Atlantic tops rival to capture district title

BOCA RATON — There was still 46 seconds left in the game, but Atlantic didn’t plan on waiting that long to celebrate its district championship-clinching win over rival Boca Raton.

On 4th-and-goal, Eagles quarterback Antoine Williams connected with Cadarius Gaskin for a fiveyard touchdown strike to extend the lead to 26-7, setting off a massive in-game celebration rarely seen in high school football.

The entire team stormed the South end zone from the sideline, mobbing Gaskin as players jumped, yelled and did back flips in an explosion of jubilation. The officials threw nearly every flag they had on them, but it didn’t matter to Atlantic.

Forty six seconds later, the Eagles (7-1, 6-0) put the finishing touches on victory, topping the Bobcats 26-7 to win their second District 10-8A title in three years.

“I told the kids — they’ve been working their butts off , facing a lot of adversity all year — to just have fun,” said Atlantic coach TJ Jackson of the team’s end zone celebration. “I let them have fun, because they’ve been working their butt off, so I wanted to reward them.”

After the game, the Eagles celebrated as they waved around a Boca Raton helmet mounted on a stick.

Atlantic torched Boca Raton (5-4, 4-2) through the air as Williams finished 10-14 with 175 yards and four touchdown passes on the night. University of Florida wide receiver commit Corey Gammage was Williams’ primary target on the evening, hauling in five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

“Boca’s just no challenge for us,” said Atlantic wide receiver Corey Gammage. “It’s too easy.”

“I tell my coach, ‘DB can’t guard me. So they put the ball in my hands.”

Tempers flared between the two rivals before the opening whistle was even blown. After Atlantic and Boca Raton came on the field right before kickoff, both teams stormed to midfield and started jawing at each other as coaches and referees had to separate the players and direct them to their respective sidelines.

The opening half was marred by penalties and sloppy play on both sides as neither team could generate much offense amidst the relentless barrage of flags.

Atlantic struck first on the night behind the Williams-to-Gammage connection. The senior quarterback hit Gammage for three pass completions on the drive, including a 22-yard touchdown strike to give the Eagles a 7-0 midway through the second quarter.

The Eagles continued to pick apart the Bobcats through the air as Williams connected with Aydin Henningham for a ten-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 13-0.

Boca Raton made it a one-possession game to start the fourth quarter after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ajion Benefield to Willie Thurman, but the Eagles had an immediate answer. On the first play of the drive, Williams hit Gammage on the sideline, who made a great leaping catch over a defender and then spun away for a 68-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7.

Atlantic has now won three straight meetings over their rival. With the loss, Boca Raton is all but eliminated from playoff contention as a wild card.