Abram Castaneda picked off the St. Johns Redskins with 41 seconds left in the game last Friday night to seal Miami’s 15-7 win on Harbison Field and extend their winning streak to three games.

“Our kids had to come out and play a tough game, which they did,” said Miami head coach Brandon Powell. “That was a tough St. Johns team and we had to play a great football game to beat them, and luckily we did.”

The Vandals, playing on rival territory while their own field is under construction, faced a stiff test from the Redskins. The teams were deadlocked at 7 heading into the final quarter of action.

In the fourth, there was no shortage of drama between the two teams.

“It was a wild finish; both teams wanted to win and both played their heart out till the end. Lucky for us, we got the right breaks,” said Powell.

To start the fourth quarter, St. Johns’ Asher Raban grabbed an interception. On the ensuing  possession, Miami’s Nick Curiel came up with an interception but fumbled only for Angel Pena to come up with a second interception and give Miami the possession right back.

In an eight-play series, the Vandals made good on the turnover when they scored on a one-yard punch with 6:57 left in the game. Miami led 13-7.

After a kickoff placed St. Johns deep in their own territory, the Vandal defense came up with another big play. A bad snap by the Redskins led to a safety for Miami. They grabbed a commanding 15-7 lead before St. Johns was forced to punt.

Taking over possession in Vandal territory, Miami milked the clock, waiting until the last possible seconds before enacting their plays. However, penalties forced Miami into a punt with 2:02 left in the ball game.

The Redskins had two cracks at moving downfield in Vandal territory before Castaneda sealed the win with a huge interception on the Vandals’ biggest defensive stop of the season.

“Abram Castaneda has been playing a great middle safety for us this year and he came up big again,” said Powell. “That was his third or fourth interception this year and they have all  been big ones.”

The two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest. St. Johns was the first to score before the half as Raban scored on a one-yard keeper. After the PAT, the Redskins took a 7-0 lead into halftime.

Miami tied the game early in the third quarter after coming up with a fumble recovery by Curiel. Taking over in Redskin territory, quarterback Daniel Gutierrez Jr. connected with Castaneda on his third attempt, picking up 30 yards.

Jaime Pena punched in the touchdown. Curiel tied the game on the PAT with 7:59 left in the third quarter.

Miami has a week off before traveling east to San Carlos for the start of region play against the Braves on Oct. 7. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. After that, the Vandals have their toughest stretch of the season, facing Morenci and Pima back-to-back. Official rankings have yet to be released but among coaches, Morenci and Pima are the top two teams in 2A.

The Vandals matchup against Morenci on Oct 14 will be played at San Carlos High School.