The Pace High School Spartans started off their football season on a high note as they defeated the Doral Academy Firebirds in a pre-season Kick-Off Classic 27-7.
Pace running back Stefon Francis quickly started it off with a touchdown in the first quarter.
Doral responded with a touchdown to tie the game at halftime. The Spartans kept on fighting by scoring 3 more touchdowns, two of them by Francis and one by Tyrone Douglas.
“The kids were playing with somewhat of a chip on their shoulders because people kept telling them that they weren’t going to win that game and that they were going to come last in the district and they were going be looking up to everyone else,” said coach Joe Zaccheo. “So it was good to see them staying positive and focused.”
Zaccheo commended players like Francis who ran for over 150 yards, fullback Thomas Willis who went for over 80 yards, cornerback Divaad Wilson who stepped up his game on defense and Blake Veargis who did an outstanding job with blocking.
“Everybody on that team contributed that night,” said Zaccheo.
“We finally came together as a team. We never quit, we kept going,” said Francis. “We have all improved as a team, the coaches believed in us, and we were able to perform as we wanted to.”
In the first game of the regular season, the Spartans defeated the Hialeah Miami Lakes High Trojans 34-0 last week.
The Spartans are looking forward to their new season and will be traveling to Curtis Park to face the Booker T Washington Tornadoes, on Friday, September 2 at 7:30 p.m.