Legacy football wins SSAA 1A title in defensive standoff

After a mixup with the game officials saw the SSAA Class 1A championship game between the Eagles of Legacy Charter and Cedar Creek Christian postponed to Nov. 18 and moved to the Jacksonville-based school, Legacy (5-6) went on the road and brought home the hardware in a defensive battle, topping Cedar Creek (5-6), 12-8, and finishing its season on a four-game winning streak.

“I can’t say enough about the willingness and poise these boys played with,” said Legacy coach Zachary Fox. “This game came down to the wire and they never broke. Huge shoutout to the coaching staff for a great game on both sides of the ball. To go from being 0-4 to finishing the season 4-0 with a championship, you can’t write this. All glory to the man above.” 

Despite the Eagles' storybook turnaround on the field, the championship match was more gritty defensive standoff than a fairytale.

Thanks to these two defenses, the game was scoreless through the first three quarters, before the Eagles broke through early in the fourth on a Jake Threadgill touchdown pass to Ryan Rushing. 

After Cedar Creek responded with a TD of its own, the Eagles’ offense was able to march down the field and score the last points of the game; a short run by senior Mario Gomez, and on the back of its defense — which iced the win with a fourth-down stop in the final minute of the game — Legacy ran out the clock for the win.