Shutout ends win streak

Wildcats, led by dominant defense and special teams, get past Coconut Creek in weather-shortened game

DAVIE — Western broke open a scoreless game with two touchdowns in the second quarter and pulled out a 23-0 homecoming victory over visiting Coconut Creek on Friday night.

The game was halted twice due to lightning in the area. The first delay occurred with 9:16 remaining in the game and lasted 37 minutes. The game was called with 3:23 remaining, when lightning hit in the area again.

“Defense and special teams were dominant,” said Western coach Adam Ratkevich. “Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot. We had unnecessary roughness penalties on the 1-yard line, fumbles… we made some bad decisions and bad plays on offense.

“I couldn’t be happier on how my defense played against a good team,” added Ratkevich, whose team turned the ball over three times. “Overall, I think we could have had a much sharper performance.”

Western drove 79 yards in nine plays to take an 8-0 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Junior running back Nelson Walker scampered for an 18-yard touchdown to cap the drive and junior quarterback Collin Hurst found senior Jullian Lewis for the two-point conversion.

After the Wildcats forced a punt, Western senior Tyreik Thorpe returned the kick 80 yards for a score and a 16-0 lead with 5:50 left in the half after Hurst hit Brennen Taranto for the 2-point conversion.

It was the second consecutive stingy win for Western (4-2), who knocked off previously unbeaten Cypress Bay last week 36-3. The Wildcats’ two losses this season came at the hands of Chaminade-Madonna in the season opener and then St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 24. Western had five turnovers against St. Thomas Aquinas but still had two touchdowns in the closing minutes to pull within 31-21.

Coconut Creek (4-2) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end. The Cougars had won three straight games after a 32-14 setback against Stoneman Douglas High School. Until Friday night, the Cougars had outscored the opposition 151-39 this season with the only score since their loss coming in a 27-7 win over Plantation. Coconut Creek had won three games by shutouts this year.

After a 37-minute delay for lightning, Western padded its lead on a 6-yard scoring toss from Hurst to Thorpe with 3:55 left in the contest to extend the lead to 23-0.

Hurst finished the night 23 of 36 for 162 yards and two scores. Walker added 78 yards on 12 carries and one TD. Lewis had six catches for 75 yards.

Coconut Creek senior running back Damian Heller had a gamehigh 84 yards on the ground on eight carries.

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SUN SENTINEL PHOTOS Western quarterback Collin Hurst dives after gaining a first down against the Coconut Creek defense during the second half of their game Friday.

Coconut Creek Cougars running back Brian Skipper tries to squeeze through the Western Wildcats defense during the second half of their game Friday.