Rocco Mann throws the ball deep against Okeechobee. [Photo by Richard Marion/Lake Okeechobee News]

CLEWISTON- Clewiston Tiger head coach Pablo Sanchez secured his first win on Sept. 4 when the Tigers defeated the Okeechobee Brahmans at Cane Field.

Sanchez was selected as the new head coach of the Clewiston High School football program in December of last year. And following Clewiston’s 14-8 win over Okeechobee, he received a surprise Gatorade shower to celebrate the victory.

The Brahmans threatened to get on the board first in the first quarter. After the Okeechobee defense forced a fumble, the Brahman offense marched down the field to the Clewiston redzone. But a dropped pass in the endzone on fourth down kept the game tied 0-0.

John Immerfall runs the ball against Clewiston. [Photo by Richard Marion/Lake Okeechobee News]

The Clewiston offense responded with a nice drive of their own and capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Rocco Mann to MJ Pope to go up 7-0 before halftime.

In the third quarter, the Brahman defense made a great play to give their team a spark after the end of the first half. Armani Jenkins intercepted a pass from Mann and returned it for a touchdown. Okeechobee went for two following the score and converted it to go up 8-7 on Clewiston.

But near the end of the third quarter, the Tigers came roaring back with another touchdown pass from Mann to Pope to retake the lead 14-8.

The Tiger defense did well in the fourth quarter, limiting a scrappy Okeechobee offense and keeping them out of the endzone. Okeechobee was missing two of their running backs due to injury, Ashton Mobley and Elijah Gordon, but John Immerfall stepped up and ran hard against the Tiger defense.

The win makes Clewiston 1-3 on the season, while Okeechobee drops to 2-2.

[Photo by Richard Marion/Lake Okeechobee News]