Merritt Island Christian wins thriller, advances to state semifinals

MERRITT ISLAND — In the playoffs, a series of individual plays could make all the difference of advancing or going home.That was on full display on Nov. 6 for Merritt Island Christian in the SSAA 8-man state playoffs versus reigning state runner-up Bradenton Christian.The top-seeded Cougars fell behind by double-digits early, rallied to take the lead only for Bradenton Christian to have a shot to win it on the final possession.In a game featuring 101 total points, it was the Cougars defense that made the biggest play of the game stopping Bradenton Christian 20 yards short of a game-winning touchdown in a 51-50 win.“I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of this team,” Merritt Island Christian head coach Josh Babin said. “Every single player, whether they’re a starter or a role player, they’re phenomenal. It’s just been an amazing season.”Cougars defense makes final standIn a high-scoring game, Merritt Island Christian’s defense made some timely stops. The Cougars forced three turnovers on downs with two leading to touchdowns and one preserving a lead.“It’s bend, but don’t break. We knew they were going to score. I think the thing that impresses me most about this team, especially (tonight), is nobody gave up,” Babin said. “Nobody hung their heads. Nobody said, ‘Oh we’re down again and it’s over.’ They all fought through it. They rose above everything. They’re a great team, great bunch of kids.”With the Cougars trailing 28-25 in the first half, they forced a four-and-out to get the ball back at their own 40-yard line. Just two plays later, senior Maddux Martinson rushed for a 50-yard touchdown with 4:28 left in the second quarter.Bradenton Christian drove the ball to the Cougars 5-yard line in the final minute of the first half. Merritt Island Christian stopped the Panthers on four consecutive plays, including a tackle for loss by eighth grader Waylon Perkins on 4th-and-goal. That kept the Cougars in the lead at halftime.“We had a long talk at halftime. There was a different look in their eye (tonight),” Babin said. “It wasn’t the we’re not sure what to do. Everybody knew what they needed to do and they did it. It was the most hyped I’ve seen this team.”In the second half, Bradenton Christian was threatening just outside the red zone leading 34-32 in the third quarter. On a 4th-and-2 at the Cougars 22-yard line, junior Mason Van Slyke wrapped up Panthers freshman Cohen Fuller for a loss of 8 yards.Merritt Island Christian answered with a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown run by junior Korbin Kugler that put the Cougars in the lead for good.“There’s so many plays. You can dissect the whole game and if that one play doesn’t happen, it could be a completely different outcome,” Babin said. “I mean our kicker (Brighton Sadler). This is a first-year kicker. No pressure. All the extra points, field goal. Those are difference makers in the game.”MICS battles through adversityIt was a fast start for the Merritt Island Christian scoring two plays into the game, but the team went on and fell behind 22-10. They took the lead only for Bradenton Christian to regain the lead on a pick six.Martinson rebounded from the turnover and guided the Cougars to the comeback win throwing for 214 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns.“It was a dog fight. It was a back-and-forth battle,” Martinson said. “The quarterback was picking us apart, but we were picking them apart in the pass and the run. It was just a fight to the end.”After falling behind 22-10, Martinson threw two touchdowns to senior John Hey for a total of 123 yards. On a 4th-and-inches at the 2-yard line, Martinson reached the end zone on a QB sneak to give the Cougars a 44-34 lead with 4:18 remaining in regulation.“We just have no quit in this team. No one had their head down. Our coaches, all of our players were just telling us to keep our heads up and we just kept on fighting,” Martinson said. “Even after some interceptions and turnovers, we just kept on fighting. Even if we got hurt, the backups still did their job.”Kugler led the rushing attack with 18 carries and one reception for 204 total yards and three touchdowns. The junior scored the final Cougars touchdown on a 20-yard run following a successful stop on a Bradenton Christian onside kick attempt.“(Kugler’s) amazing. He doesn’t stop,” Martinson said. “He gets hurt and he comes back a couple plays later and he just keeps on fighting. He’s played through sickness. He’s hurt. It’s amazing.”One step closer to ultimate goalThe Cougars played their first down-to-the-wire game of the season after winning their first 11 games by an average margin of 28 points. Babin said this experience couldn’t have come at a better time.“I talked to the boys at the end of the season and I said I wished we would have had a close game,” Babin said. “You guys need to know what it is and you need to experience that. It's coming right now and to pull it out with the win, couldn’t have asked for a better scenario than this.”Merritt Island Christian extended its state semifinal appearance streak to four years in a row. The Cougars are seeking to win their first state championship since 2023.“It’s something that our coaches didn’t think we had at the start of the season, but we’ve gone on they had more confidence in us and they saw how the new people started to just have that dog in them,” Martinson said.The Cougars will host the No. 4 seed Sports Leadership & Management Academy on Nov. 13. SLAM defeated the No. 5 seed First Academy (Leesburg) 39-21 in the state quarterfinals.“We’ve got to stay focused, stay locked in. I’m extremely hard on these guys and that is so we can achieve our ultimate goal of winning a state championship. They understand. We had a little discussion that it’s going to be a tough week of practice,” Babin said. “Some guys may have to start playing both ways. We may not have the luxury of a true offense and a true defense. Whatever we need to do win the game next week is what we’re going to do and then if we’re blessed enough to win, we’ll carry that on into the state championship game.”SSAA Atlantic state quarterfinals(1) King’s Academy 37, (4) Satellite 0For the second year in a row, Satellite loses in the state quarterfinals, putting an end to one of its best seasons in school history. The Scorpions finish the year 10-1 and they graduate 20 seniors.SSAA Atlantic consolation state quarterfinals(12) Coral Shores 41, (9) Bayside 28The Bears fall at home to finish the season 6-6 and they graduate 13 seniors. It’s the most wins Bayside has posted in a single season since 2014.This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Merritt Island Christian wins thriller, advances to state semifinals