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Late score secures title for Cougars

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jenn Stryjewski should be called Joe Cool, and not just because she takes snaps in sunglasses.

The Countryside quarterback also runs a mean two-minute drill.

With 1 minute, 25 seconds remaining in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference flag football championship Wednesday, the senior calmly led the Cougars 15 yards to victory, scoring on her own 1-yard keeper with 13 seconds left for a 12-6 win over St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg had possession at its own 15-yard line with two minutes remaining, but a pass from quarterback Jennifer O'Quinn shot up into a head wind, allowing Countryside junior Ashley Law to track it for an interception.

"I saw it and was like, 'Oh my gosh, I've got to get it,"' Law said. "I just jumped up and grabbed it."

A 15-yard personal foul penalty at the end of the play by St. Petersburg allowed Countryside to start from the Green Devils' 15, and a hold by St. Petersburg on the Cougars' first play moved the ball to the 10.

Stryjewski then ran for 2 yards on first down and hit Law over the middle for 4 yards on second down. That moved Countryside to the 4-yard line with 25 seconds left, but a false start by the Cougars pushed them back to the 9.

That was no problem for the first-year quarterback, who hit Amanda Stephens on third-and-goal to get to the 1, then handled the last yard herself.

"I was supposed to pull the defense toward me and throw to the open girl, but the defense didn't come for me, so I went for the run," Stryjewski said.

She reached the left corner of the end zone untouched, and when teammate Julie Artino picked off a Hail Mary on St. Petersburg's final play, Countryside (8-0) had its first title.

The first three quarters were hardly a display of great offense, as St. Petersburg could only put together one good drive and Countryside fizzled several times after moving the ball into Green Devils territory.

The Cougars' other score came off their defense, when Sarah Drexler picked off a St. Petersburg pitch at the Green Devils' 14-yard line and ran it in for a 6-0 first-quarter lead.

St. Petersburg (7-1) answered early in the fourth, completing a 45-yard, eight-play drive with a 14-yard run from Elizabeth Perez.

The game is played on an 80-yard field, with fixed first-down lines at 20-yard intervals. Countryside had four first downs and St. Petersburg two.

"We were just playing conservative, relying on our defense to make plays," Countryside coach Kaylyn Bayly said. "And they did."

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