Bears Best Hornets at the Battle of Hexam

BROOKSVILLE — Fittingly, The Battle of Hexam lived up to its hype. And then some.

A late touchdown and a last-minute defensive stand, provided Central with a dramatic 15-14 victory against neighborhood rival Weeki Wachee on Friday night at The Bears Den. The win means the Battle of Hexam (named for a road that runs between the two schools) Trophy will reside at Central for a year.

“This win was huge for our school and our program,” Central coach Jim Pusateri said, moments after his players doused him with a bucket of ice water. “We believed in ourselves — finally.”

And none of the Bears believed in himself more than junior quarterback Nick Demos. Despite a rough first three quarters, Demos is the one who made the game’s biggest play. Faced with an all-or-nothing situation, Demos threw the most important pass of his career — and, quite possibly, Central’s season.

Faced with a fourth down at Weeki Wachee’s 10-yard line and 2:52 left in the game, Demos threw a strike to a wide-open Jacorry Graham for a touchdown that put Central ahead for the first time all night.

“It was in my head all game,” Demos said. “I played badly earlier, and I wanted to make up for it. I kept believing we could win.”

Two minutes before the touchdown, Demos appeared to put the Bears (2-2) ahead when threw to sophomore Josiah Ojeda, who carried a herd of Weeki Wachee defenders into the end zone. One referee signaled a touchdown, but the officials huddled and called the play back after deciding Central players had illegally pushed Ojeda into the end zone.

But Demos and the Bears didn’t let that call decide the game. They followed it with Demos’ pass to Graham, which left no room for questions.

Central’s defense took care of things from there. Led by junior quarterback Richard Hanshaw, Weeki Wachee drove deep into Central territory in the game’s final minute. With a fourth-and-17 from the Central 21-yard line, Hanshaw faced heavy pressure and threw and incomplete pass on the game’s final play.

That prompted a huge celebration by the Bears, who ran over to the stands to join their fans.

“This meant everything,” Demos said. “It means a lot to our school and to our team.”

Demos’ game-winning pass wasn’t the only highlight of the fourth quarter for the Bears. Trailing 14-2 entering the quarter, the Bears suddenly looked much sharper than they had all game. Central scored its first touchdown when Talyn Poole caught a bubble pass from Demos and, then, threw deep for an 83-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Cortes and the Bears converted the extra point to cut the lead to 14-9.

That play proved to be a turning point for a game that Weeki Wachee (2-2) controlled early, but never could put it away. The Hornets took an early 8-0 lead when Alex Wilson scored on a 2-yard run and ran for the two-point conversion. Although Central cut the lead to 8-2 by recording a safety on a botched Weeki Wachee punt return near the end of the first quarter, the Hornets carried a 14-2 lead into halftime after Hanshaw found Brock Rosario with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 3:46 left in the first half.

Weeki Wachee seemed to be on the verge of putting the game away, but penalties and the Central defense repeatedly stalled drives. That left the door open for Central to rally and the Bears might have grown up along the way.

“We’re a young team with a lot of sophomores and juniors,” Pusateri said. “We need to start believing in ourselves, and now that we have, I think we can compete for a district title.”