By Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff
LEESBURG — There was a satisfied look on Bayfus McCoy's face as he walked off the field at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium Friday afternoon after scoring an overtime touchdown to help lift Eustis to a 22-21 victory against Leesburg.
McCoy was one of the state's rushing leaders through the middle of the year last season before Leesburg's defense stopped him for minus 9 yards. Friday, although McCoy only gained 56 yards on 17 carries, he got the upper hand, scoring on a 1-yard run in overtime and quieting the crowd of about 1,000.
Eustis quarterback Anthony Allen then faked a handoff to McCoy on the conversion attempt, freezing Leesburg's defense momentarily, before Allen took off on a bootleg around left end and got into the corner of the end zone for the victory.
''When it got into crunch time, I wanted the ball,'' McCoy said. ''It's just a good feeling to come in here and beat a AAAA school. Now, all we have to do is start beating the AA and AAA schools.''
Class AAA Eustis (3-3) elected to play defense first after winning the coin toss for the Kansas tiebreaker. Leesburg (3-4) took the ball on the 10, and three plays later reserve fullback Bobby Dan McGlohorn scored on a 2-yard run. Chris Craine kicked the extra point, putting Leesburg up, 21-14.
After Eustis scored on McCoy's 1-yard run, kicker Justin Smith jogged onto the field to attempt the extra point, but Eustis Coach Kevin McClelland called timeout and opted to go for the conversion.
''I'm going to go for the two (points) anytime I'm in a situation like that,'' McClelland said. ''I don't care what anybody else does, I wanted to go for the win right there.''
Leesburg seemed to be in control most of the game. But the Yellow Jackets lost some key defensive players, such as linebackers Bryant Reed and Ty Lawrence, to injuries in the first half. Then, Leesburg also hurt itself with a couple of mistakes.
Leesburg led, 14-7, in the third quarter after sophomore running back Oran Singleton, who rushing for 121 yards on 20 carries, scored on a 55-yard touchdown run.
After linebacker Jason Sellers intercepted a pass by Allen at Eustis' 40 on the next possession, Leesburg looked like it was going to put the game away. But fullback Joe Fernandez fumbled on the 18, and defensive lineman Jason Cory recovered his second fumble of the game.
Eustis then was presented with an opportunity to tie the score with 7:39 remaining when a high snap sailed through punter Brian Rausch's fingers. Rausch picked up the ball but was tackled at Leesburg's 5 by Rodney Stevenson and Matt Brown.
Three plays later, Allen scored on a 3-yard run to tie the score and force overtime.
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Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff
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