Late touchdown lifts Foundation Academy past Northside Christian -- Observer Preps

WINTER GARDEN When it came down to it, one of the most memorable plays of Austin Mathis' high-school football career came down to following his block.

"We executed — especially our right tackle, Connor Carson," Mathis said, recounted his 10-yard touchdown run with two minutes to play to give Foundation Academy a 24-20 advantage over visiting Northside Christian. "He's the one who gave the key block for me to get in (end zone) and get this win for the team. It's a team-effort."

That score, followed by an interception by Luke Birk, sealed a huge 24-20 win for the Lions (1-2) at Walker Field in Winter Garden. The game had originally been scheduled for Sept. 15, but was rescheduled due to Hurricane Irma. It is the first win for Foundation since the two programs began playing an annual game in 2015.

"We've had wars with them (Northside)," Lions head coach Brad Lord said. "I like playing (Coach) Mike (Alstott's team) — I'm a guy who's going to play games for us to get better. ... We played together tonight."

Foundation had led for most of the game before a fourth-quarter touchdown put the visiting Mustangs ahead, 20-17. The Lions got the ball back with roughly three minutes to play and sophomore quarterback Henry Austad led his team right down the field, with the deciding run by Mathis was set up by a big gain by Lance Axson.

Mathis had two touchdowns on the night and Birk had two interceptions. Axson rushed for 91 yards and scored the Lions' first touchdown, while Austad threw for 124 yards and one touchdown.

On defense, Michael Lemieux-bott had 12 tackles and Eddie Loos had 11, while Warren Sapp II blocked two punts.

After two weeks off because of Hurricane Irma, Mathis said he and his teammates played with a different edge Thursday night that allowed them score a big win.

"Heart," Mathis said. "We showed a lot of heart out there."