Vote now: Is East Lake’s 55-54 win over Steinbrenner the top comeback of the football season in Florida in 2022?

TARPON SPRINGS, FLORIDA- 109 points. 1,113 total yards. 15 touchdowns. A 27-point come-from-behind victory.

That’s just a little into the kind of numbers that came from Monday night’s stunning comeback victory by East Lake over Steinbrenner on Monday night. The Eagles needed every second, every minute of the second half half to accomplish the monumental comeback.

What is really crazy behind the scenes for East Lake is they’re doing it with a senior linebacker-turned-quarterback in Caleb Coburn. Coburn was the team’s leading tackler last season with 87 in 2021.

With senior quarterback Jake Bechtel still working his way back into the lineup from an injury, Coburn has still played some defense (32 tackles, five for loss, 1.5 sacks), but has put up some solid numbers nonetheless filling in.

Coburn on the season is 52-of-86 for 758 yards and nine touchdowns along with 467 on the ground and nine more scores. If you’re doing the counting there, he’s accumulated a staggering 1,225 yards of total combined offense and has had a hand in 18 touchdowns.

Monday’s wild come-from-behind victory was the eye opener for Coburn and the Eagles, who are now 5-1 heading into next Friday’s tilt against Sickles. Down 54-28 in the third period, the Eagles had time working against them and the odds were no better.

Multiple key fumble recoveries by East Lake in the second half bounced in its favor, contributing to fueling the Eagles’ comeback efforts. The final numbers for a few of the players is something straight out of a video game.

Coburn finished with a career-high 306 yards passing, completing 17-of-30 passes, five touchdowns and added 99 on the ground and two more scores. He accounted for seven touchdowns and just over 400 yards of offense and also made eight tackles on defense. Talk about a busy night on the field.

Wide receiver Brock Couch was Coburn’s main go-to-target with eight passes hauled in for 118 yards and four touchdowns. Let’s not forget about Steinbrenner in a losing effort as the Warriors put up some crazy statistics as well.

Steinbrenner quarterback Ty Robinson finished the game completing 22-of-33 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns. Robinson for the season is 60-of-103 for 872 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

Warriors’ wide receiver Demitrius Carter went off, catching 11 passes for 263 yards and and three touchdowns. Though the Warriors out-gained the Eagles 613-500, turnovers ended up plaguing Steinbrenner at the end.

We ask the question, is East Lake’s come-from-behind win over Steinbrenner the top comeback of the high school football season in Florida in 2022?

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.