Lake Brantley Staves off Oviedo, 47-37, in Wild Seminole County Showdown

CJ Dewberry scores four touchdowns, Jackson Stecher accounts for three TDs to keep Patriots unbeaten (3-0)

Lake Brantley's CJ Dewberry (4) runs in for one of his three rushing touchdowns against Oviedo, lifting the Patriots to a 47-37 victory on Friday night. Dewberry also scored on an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD, / Acovan Schild

A year ago, Oviedo ran all over Lake Brantley, 55-0. This year’s high school football game proved to be a whole lot different.

Lake Brantley Wins a Battle of High-Powered Offenses

In a Seminole County showdown featuring two of Central Florida’s best offenses, Lake Brantley got four touchdowns from CJ Dewberry and two TD runs and a TD pass from sophomore quarterback Jackson Stecher to push the unbeaten Patriots past the Lions, 47-37, on Friday night.

Oviedo Made Second Half Comeback Bid

The game was a tale of two halves as Lake Brantley (3-0) used a balanced, clock-consuming offensive attack to build a 27-7 halftime lead. But the Lions (1-2) roared back in the second half, pulling to within three points, 33-30, with 10 seconds in the third quarter.

Dewberry's Kick Return for a TD Restores Order for Lake Brantley

Just when it seemed Oviedo had grabbed the momentum, Dewberry took the ensuing kickoff and raced 88 yards for a TD on the final play of the third quarter to give Lake Brantley a 40-30 lead. The schools combined for five touchdowns in the third quarter.

"Great team win," said Dewberry. "I consider myself a leader on this team and as long as I'm fighting, I know they got my back. O-line did their job, which makes everything run smooth."

Lake Brantley and Oviedo then exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring. It was easily the wildest Week 3 game in Central Florida.

“We played good overall football,” said Stecher, who transferred to Lake Brantley this year after leading The Master’s Academy (Oviedo) to back-to-back SSAA state titles. “We had some mistakes, offensively, with penalties and miscues.

“But, anytime, we put up 47 points, it’s a win!” Stecher said. “We need to get back into the lab and fix those mistakes.”

Sebastian Galeano Passes for Three Touchdowns

Stecher’s positional opponent, Sebastian Galeano, also played well. He passed for three touchdowns – all for big plays.

With Oviedo trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, Galeano threw a nifty short pass to Carmari Solomon, who then split the defense in the middle of the field and raced 58 yards to paydirt.

Galeano then hit Emiliano Galarza for a 38-yard catch-and-run for a TD with 10:08 left in the third quarter to cut Lake Brantley’s lead to 27-14.

After Stecher scored on a 3-yard quarterback draw to put Lake Brantley up, 33-14, Galeano took a snap and tossed a lateral to Jordan Donahoo, who then threw a perfect pass to DaShon Febres to complete a 58-yard trick play for a TD.

Oviedo then narrowed its deficit to three, 33-30, when Brock Joyce took a direct snap and bulled in from 3 yards out and Johnnie Cobbs ran for the 2-point conversion.

“I think the team kept fighting, which is great,” Galeano said. “I’m upset about the loss. There were a few things that could have gone our way and maybe the outcome would be different.

“Overall, a hard-fought battle and we came up short,” Galeano said. “We just need to keep grinding and improving.”

Lake Brantley hosts Flagler Palm Coast (1-2) on Friday, Sept. 12, while Oviedo travels to Lyman (0-3).

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Jeff Gardenour can be reached via email at jgardenour1962@gmail.com or X @JMarkG1962