The Oak Hall Eagles found themselves tied 22-22 with a little over two minutes left in regulation against Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) in their SSAA playoff game on Friday night.
But senior quarterback Aaron Akins was up to the task, taking Oak Hall 65 yards to the end zone, capping the drive off with a 1-yard TD pass to junior running back BJ Johnson with 7.7 seconds left to lift Oak Hall to a 28-22 win over Christ’s Church Academy (Jacksonville).
“He’s (Aaron Akins) a gamer,” Oak Hall coach RJ Fuhr said. “He shines all the time, but he really rises to the occasion when the chips are down or when things aren’t going right. He sets an example on the field and in the weight room.”
On the final drive, Akins hit Johnson on a couple of big plays, including a 17-yard completion to the 1-yard line. Oak Hall was out of timeouts, but Christ’s Church Academy (8-4) used its last timeout.
Fuhr passed up the field goal attempt for the touchdown, and Akins found Johnson at the goal line for the winning score.
“We were kind of in limbo at the half-yard line,” Fuhr said. “I felt like with 12 seconds left, we could take one more shot. I told Aaron it has to be there, or you have to run out of bounds. I’m glad we did.”
Christ’s Church struck first in the opening quarter on a 23-yard touchdown by sophomore Raylen Butts for a 7-0 lead.
Oak Hall answered on the first play of the second quarter, with Akins throwing an 8-yard touchdown to junior running back Tyler Peera. Akins then ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead.
After a Christ’s Church Academy punt, Oak Hall got right back in the end zone, this time on the first of two touchdown runs by junior running back Darius Medley. The 10-yard TD and two-point conversion by Medley made it 16-7 Oak Hall at halftime.
Christ’s Church Academy got its offense going in the second half. A 38-yard touchdown reception by Palmer Cowart cut the deficit to 16-14 halfway through the third quarter.
Medley extended the Oak Hall lead back to eight at 22-14 on a 60-yard run to the end zone early in the final period. But Christ’s Church Academy scored on a 14-yard TD run and two-point pass to tie the game.
Next up for Oak Hall (7-4) is a trip to The Master’s Academy (Oviedo) in next week’s semifinal contest.
“I’ve never been more proud of a team,” Fuhr said. “They keep fighting and we lost three starters for the season due to injury and it caused a four-game losing streak. But we’ve won three in a row now.”
Friday football scores
11-man 3A Second Round
Oak Hall 28, Christ’s Church Academy (Jacksonville) 22
8-man 1A Quarterfinals
Saint Francis Catholic Academy 54, Lake Mary Prep 48
