Deerfield Beach rallies to beat Western in tri-county

The Deerfield Beach Bucks watched as their 20-point lead over Western disappeared in the final minutes on Friday.

And then they put together one final drive to avoid a letdown.

With 1:04 left on the clock, quarterback Marquis Pierre found an open Joseph Kennerly on a crossing route for the go-ahead, 43-yard touchdown and the Bucks recovered a Western fumble on the ensuing kickoff to beat the Wildcats 34-27 in the Class 8A Gold Bracket semifinals of the South Florida Tri-County tournament. Pierre threw four touchdown passes in the win.

“We made it harder than what it was,” Deerfield Beach coach Javon Glenn said. “We’ve got a young team. Some of the guys didn’t understand that you’ve got to keep playing. Western’s a good team. ... I knew those guys weren’t going to lay down, but I knew my team wasn’t going to lay down as well.”

Deerfield Beach (4-0), the No. 3 seed, advances to next weekend’s championship game against top-seed and 2019 Class 8A FHSAA state champion Columbus, which won its first two games of the tournament via forfeits.

But Glenn’s Bucks made the game too close for comfort after essentially dominating the game until the final 10 minutes.

The game was tied 6-6 after the first quarter, with Western scoring on a pair of field goals and Deerfield Beach a 5-yard touchdown pass from Pierre to Jayvant Brown with four seconds left in the opening period.

Western’s next five drives: Three interceptions from quarterback Colin Hurst (two by Bucks defensive back Phillip O’Brien Jr., the second of which was returned for a touchdown), a turnover on downs and a punt.

Deerfield Beach, meanwhile, ran the score up to 26-6 on a 14-yard Pierre touchdown pass to Fred Eaford in the second quarter, O’Brien’s pick-six in the third quarter and an 8-yard Pierre touchdown pass to Kennerly with 8:59 left on the clock.

Western seemed to be done for.

And then Hurst drove the Wildcats 73 yards down the field, capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to Julian Lewis and had a successful twopoint conversion. Deerfield Beach’s lead is cut to 26-14 with 7:36 left.

And then the Wildcats recovered a fumble at the Deerfield Beach 35-yard line. Hurst scored on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line five plays later. Deerfield Beach’s lead is cut to 26-21. 3:41 left on the clock.

And then Deerfield Beach went three-and-out to give Western the ball back with a little over three minutes left. A 61-yard catch-and-run from Hurst to Omar Simpson set up Hurst’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Lewis. Western now leads 27-26 with 2:49 on the clock.

The lead was short-lived, with Deerfield marching 80 yards in 95 seconds to secure the win.

The Bucks now advance to the championship against a familiar foe. Deerfield Beach and Columbus had met in the Class 8A state semifinals each of the past two years. Columbus won both times, 49-21 in 2018 and 28-21 in 2019.

Now, the two will meet again, this time with the South Florida championship on the line.

MORE TRI-COUNTY TOURNAMENT RESULTS

● Class 8A gold bracket semifinals: No. 1 seed Columbus beats No. 5 Monarch via forfeit (COVID-19 cancellation).

● Class 7A gold bracket semifinals: No. 1 seed Delray Beach Atlantic 46, No. 4 seed Miramar 21; No. 2 seed Plantation 41, No. 3 seed West Palm Beach Dwyer 27.

● Class 6A-1A gold bracket semifinals: No. 4 seed North Miami Beach 34, No. 1 seed Killian 16; No. 2 seed Fort Lauderdale Dillard 33, No. 3 seed Belle Glade Glades Central 6.

● Class 8A silver bracket semifinals: No. 1 seed Palm Beach Gardens 28, No. 5 seed Miami High 14; No. 2 seed Boca Raton 24, No. 3 seed Coral Gables 0.

● Class 7A silver bracket semifinals: No. 5 seed Fort Lauderdale 26, No. 1 seed Blanche Ely 10; No. 3 seed South Broward

35, No. 2 seed Everglades 0.

● Class 6A silver bracket semifinals: No. 2 seed Coconut Creek 34, No. 3 seed Miami Springs 20.

TRI-COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS

● Class 8A gold bracket: No. 1 Columbus vs. No. 3 Deerfield Beach

● Class 7A gold bracket: No. 1 Atlantic vs. No. 2 Plantation

● Class 6A-1A gold bracket: No. 2 Dillard vs. No. 4 North Miami Beach

● Class 8A silver bracket: No. 1 Palm Beach Gardens vs. No. 2 Boca Raton

● Class 7A silver bracket: No. 3 South Broward vs. No. 5 Fort Lauderdale

● Class 6A-1A silver bracket: No. 2 Coconut Creek vs. No. 4. Miami Norland/No. 1 Hallandale winner.

REGULAR-SEASON FOOTBALL

St. Brendan (8-1) 43, Mater Academy 8: Damari Charlton 11 for 13 for 302 yards 4 TDs, 2 carries 14 yards 1 TD; Richard Dandridge 5 receptions for 208 yards, 3 TDs; Christian Lowry 7 carries 138 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 reception TD for 55 yards, 8 tackles, 2 pass defended; Anthony Gray 6 tackles, 2 sacks; Eric Rangel 8 tackles; Terrell Franklin 9 tackles.

BOYS’ SOCCER

● Columbus 7, Southwest 0: Goals : Giovanni Baptista (3), Ignacio Voigt (2), Tyler Serrano (1), Dominik Iglesias (1). Assist: Rafael Zanolini, Daniel Gomez, Giovanni Baptista. Francisco Mederos shutout.

● Miami Beach (3-0-1) 1, Palmetto 0: Giovanni Sanna-Lenzi (MB) 1 goal, Yans Alarcon, Ethan Zaldivar Shutout.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

● Palmer Trinity 8, Divine Savior 0: Goals: Lila Algarin 4, Natalie Bellande 1, Daniela Carbajales-Vieta 1, Jessica Leathe 2. Assists: Carbajales-Vieta 1, Jessica Leathe 2, Mackenzie Metka 1.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

● Krop (2-0) 62, North Miami 40: Krop: Lindsey Weingard 24 points, 7 assists and 3 steals; Lauryn Hornstein 14 pts; Emmy Mills points, 20 rebounds. NM: Carla Jean 13 points.

● Palmer Trinity (6-4) 58, Calvary Christian 40: PTS: Leon 15, Montes 17, Kaplan 6, Lindsay 6, Deleon 12, Ruiz 2. Halftime: PTS 25, Calvary 20. Threepointers: Leon 2, Montes 2, Kaplan 2, Deleon 2. Rebounds: Montes 10 steals: Montes 5. AS: Montes 6 Blk: Montes 3

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

● North Miami 64, American 51: Joel Mora 13 points, 10 rebounds; Lennox Scholl 10 points; 10 rebounds.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

● Mourning d. Sunset (25-20, 25-14, 21-25, 25-22): Silvia Fernandez 19 digs, 4 aces; Mila Cvetkovski 8 kills, 4 blocks; Jamiese Williams 8 kills.

● Hialeah Gardens d. Coral Reef (25-4, 25-10, 25-12): Hialeah Gardens advances to Tri-County tournament’s quarterfinals. Cynthia Lopez 14 kills, 5 aces, 2 blocks; Sabrina Cabrera 15 Kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks; Norianne Agila 45 assists, 2 aces.

● Southwest d. Park Vista (25-23, 28-26, 25-20): Layla Cortez 14 kills, 2 aces; Aimee Lopez 11 kills; Samantha Vigo 6 kills, 2 blocks; Gina Chickillo 32 assists, 2 aces.