43-31 win over visiting Westwood Christian

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sweet Taste of Victory
Island Christian picks up program’s first ever six-on-six win
By Citizen Staff

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.”