In the regular season finale for high school football's best independent programs, No. 15
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) stunned
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 34-24 to snap the home team's 19-game win streak dating back to the 2019 season. The Ascenders hadn't been beaten on their home turf since 2014.
IMG Academy (9-1) knew coming in it would have its hands full without starting quarterback and Florida State commit
A.J. Duffy, who suffered a finger injury earlier this month. The Ascenders were forced to turn to a freshman under center in 6-foot-4, 205-pound
Ryan Downes.
St. Frances Academy (8-1) seeded some additional doubt early with a 62-yard touchdown run by
Durell Robinson on the second play from scrimmage. The Panthers failed on a 2-point conversion try, making it 6-0 just 22 seconds into the contest.
IMG Academy got on the board with 5:50 remaining in the opening quarter following a 32-yard field goal by
Jayden Fielding to make the score 6-3.
St. Frances Academy punched back immediately with an 80-yard touchdown pass from
John Griffith to
Malik Baker on the first play of the ensuing drive. Again the 2-point try failed and the Panthers led 12-3.
Seeing things slipping away early, IMG's next two possessions were ugly. The Ascenders fumbled away an opportunity to score deep in St. Frances Academy, then turned it over on downs at midfield following a failed fake punt.
Taking advantage of the short field after the fake punt, the Panthers extended their lead to 15 after a 2-yard touchdown run by
Lamar Patterson off a jet sweep. St. Frances missed its third consecutive 2-point attempt.
Lamar Patterson of St. Frances Academy celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first half.
Photo by Mike Janes
Incredibly, things only got worse from there as
Da’shawn Womack blocked an IMG punt and
Marquis Atkins recovered in the end zone. St. Frances was successful on the the 2-point conversion this time around to make it 26-3.
An injury to Downes unexpectedly led to the spark that got IMG back on track. Penn State running back pledge
Kaytron Allen took over as the Wildcat quarterback and on his first snap, ran 39 yards for a touchdown.
A St. Frances turnover deep in its own territory late in the first half gave IMG another glimmer of hope and the Ascenders took advantage. Downes returned to the field to hit Alabama tight end commit
Jaleel Skinner for a juggling, 25-yard touchdown. After a successful 2-point try, the Florida superpower made it 26-18 just seconds before halftime.
Keeping the momentum in its favor, IMG Academy struck first in the second half on a pass from Downes to Allen from eight yards out. St. Frances retained a slim 26-24 lead as the 2-point try failed.
The visitors from Baltimore finally stopped the bleeding and the 21-point surge by IMG late the the third quarter with a short touchdown run.
Michael Van Buren connected with Patterson for the 2-point conversion to make it a 34-24 advantage for the Panthers.
That held up as the final score as IMG Academy fell at home for the first time since Aug. 29, 2014, when it was hammered by St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 35-2.
St. Frances not only notched its second straight win over IMG Academy, but edged ahead 2-1 in the series history. The Panthers owned a previous win over the Ascenders in 2019 while IMG won in 2016.
IMG was denied its fifth unbeaten season in the last seven years.
Neither team participates in playoffs in their respective states though there is a chance one or both could earn an invite to the GEICO High School Bowl Series, which is expected to be played at the end of December.
