The Coral Shores Hurricanes’ “thunder and lightning” combo of running backs Lucas Dennis and Chris Cooper accounted for six touchdowns in a home opener victory over True North Classical Academy, 49-43, on Oct. 9 at Barley Memorial Stadium.
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Turnovers led to scoring for both teams in the first quarter, including a Titans fumbled punt return that led to a subsequent 24-yard touchdown run by Cooper, a junior. An 80-yard kickoff return by Dennis, a senior standout, shifted momentum to the Canes’ side going into the half. Cooper and Dennis both tacked on touchdowns in the second quarter to bring the score to within one, 29-28.
Following a running score by the Titans in the third quarter, the Canes answered, with Dennis hitting paydirt to tie the game 36-36. The Canes pushed further ahead going into the fourth quarter, thanks to an interception by senior cornerback Jackson Hilson. That led to a scoring run by Cooper. The Coral Shores offense pushed the lead further with junior fullback Dominick Monteaguado taking it into the endzone.
Coach Alphonso Bryant said while the victory was a team effort, there’s some cleaning up to do penalty-wise.
“We just have to clean up the mental mistakes that almost cost us the ball game,” he said. “Overall, I’m proud of every guy. They laid it all out there.”
As for the “thunder and lightning” combo, Bryant said they complement each other pretty well. “We just have to learn how to run behind our pads a little bit more. I thought we took too many body shots late in the game,” he said. “We just have to focus more on that. It’s just the little things.”
The Canes return home to face Palm Glades Prep Academy on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
