Tenoroc, 24, Mulberry 21

Sat. November 05, 2011 at 12:16 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff

By MIKE FERGUSON
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

MULBERRY | Bryan Useche's 20-yard-field goal on an untimed down lifted Tenoroc to a 24-21 victory over Mulberry on Friday and capped what was a bizarre, controversial finish.
With 11 seconds to play and Tenoroc at Mulberry's 30-yard-line, Travis Tucker's pass to Brandon Moore was batted down, but the Panthers were called for pass interference. In addition to the interference call, Mulberry was assessed with an unsportsmanlike penalty which moved the ball half the distance to the goal.
With five seconds to play and the ball at the seven-yard line, Useche came onto the field to attempt a 25 yard field goal. Useche's kick sailed wide right, but a roughing the kicker call gave Tenoroc one untimed down and Useche a second chance.
Mulberry's Kendrick Mapp scored all three Panther touchdowns on the night including runs of 62 and 79 yards in the first half. Tucker threw two first half touchdown passes to Darius Frasier as the score was knotted 14-14 at the half.
Tenoroc took its first lead on the night on a Ladaniel Brinson touchdown rush in the third quarter, but Mapp's third touchdown shortly after, tied the game at 21. Mapp finished with 170 yards rushing on the night on just nine carries. The Titans rushed for 204 yards. Frasier led the team with 122 yards.
With the victory, Tenoroc improves to 4-5 and collects its first district win.
The heartbreaking loss for Mulberry drops the Panthers to 1-8 on the season. "It's just a heartbreaker," sighed Mulberry head coach Raleigh Jackson. "The kids played so hard and for it to come down to the end like that, it's just unfortunate."
Tenoroc (4-5, 1-2) will play host to Fort Meade while Mulberry (1-8, 0-3) plays at home against Haines City.