Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes blow past Lakes in FYFL playoff
The Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes 12-Under Division squad could have asked for a better start to their playoff experience in the Florida Youth Football League.
The Hurricanes swept to a dominant 50-0 victory over the Lauderdale Lakes Vikings at the Lauderhill Sports Complex.
Fort Lauderdale, which ran its unbeaten streak to 10, made an emphatic statement right at the outset when the ‘Canes defense forced a Vikings turnover on the opening drive and then proceeded to march down the field capped by quarterback Keyone Jenkins’ one-yard touchdown plunge.
On the next possession, Hurricanes running back Dashawn McEachern bolted into the end zone from 10 yards out, and that was followed by Torrence Miller’s 45-yard touchdown romp. The impressive offensive production built the first-quarter lead to 22-0.
The effort on the other side of the line of scrimmage was anchored by defensive tackles Daniel Smith-Wilson and Kamari Federick, who continually pressured the Vikings quarterback and running backs. The linebacking corps shut off what little daylight the Vikings could find.
Fort Lauderdale’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders, with Jenkins a dual threat in the air and on the ground. Versatile player Marcus Williams II was on the receiving end of a couple of big yardage catches, and his 20-yard touchdown reception made it 30-0 at halftime.
The second half began with a running clock due to the one-sided score. Jenkins added a 10-yard scoring scamper and Jemari Sands then provided a 35-yard burst to paydirt. Wide-receiver Makai Sheffield closed out the scoring as he hauled in a 25-yard pass from Jenkins and raced across the goal line.
Hurricanes Coach Wayne Austin Lewis had nothing but praise for his depth-laden team of 34 players.
“I’m proud of my guys who came into the summer and put in the necessary work to be successful in this league,” Lewis said. “We definitely have a lot of depth and speed.”
With an abundance of talent, the Hurricanes breezed through the regular season and that momentum carried over into the first round.
“We are deep with our wide receivers, but we are deeper in our backfield,” Lewis said. “The strongest point of our team is our offensive and defensive line. We will be facing a big physical team like ourselves, but are looking to come out on top. Two more wins to get to the Super Bowl.”
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