South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Patterson powers Bucks to district title
BOCA RATON — Deerfield Beach senior running back Jaziun Patterson carried 13 times for 179 yards and three first-half touchdowns to give the Bucks a 19-0 halftime lead as they cruised to a 40-0 victory over Boca Raton.
“I feel like we are supposed to do this,” said Patterson, an Iowa commit. “It feels good and it gets us ready for state. We know the mission. We just have to finish it.”
The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder scored on runs of 36, 4, and 55 yards to help Deerfield Beach (7-2) win their sixth consecutive district championship. They did not compete in the state series last year due to Covid and wound up finishing runner-up in the Class 8A Tri-County championship.
“The defense is what makes our offense go,” said Deerfield Beach coach David Blackwell, whose team has only allowed one offensive touchdown in its last 28 quarters. “We got another shutout and that’s what our defense does. Our offense did a great job and a 40-point shutout is what we are supposed to do.”
Boca Raton (7-2) was hampered as it played the game without junior quarterback Jacob Cashion, who sat out the game after breaking his left collarbone in the team’s 42-12 win last week over Coral Springs. He was injured in the third quarter with the Bobcats leading 35-0. The loss to Deerfield Beach also snapped a six-game winning streak.
“We knew we were coming into the game with our hands tied behind our back with our quarterback situation,” said Boca Raton coach David Angell. “We knew from a matchup standpoint that we were going to be a little outnumbered. We knew they were going to face some adversity and I’m just really proud of the way these guys fought. This was a really good team we played tonight and they have a really good chance to win the whole thing.”
Deerfield grabbed a 6-0 lead with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter on a 36-yard TD run by Patterson. The score was set up following a short Bobcats’ punt which gave the Bucks possession at the Boca Raton 45. Four plays later, Patterson broke free up in the middle and scored.
The Bucks capitalized on an interception by senior defensive back Stephen Landers and marched 32 yards in three plays capped by Patterson’s second touchdown run, a four-yarder up the middle with 10:43 remaining in the first half.
Patterson extended the margin to 19-0 on a blistering 55-yard TD run with 5:34 remaining in the first half.
Deerfield added three scores in the second half — a 4-yard scoring toss from senior quarterback to Luke Collins to senior Joseph Kennerley, a 21-yard interception return by junior free safety Harlem Howard and a 3-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Michael Merdinger to sophomore wide receiver Stanley Givens.