the two weeks off really gave us time to work on the defensive side on how to contain.”

For many of the high school football coaches and players throughout the state who opened practice this week, one of the most difficult aspects was getting back into the season routine.

For one Keys team, however, this first week of official practices was an all-too-new experience.

Island Christian School, a private school in Islamorada that will be fielding a six-on-six team this fall, held its first gridiron practices in 15 years this week. Not only is the entire team — coaches and players — basically entering the season with no experience, it is also doing so while having to learn a new game.

“I’ve been doing a lot of reading,” said athletics director Robert Lucas, who is also the team’s head coach. “In fact, I still am.”

With a school enrollment of about 50, the Eagles have 10 players working out so far, with just one of them having any prior football experience — and that was in a youth league. Even the players who are familiar with the game are having to adjust to the several rules differences from traditional 11-man football.

Lucas, however, did find a silver lining in the team’s mostly green roster.

“I guess the one advantage is that we don’t have any bad habits to break,” he said.

The school is still in the process of finalizing its schedule, which could include road games as far away as Tampa and Orlando. Lucas said the first game likely won’t be until Sept. 11 or Sept. 18.

Among the rules differences in six-on-six football, which is played on a 40×80-yard field: Every player is an eligible receiver, there is no blocking allowed below the waist, linemen don’t have to get down in a three-point stance, and multiple players can be in motion prior to the snap, but just one can be moving at the snap.

While the changes can lead to an imaginative, fast-paced playbook, Lucas said his main focus right now is on getting the basics down.

“Our kids have basically no football experience, so we’re just trying to come up with a basic offense to work out of,” said Lucas, who is being assisted by Eagles baseball coach Tony Hammon. “Both of the kids that will probably play quarterback are going to be freshmen, so we’re just trying right now to make it as simple as possible.”

Assistant Sports Editor Willis Jacobson’s column appears exclusively each Friday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 223, or at wjacobson@keysnews.com.

By KEVIN WADLOW
kwadlow@keynoter.com
Posted – Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:00 AM EDT

Island Christian’s Eagles head for Central Florida for Friday’s return to football.

The Eagles open their six-man season in Dover, east of Tampa, against F.I.S.H, a club team of home-schooled students.

“The guys seem to be excited,” said head coach Robert Lucas. “They better be, because this is it.”

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