Martin Bowl 43: South Fork uses late comeback to snap six-game skid

STUART — When Champ Smith took a knee Friday night, South Fork football players, coaches, cheerleaders and other supporters flooded the field inside Napoli Orthodontics Stadium.

The Bulldogs needed a fourth quarter for the ages. But with their starting quarterback and tight end taking leading roles and their defense picking a perfect time to develop a nose for the football, a long, frustrating drought against its biggest rival came to a joyous close.

Smith tossed two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Matthew Hicks, the last coming with 51.2 seconds left, to lift South Fork to a 14-13 comeback victory over Martin County in Martin Bowl 43 from Martin County High School.

Nicky Arcaro strip-sacked Manny Louis on the ensuing drive. Beau Scammell recovered the fumble to seal the triumph and end the Bulldogs’ six-game losing streak in the Martin Bowl.

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“It was a fun game, that’s for sure. I loved the way it ended,” South Fork head coach Eric Kresser said.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Louis fired deep to Khalil Taylor for a 42-yard touchdown reception to put the Tigers ahead 13-0.

The visitors quickly responded by driving 61 yards in four plays, capped by an 11-yard play-action strike from Smith to Hicks up the seam to trim the deficit with 9:31 remaining.

Still, South Fork needed a stop against a Martin County team eager to add to its lead or run out the clock. The Bulldogs got it when Quintin Dacres ripped the ball out of Louis’ hands and recovered it with 4:48 to go.

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Outside of a second-down run, the Bulldogs let Smith’s arm decide the game. The Harvard commit completed 5 of 7 passes for 70 yards on the drive. That included a 10-yard pass to Cannon Geiger on fourth-and-5 and a lofted jump-ball pass that Jordan Douglas pulled down for a 24-yard gain.

On the next play, Smith threw a laser to Hicks for the game-winning 18-yard touchdown. Andrew Dawson’s extra point put South Fork on top.

“After we scored the first touchdown, we knew we were going to win the game,” Smith said. “All glory to God. It’s awesome. We rallied so hard and fought so hard. I’m so proud of the guys.”

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X @PatBernadeau or by email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin Bowl 43: South Fork uses late comeback to snap six-game skid

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