Piper excels in all three phases to upset Plantation for district title
As the final seconds ticked down, the congratulations picked up on the Piper sidelines.
Then after quarterback Christian Mata, in victory formation, took a knee to run out the clock, the celebration spilled onto the field. Elated players jumped in excitement, some taking selfies and videos to capture the moment.
Coaches embraced, and in a stunner on Friday night, Piper knocked off Plantation, 24-21, at PAL Field — Roy Salmon Stadium to win the District 12-3M championship.
It was the Bengals’ first district title since 2001 and guaranteed their first playoff appearance since 2018.
“Unbelievable,” Piper coach Quentin Short said. “It’s our first year here as a staff. To win a district championship in year one is amazing.”
The way the Bengals (6-4, 3-0) performed, the victory was deserving.
“It’s a testament to my coaching staff,” Short said. “These kids, the work we put in since we got here in January. We had a game last week where we were up 20-6 at halftime, and we got beaten in the second half. We said, learn from it. This is going to prepare us for next week, and we held on.”
Credit Piper for quickly turning the page after falling 33-26 last week to Blanche Ely, because the Bengals excelled in all three phases against Plantation — offense, defense and special teams.
Plantation (6-3, 2-1) actually came out strong, taking the opening kickoff and driving 79 yards for a touchdown. The key play was Jorge “JT” Tabora’s 50-yard pass to Chad Braddy, setting up Jordan Reed’s 4-yard touchdown run.
From that point, Piper controlled the first half.
The Bengals grabbed an 8-7 lead on Jean Telfort’s 8-yard touchdown run, and Mata’s 2-point conversion run.
After all three of their touchdowns, the Bengals executed their 2-point conversion attempts.
The lead bumped to 16-7, courtesy of its special teams. Piper’s linebacker Kendrick Washington blocked a punt, and Jordon London returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. This time, Christian Tukes collected the 2-point conversion.
“Complementary football,” Short said. “These guys put in the work. I’m super excited. I’ve got the best coaching staff in South Florida.”
Plantation responded with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Tabora to Braddy, closing the gap to 16-13.
But Piper used a 17-play drive to take a 24-13 lead at halftime. The drive was capped by Jahsharie Pinnock’s 3-yard touchdown run. Telfort added the 2-points to make it an 11-point lead at the break.
The lone touchdown of the second half was set up by a turnover. Joel Lettsome recovered a fumble for the Colonels at Piper’s 45. Reed’s 3-yard touchdown run, and Timothy Munroe’s 2-point conversion reception closed Plantation’s gap to three points.
Late in the fourth quarter, Plantation drove from its own 10 to Piper’s 11. Tabora completed passes of 29 yards to Andre Barrington, 12 yards to Brian Lane and 26 yards to Jaden Williams.
But Plantation fumbled, and Piper linebacker Camden Franklin recovered at the 12 with 4:16 remaining.
With Mata executing the running attack, Piper was able to milk the clock.
“This means everything,” Mata said.
“You’ve got to do everything for the team. [Our defense] balled out. They helped us in the second half. How much did they score? One touchdown in the second half? Yeah, they kept us in the game.”