Hayes helps Florida team Maine star grabs 3 TD passes, named offensive MVP

ORLANDO, Fla. – Mel Mitchell III and Chad Hayes made the NFL scouts take notice.

Mitchell intercepted two passes and forced a fumble to set up a touchdown as Team Florida beat Team USA 42-13 on Saturday.

It was Team Florida’s third win in four tries against some of the nation’s top talent.

Team Florida’s offensive MVP was an outsider: Maine tight end Chad Hayes, who caught three touchdown passes. He was a last-minute addition to Florida’s roster, then set a Gridiron Classic record for touchdown receptions.

“My coaches and agent were lobbying for me to play here,” said Hayes, one of nine Team Florida players with no college or high school ties to the state. “I ran with the chance that I got, you can say that.”

Mitchell wanted to show he belonged.

“All I wanted to do was come out here and show the scouts, coaches and general managers that Mel Mitchell deserved this opportunity,” said Mitchell, the first defensive player to earn the Gridiron Classic’s overall MVP honor.

Mitchell, a safety from Western Kentucky, set a record for interceptions in a Gridiron Classic.

Hayes was a first-team All-America pick by the American Football Coaches Association and was named to the second team by The Sports Network, The Associated Press and Dan Hansen’s Weekly Football Gazette.

The 6-foot-6, 252-pounder set UMaine records for a tight end last season with 39 catches good for 510 yards and nine touchdowns, helping the Black Bears post a 9-3 record and win their first-ever NCAA postseason game.

Florida took a 7-3 lead on Hayes’ first TD, as Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow found Hayes for a 10-yard touchdown with 6:40 left in the period. Zow finished 6-of-13 for 66 yards and two scores, and rushed seven time for 41 yards.

Hayes’ second touchdown, an 8-yarder from Georgia Tech’s George Godsey 1:16 before halftime, put Florida ahead for good. Hayes caught the ball at the 2, then pinballed off several USA defenders before falling across the goal line for a 14-10 lead.

Hayes’ final touchdown came in fourth quarter, a 25-yard catch from Godsey that stretched Florida’s lead to 35-13.

Florida put the game away in the third quarter by scoring two touchdowns in fewer than two minutes.

Holding a 14-13 lead, Florida took the opening kickoff and put together a 70-yard touchdown drive that took 7:17 off the clock. Godsey capped the march with his second scoring pass of the game, a 7-yarder to Florida State fullback William McCray.