South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Bucks defense shuts down Eagles
Deerfield Beach’s defensive linemen and linebackers spent much of their Friday night in the Stoneman Douglas backfield.
The Bucks had eight sacks and five additional tackles for a loss as they shut down the Eagles in a 29-2 in Parkland.
“It was great when everybody just dominated; everybody’s playing good,” junior linebacker Jayvant Brown said. “It was a good team effort on defense.” Deerfield Beach set the tone early.
After Stoneman Douglas running back
Matt Wilson returned the opening kickoff to the Bucks’ 12-yard line, Deerfield Beach secured its first of three turnovers. Xavier Lucas picked off a pass from Ryan Spallina, ending the Eagles’ threat.
“That shocked us,” Brown said. “That was very important. Had to stop them on the goal line. Our red-zone defense is good.”
Deerfield Beach got on the board first with a 23-yard field goal by Peyton Giersbrook, then added a touchdown on defense when Cortez Julmisl recovered a botched snap in the end zone.
The Bucks defense contained the
Stoneman Douglas offense effectively, and second-string quarterback Hunter Rose struggled to move the ball. The Eagles managed just 64 yards of total offense.
Douglas got into the red zone three times during the game but turned the ball over each time. The Eagles got on the board with a safety in the third quarter.
“After the Dillard game, we definitely challenged everyone up front, offensively and defensively, on how to play better, on how to get better and how to play for each other,” interim head coach David Blackwell said.
On offense, Deerfield Beach added touchdowns on a 42-yard run by Joseph Kennerly and two touchdown passes from Michael Merdinger to Tastean Reddicks.
Senior running back and Iowa commit Jaziun Patterson provided an offensive spark as well, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries.
The win was Deerfield Beach’s second in a row since former coach Jevon Glenn stepped down for personal reasons on Sept. 8.
“Losing Glenn was a really bad loss for us,” Brown said. “But we’re doing it for him now. Each game we’re going to come with the mindset of it’s for Glenn.