Deerfield routs Douglas in district showdown
David Blackwell always felt he would be ready to take over as the coach at Deerfield Beach, but this was a moment for him to finally be put to the test.
On the very first play of Blackwell’s second game as interim coach Friday, Stoneman Douglas ran a kickoff back to the Bucks’ 10-yard line at Cumber Stadium. It “shocked” Deerfield Beach, star linebacker Jayvant Brown said. It also gave Blackwell a chance to see how his Bucks, who had weathered so much in the last few weeks and years, would respond.
Two plays later, Deerfield Beach had the ball. An interception by Xavier Lucas kept the Eagles out of the end zone and started the Bucks’ march to a 29-2 rout at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“All we could do,” Blackwell said, “was get back to the brand of football that we play.”
The red-zone takeaway was only the beginning for Deerfield Beach, which put together about as complete a defensive performance as it could imagine. The Bucks (3-1) piled up eight sacks and held the Eagles (2-1) to just 65 total yards.
Stoneman Douglas didn’t pick up a first down until its final drive of the first half and turned the ball over on all three of its trips into the red zone.
In two games since Jevon Glenn stepped down as coach for personal reasons, Deerfield Beach is outscoring opponents 99-2 with a pair of blowout wins, and the win Friday against their toughest district competition could ultimately give the Bucks a District 13-Class 8A title.
Even after a tumultuous month, Deerfield Beach delivered a complete dismantling of another of Broward County’s best teams.
“[Glenn] told me the same thing we always tell the kids: ‘You’ve got to stay ready,’ ” Blackwell said. “That applies to not only players, but coaches, too.”
While Glenn’s decision to step down Sept. 8 was sudden, it wasn’t altogether stunning. The Bucks had dealt with hardship after hardship for years, and Glenn openly spoke about how difficult it was on him. In 2019, star wide receiver Bryce Gowdy died of suicide and Glenn started to see a therapist.
Last month, three Deerfield Beach players had close relatives die in the span of a week, including multiple deaths from COVID-19. On Sept. 3, Glenn coached his final game and the Bucks, trailing by 21 against Dillard, had to leave at halftime because of a COVID issue.
Glenn stepped down five days later, turning the keys over to Blackwell.
This was always going to be the plan at some point, Blackwell said. Glenn had “groomed” him to eventually be his successor, but it wasn’t supposed to happen so abruptly. Blackwell coached his first game just three days after taking over and Deerfield Beach blew out Blanche Ely.
The Bucks’ trip to Parkland, though, would be the first real test. It was homecoming for the Eagles, and they had a chance to potentially win a district title if they could spring the upset. Deerfield Beach erased any hope quickly.
On Stoneman Douglas’ second drive, the Eagles went three and out, and the Bucks knocked Stoneman Douglas quarterback Ryan Spallina out of the game with a third-down sack. Deerfield Beach took advantage of the short field to kick a field goal, then went back out on defense and forced another three-andout.
“We realized that when they put in the other quarterback he couldn’t take our pressure,” Brown said.
On the first play of the Eagles’ third drive, Stoneman Douglas snapped a ball over quarterback Hunter Rose’s head and Deerfield Beach middle linebacker Cortezz Julmis returned it for a touchdown.
The next drive was another three-and-out. The one after was, too, with Bucks defensive tackles Deshawn Willoughby and Alton Tarber, who’s orally committed to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, combining for three straight sacks. Deerfield Beach went into halftime with 22-0 lead and pushed it to 29-0 on its first drive when wide receiver Tastean Reddicks caught his second touchdown of the game.
Wide receiver Joseph Kennerly, who’s committed to the FCS Youngstown State Penguins, also scored on a 42-yard reverse and star running back Jaziun Patterson, who’s committed to Iowa, ran for 131 yards on 18 carries.
“Everybody knows what transpired down at Dillard. Everybody knows what happened. It was out of our control and out of our hands,” Blackwell said. “After the Dillard game, we definitely challenged everyone up front.”
Chaminade-Madonna 7, A Buford 0: Chaminade-Madonna went up to Georgia and came back to Hollywood with one of South Florida’s biggest wins in years.
The Lions shut out Buford, which is ranked No. 15 by MaxPreps, to end the Wolves’ 16game winning streak.
Running back Davion Gause scored the only touchdown of the game for Chaminade-Madonna and ran for 197 yards on 32 carries.
“This was so much fun,” coach Dameon Jones told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s been fun to come to somebody else’s house and play them. That’s a quality team over there, and I’m just proud of my guys.”
A Cardinal Gibbons 16, Gainesville Buchholz 7: Cardinal Gibbons held off a push from Buchholz in Gainesville to keep its perfect season alive in a meeting between state-championship hopefuls.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 13-0 on a pair of touchdowns by quarterback Dylan Rizk — one passing and one rushing — and hung onto the lead the rest of the way. The Bobcats quickly answered to cut Cardinal Gibbons’ lead to 13-7, but the Chiefs shut them out the rest of the way to pick up a road win.