Late field goal lifts Doral Academy over favored Dwyer

JUPITER — Christian Ramirez kicked a 20-yard field goal with 32 seconds left to give Doral Academy a dramatic 6-5 victory over host Dwyer in a 7A regional semifinal Friday night.

“Oh my gosh. This is my first year kicking, I never thought it would come down to the last kick like that,” Ramirez said.”I just kept thinking in my head that I gotta do it for my team.”

Trailing 5-3 with 3:47 to play, the Firebirds’ (10-2) offense took over at the Doral 15 after their defense stopped Dwyer (9-3) on fourth-and-2 from at the Doral 15.

Firebirds senior quarterback Miles Hayes connected on 30 and 43-yard passes to Baron Grant on the game-winning drive to set up the winning kick and a regional final berth against St. Thomas Aquinas.

The score was tied at 3 entering the final quarter before Dwyer took a 5-3 lead with 8:40 to play as D’Andre Ruiz tackled Doral’s Shemar Paul in the end zone for a safety. — Steve Evans

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 38, WEST BROWARD 7: The Raiders (10-2) used a quick-strike offense and a smothering defense to manhandle the Bobcats in a Class 7A regional semifinal in Fort Lauderdale.

The Raiders scored four times in the first half on one-play drives. The game was played with a running clock after St. Thomas Aquinas went up 38-0 on a 12-yard TD run by Nigel White with 5:26 left in the third quarter.

“It’s playoff time, so we want to make sure we’re extremely efficient,” St. Thomas coach Roger Harriott said.

West Broward was coming off the program’s first playoff victory — a 31-26 decision over Forest Hill — in the 10-year history of the school. The Bobcats’ (8-3) only other losses this season came at the hands of Plantation and South Broward.

“We made history at West Broward this year,” coach Monte Dilworth said.

After St. Thomas took a 3-0 lead on its opening possession, the Raiders went up 10-0 on a 50-yard TD run by highly touted junior running back Daniel Carter on possession No. 2. On the ensuing possession, Aquinas made it 17-0 on a 26-yard scamper from Carter.

Carter finished the first quarter with 106 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.

The Raiders then turned to the arm of sophomore quarterback Derek Wingo. First, Wingo hit Elijah Moore for a 38-yard touchdown before connecting with Tavares Kelly from 65 yards out to go up 31-0. — Pat Lammer

PAHOKEE 42, FROSTPROOF 28: The Blue Devils (9-2) withstood a furious second-half comeback by the Bulldogs (7-4) to win the 1A regional final at Anquan Boldin Stadium.

Pahokee led 21-7 at the half, and twice in the second half, Frostproof cut the deficit to seven points. On each occasion, Pahokee responded with a touchdown to maintain a 14-point difference.

The most exciting moment of the game took place early in the fourth quarter. At the 11:09 mark, Frostproof’s Josh Jenkins connected with Cade Borders for a 6-yard touchdown pass on a naked bootleg, which cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 28-21.

On the very next play, Pahokee’s Leroy Love delivered a dagger blow — a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That gave Pahokee another 14-point cushion — 35-21. Both teams scored another touchdown apiece in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs could not get any closer than seven points. — Mike May

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 42, MONSIGNOR PACE 39: The Sharks won a wild shootout in a Region 4-4A final in Davie.

The Sharks had to hang on and drain the final three minutes off the clock after Pace had scored to cut the led to three with under four minutes left.

Running back Kenny McIntosh, a junior who is No. 48 in ESPN’s top 300, had a 243 -, 25-carry, five- touchdown night.

The Sharks (10-1) advance to next week’s Class 4A state semifinal against defending 4A champion Cocoa. — Bill Daley