Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School football team picked up its first home win in the brief history of The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium on Friday night.

And the Buffalo kept their slim playoff hopes alive by doing it.

A heavy dose of complementary football saw Maleek Williams rush 28 times for a career-high 142 yards and two touchdowns, while the Buffalo defense outworked a straight-ahead Mount Dora offense throughout a 17-8 victory in Class 2S-District 10 play in Middleton.

After surrendering a first-quarter touchdown, VHS (2-5 overall, 1-1 district) rattled off 17 unanswered points to ultimately pull into second place in the district, now needing a Mount Dora (5-2, 1-1) victory over Class 2S-District 10 leader Eustis on Oct. 27 to force a three-way tie atop the standings.

"Our kids have some real belief now, because who knows how this district thing could go," said VHS head coach Richard Pettus. "I'm just so proud of our coaches and players for a total team win. They've worked so hard for this. To get the first win at The Range in Middleton — and it comes on Friday the 13th — how about that?" 

The Hurricanes got on the board late in the first quarter, as the visitors took advantage of a Williams fumble in VHS territory. Just four plays later on fourth down, Mount Dora quarterback Jake Sepe flicked a screen pass to Tanner Warring, who sprinted ahead 33 yards into the end zone for an 8-0 lead.

A fourth-down stop by the Buffalo defense set up the first VHS varsity touchdown at the new stadium, as Williams burst through the left side of the line for a 15-yard touchdown run with 5:00 to play in the second quarter. Facing a 3rd-and-2, Williams took a handoff and cut through a hole, before bouncing the play toward the near sideline and stiff-arming a defender en route to the end zone.

"I told my teammates that I was sorry that I fumbled on that first drive, and I knew I had to get them back," Williams said. "I knew I had to get back out there and dominate."

On the ensuing Mount Dora possession, VHS linebacker Connor Cook stepped in front of an errant Sepe throw, setting up the Buffalo offense with its first chance to hold a lead in its new on-campus stadium.

The turnover led to a methodical 10-play drive, which resulted in a 27-yard field goal by Bradee Powell as time expired in the first half for a 10-8 Buffalo lead at the break.

"Our kids played their hearts out in that first half," Pettus said. "We definitely played with a lot more confidence. But in the second half, we had to tell ourselves it was a 0-0 game and play that way, too."

The two teams traded body blows in a physical matchup that was mostly fought in the trenches throughout the third quarter, before the Buffalo offense — a victim of two home shutouts this season — sealed the game with a touchdown late.

VHS marched 53 yards over nine plays and chewed up nearly five minutes of clock, before capping the drive with a 4-yard scoring plunge by Williams with 5:47 left to extend the lead to 17-8.

A long-awaited home celebration ensued just over a minute later, as Deshawn Bellamy intercepted Sepe in a hurried last-gasp effort by Mount Dora, with the Buffalo offense juicing the remaining four-plus minutes on the clock via the ground game.

"Our team is finally able to believe a little bit now," said VHS senior Cliff Bridges, who finished with three receptions for 63 yards. "We came into this 1-5 and feeling like we weren't able to do much of anything. But now, there's a little bit of belief in who we are and what we can do."

The Buffalo were 9-of-16 on third downs, while limiting Mount Dora to just 2-of-8 on its third-down tries. The Hurricanes, who averaged 25.1 points and 114.6 rushing yards per game entering the matchup, were held to 68 yards on the ground and their second-lowest point total this season.

VHS quarterback Patrick Harding finished 11-of-23 passing for 134 yards and an interception, while Jonathan Harding hauled in a team-high eight receptions for 59 yards.

The Villages will now turn its attention toward an in-county rival next Friday night, when they host the Wildwood Wildcats at 7 p.m. from The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium.

"It hasn't been easy and I know our kids have felt embarrassed at times, but the locker room has remained so positive," Pettus said. "I sleep good at night knowing those type of kids come out here and work hard for us every single day, and I know it's going to be a happy locker room in there tonight."


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.


GAME SUMMARY
The Villages 17, Mount Dora 8
First Quarter
MD: Tanner Warring 33 pass from Jake Sepe (Afrifa Amoah-Mesah pass from Warring), 1:07
Second Quarter
VHS: Maleek Williams 15 run (Bradee Powell kick), 5:00
VHS: Powell 27 kick, :00
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
VHS: Williams 4 run (Powell kick), 5:47