TAMPA —Ocala Trinity Catholic's first play from scrimmage was a microcosm of how the night would go for Tampa Catholic on Friday.
Bend, don't break, and take away.
Bentlee Sanders, a USF commit, stripped the ball from a Trinity Catholic receiver who appeared ready to score at the end of a 70-yard pass play, teammate Messiah Turner recovered it, and quarterback Austin Sessums promptly led a 92-yard scoring drive. That set the tone for the Crusaders, who led all the way in a 25-10 victory in a Class 3A region semifinal.
TC (6-3) will play Berkeley Prep next week for its second consecutive state semifinal berth. The Crusaders also defeated Trinity Catholic (4-5) 35-6 last year in the region final.
"That was big," TC coach Mike Gregory said of Sanders' play.
Sanders' hustle paid off after TC punted on the game's opening series. Trinity Catholic quarterback Ryan Miller connected with Jakob Genovese on a short pass on the Celtics' first play, and Genovese sped away for 70 yards. But as he was approaching the end zone, Sanders stripped the ball and Turner recovered at the 8. Seven plays later, Sessums gave TC the lead for good with a 16-yard pass to Cory Leppert.
Sessums (15 of 22, 211 yards, one interception) then sparked a 12-point second quarter with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Toledo commit Darius Corbett (seven catches for 143 yards), and scored on an 8-yard run with 34 seconds remaining before halftime. Running back Devan Barrett, an Auburn commit, rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries, but it was the Crusaders defense that stood out.
TC forced three turnovers, and held Trinity Catholic to 17 yards on 28 plays in the second half. Sophomore safety Chris Murray came up with the Crusaders' only turnover of the second half by intercepting King Redd's lone pass of the game to stop a Celtics drive in TC territory with 81/2 minutes remaining, and the Crusaders clinging to an 18-10 lead.
Murray's pick set up a 52-yard, 10-play scoring drive, culminated by Johnnie Brown's 4-yard run with 4:15 left. The Crusaders converted two third-down tries on the drive after going 0-for-6 on third down.
"I just have an instinct for the ball, so I went up and got it," Murray said of his interception. "I'm just trying to help the team win."
Corey King also had an interception for TC.