DELRAY BEACH — King’s Academy freshman Fletcher Hodges had a go-ahead 7-yard touchdown run, junior Levi Champion recorded a blocked punt that resulted in a safety, added a 1-yard score and registered a game-sealing interception as the visiting Lions rallied in the second half for a 15-14 victory against previously unbeaten American Heritage-Delray on Friday night.
King’s Academy (1-2) trailed 6-2 at halftime and received a spark from Hodges as he exploded for a 68-yard gain to the Stallions 1-yard line early in the third quarter. Champion scored on the next play with the 1-yard touchdown run to make it 9-6.
Hodges had replaced starting quarterback DJ Beneby on the opening possession of the third quarter as the Lions featured him on designed runs throughout the second half.
“Get the ball in a good athlete’s hand and see what happens,” King’s Academy coach Dan Burack said. “Sometimes you got to just switch it up and change the pace. We kind of knew they hadn’t seen it on the film. We knew we had a package for him. We needed it tonight and it was good to see. [Fletcher] is another hard-working kid. It’s good to see him succeed tonight.”
American Heritage-Delray (4-1) responded as sophomore running back Dennis Anderson rushed for a 3-yard score. Sophomore quarterback Marcus Stracke fired a two-point conversion pass to senior Miles Rose to give the Stallions a 14-9 advantage with 1:00 left in the third quarter.
King’s Academy quickly responded as junior Roman Driggers returned the ensuing kickoff to the Stallions 7-yard line. Hodges had a 7-yard score to give the Lions a 15-14 lead with five seconds left in the third quarter.
“It felt great,” Hodges said. “First varsity win and it’s awesome. It’s a great brotherhood. It’s a great environment to be in. It’s great to be with my brothers and playing football every week.”
American Heritage-Delray had a scoring chance in the fourth quarter. They had converted on fourth-and-5 at the Lions 25-yard line, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. The Stallions had an incomplete pass to the end zone on fourth-and-15 at the 35.
“I think we’re a really good defensive team,” Burack said. “We’re struggling a little bit on offense. We’re a blue-collar team. I am a defensive guy. I don’t mind the tight games. If we have to put it on our defense, I feel more than comfortable.”
Champion sealed the victory with an interception at the Stallions 38 with 1:44 remaining.
“Our team came out here and we really had a message to give out to the county,” Champion said. “We just came in here and we battled, and we fought and came out with a great win.”
Champion, who leads the team in tackles on defense, displayed his versatility and made an impact in all facets of the game.
[Levi] is different,” Burack said. “He is a playmaker. His work ethic, his attention to detail, he just leads by example. He is just a special individual.”
American Heritage-Delray senior Peyton Surtain recorded an interception at the Stallions 20 in the first quarter.
King’s Academy jumped out to a 2-0 lead later in the first as Champion stepped up with a blocked punt, and the ball went out of the end zone for a safety. Champion nearly made the recovery, but he was ruled out-of-bounds prior to having control of the ball on his diving attempt to retrieve it.
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Stracke connected with sophomore wide receiver Johnathan Cesar for a 43-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Stallions a 6-2 advantage.
American Heritage-Delray had outscored their opponents 201-30 through their first four games.
“We had some miscues,” American Heritage-Delray coach Jonathan King said. “We had a punt blocked and we blew an assignment on a kickoff after we scored. Our defense kept us in this game all the way until the end. Our quarterback is a 10th grader, and he is growing. It’s a learning curve for the entire offense. We’re going to get better. This is just something we learn from and build on.”
