Ely’s turnaround continues with win against Dillard
Only a year ago just scoring points on longtime rival Fort Lauderdale Dillard would have been a reason to celebrate for Pompano Beach Blanche Ely’s football team.
On Saturday night, Ely players did plenty more than that, dancing and partying on the Panthers’ home field.
Not only did the Tigers end a six-year recent string of futility in Broward County’s Soul Bowl series, they sent their rivals home from the playoffs after a 19-14 victory over Dillard in a Region 3-3M semifinal.
Ely (10-0), which finished last season with a 1-9 record, kept its incredible turnaround season alive and advanced to its first regional final since 2009. And they did it by beating Dillard (7-4) for the first time since 2016 after the Panthers had shut them out two consecutive seasons in the regular season.
The Tigers will next face three-time reigning state champion St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale on Friday at 7 p.m.
“The biggest factor for us was just having an offseason and starting in December lifting weights,” Ely coach Mike Butler said. “These kids have been dedicated ever since, but not just them, the parents, the community, everyone.”
Butler, a former assistant coach at Deerfield Beach, has seen a revival of a program that last won a state title in 2002 and hadn’t beaten Dillard in the playoffs since 1988. The two teams split their four previous meetings in the postseason with the Tigers winning in 1987 and 1988 and Dillard winning in 1989 and 1990 when often the stakes were the chance to play for a state championship.
Ely felt confident after the teams played each other two weeks ago in a game that was stopped early in the third quarter due to an incident which prompted the stadium to be cleared for safety reasons. The game was declared a no contest but the Tigers were ahead 9-7 at the time it was called.
On Saturday, the Tigers struck on offense with three explosive plays and their defense did the rest with three crucial stops in the fourth quarter.
Senior free safety Harlem Howard had the game-clinching interception with 32 seconds left on a deep pass down the middle by Dillard quarterback Jorge Tabora.
“We’ve been working since January and all of that is paying off,” Howard said. “We just wanted it more, and we went out there and played like it.”
Sophomore linebacker Cameron Davis also picked off Tabora with 8:22 left in the quarter on another Dillard advance into Ely territory. The Tigers also stopped Dillard on downs when senior cornerback Xavier Gunn jumped in front of a pass near the far sideline and nearly intercepted it.
The lead changed four times in the game with Ely jumping in front for good after quarterback Nah’Coy Daniels found Marcel Williams open down the middle for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Daniels threw three touchdown passes including a quick screen on the Tigers’ first drive that Cedric Ward caught and took 53 yards down the sideline to the end zone for a 6-0 lead.
Dillard answered when Edward Louis broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead.
Daniels answered by connecting with Marcus Williams for a 35-yard touchdown pass on which he made a great leaping catch in the end zone to put Ely back in front 12-7.
MORE GAMES
Region 4-2M semifinal — Plantation American Heritage 49, Boynton Beach 0: Mark Fletcher ran for two touchdowns and Blake
Murphy threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead the Patriots (11-1), ranked 12th nationally by MaxPreps. Murphy’s first touchdown toss was a 55-yarder to Ohio State commit Brandon Inniss, which gave Heritage a 28-0 lead at the half. Murphy’s second — a 10-yard touchdown to Jerry Dinkins III — prompted a running clock early in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Dia Bell passed for a touchdown and ran for another. Byron Louis also ran for a touchdown. Jamarcus Smith and Owen Drew each had a sack on defense as the Patriots recorded their fourth shutout this season.
Region 3-4M semifinal — Palm Beach Gardens 35, Coconut Creek Monarch 28 (OT): The Knights erased an early 14-0 deficit and forced overtime. Monarch finished the season with a 9-3 record.