'It's been a great journey': University Christian falls in 1M Semifinals as CCC surges

University Christian fell to Clearwater Central Catholic on Friday night 34-29 in the 1M Semifinal. The Christians couldn’t pull off the comeback attempt as UC threw an interception on the final play of regulation.

The Christians used a 15-point surge in the fourth quarter to pull ahead of CC and held them scoreless during the third quarter. But the Marauders were able to stop UC on fourth down with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter to get the ball back.

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They marched down the field to score the go-ahead touchdown to send them into the championship.

With the loss, UC’s season ends at 11-2 and they go out as Region 1-1M champions.

Here are three takeaways from the contest:

University Christian trailed going into halftime after the Marauders blocked a last second field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter. They could have shied away from the moment, but they did the opposite.

Orel Gray started the scoring with a 45-yard touchdown run to give UC the lead. Then, Disirrio Riles caught a Stuckey pass, getting lost in the CC secondary to give them a two-score lead.

Even when the Marauders clawed their way back with a touchdown, the star of UC made his mark again.

Gray scored on a kick return, tracking back to catch the ball before spinning around and darting his way through a hole and leaving the opposing players in the dust.

It wasn’t the final nail that they needed, but it highlighted the electric play and fight that the Christians have displayed all year.

“Hey, they've done that all year,” head coach David Penland III said after the game. “You know, when you think that we are going to get ran out of here, they come back and battle up and they play their hearts out their hearts out every week and they practice like it. I'm just so proud of this team and what they've done this year. Especially the senior class. They left a mark for sure.”

Fourth quarter showing pushes visitors across finish line

The Marauders scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to secure their victory. UC had them on the ropes and seemed like they were primed to defeat the away squad. But CC’s fourth down stop with time draining in the fourth quarter gave them one last shot at emerging victorious.

They got the ball back with a few ticks more than two minutes remaining on the clock and worked their way down the field. They scored the go-ahead touchdown and kept UC from the end zone on the Christians’ final drive.

The final play saw Stuckey target Riles down the field, but the pass sailed into a defender’s awaiting arms. The result was a heartbreaking loss for UC that left players and coaches alike stunned.

After the game, Penland shared sentiments with his team and described the emotions he felt as their season ended.

“Just how proud of them that I am,” he said on what his message was after the game. “This team has come a long way from the beginning of the season. They've earned every win. When you go to playoffs, you're playing up because of the new classification and they did everything they had to do and just came up a little short tonight. They left everything on the field. That’s all we could ask of them.”

Sun sets on special senior class for UC

For the University Christian seniors, the sun has set on their high school careers. A group that has seen the highs and lows of high school football came a few plays away from competing for a state championship.

After going 7-5 last year and bowing out of the first round of the playoffs, this season was a stark contrast for the Christians.

“Keep your head up. The sun is gonna come up tomorrow and we love every one of them,” Penland said he’d tell the senior players. “And like I said they'd left everything on the field and they've left a mark.”

When talking about players who’ve made a mark, Gray comes immediately to mind. He competed for UC since he was an eighth grader and finishes his career as one of the premiere players in the city of Jacksonville.

He was an instant homerun threat and made plays on both sides of the ball for the Christians. He offered a few thoughts on his career at University Christian after the game.

“It's been a great journey,” he said while teary eyed. “I just want to thank University Christian for allowing me to have a great future. A great journey while I was here, since eighth grade planning on varsity. You can never go wrong with playing varsity in eighth grade and having fun with your teammates and trusting your coaches and players. Man, it was it was a great feeling to just have all this family around me. I really left my legacy. I marked what I needed to mark. It was all love.”

The senior class for University Christian closes their careers as winners of 45 games and collectors of special moments that'll live on in lore for years to come.

Clearwater Central Catholic will face Chaminade-Madonna in the 1M State Championship, who beat True North Classical Academy 56-0 on Friday night.

Juston Lewis is a sports reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @JustonLewis_.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: University Christian hosted Clearwater Central Catholic in 1M Semifinal