Next up for Panthers: Glades Central

Norcius throws for 208 yards in 1st half of rout

Dillard sophomore quarterback Armani Norcius threw for 208 yards and three scores in the first half as host Dillard blasted Pahokee 49-6 in a tri-county Class 6A-1A gold quarterfinal Friday night.

Norcius spread the wealth as he found eight different receivers in the half and pushed No. 2-ranked Dillard (4-0) to the semifinals of the tournament, where it will host Pahokee’s Lake Okeechobee rival, Glades Central, next Friday at 7 p.m.

“I feel pretty good about tonight,” Norcius said. “The team executed on all cylinders. We just had to calm down [in the second quarter] because we knew we were going to win.”

No. 7 Pahokee (2-3) will play in the consolation bracket.

The tri-county tournament features teams from Broward, Palm, and MiamiDade counties that had opted out of the FHSAA state series due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dillard scored twice within a two-minute span of the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. The Panthers capitalized on a fumble recovery by Christian Murphy on the Pahokee 33, and eight plays later Jaferris Finley scored from a yard out for a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the first half.

Dillard upped the lead to 14-0 on a 40-yard scoring toss from Norcius to DeVaughn Latimer. The score was set up on a 5-yard Blue Devils punt, and the Panthers scored on the next play from scrimmage.

The Panthers scored on their next three possessions, again following two short punts and a failed run for the first down on a fake punt, to take a 35-0 halftime lead.

Leonard Shultz scored on an 11-yard run, while Norcius threw scoring tosses of 47 yards to Christopher Johnson and 14 yards to Evens Valcourt.