Deerfield Beach-St. Thomas a potent yet underrated rivalry
FORT LAUDERDALE — When you ask some around the Deerfield Beach football team, the Bucks’ biggest rivalry game is St. Thomas Aquinas — even more so than Blanche Ely.
Not traditionally thought of as rivals, per se, Raiders coach Roger Harriott agrees, calling it Broward County’s “best-kept secret” of a rivalry.
The two state hopefuls — and rivals — get their shot at each other as the Raiders, Florida’s top-ranked team in Class 7A, host Class 8A’s second-ranked squad in what projects to be a defensive slugfest but could break open in a moment’s notice with a number of talented offensive playmakers on display.
While St. Thomas (4-1) boasts 10 state championships and two national titles and Deerfield (3-1) has yet to win one, the two play each other much tighter than that figure would indicate. Aquinas leads the series, which was put on hold last year due to a cancellation the week of Hurricane Matthew, 15-12 with the Bucks taking the most recent matchup, 6-3, in 2015.
“We didn’t get our fix last year,” said Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn. “We relish it. This is something that we circle on our calendar year in and year out.”
As much as the Bucks look forward to facing the Raiders, players are keeping an even-keel approach and prioritizing focus over hype.
“We’re not trying to get too excited because if you get too excited you make mistakes,” said Deerfield sophomore running back Jaylan Knighton, who leads the team in rushing. “If you stay calm, everything will go smooth.”
Added Jayson Dennis, a key contributor at strong safety since transferring from Blanche Ely before fall camp: “I’m just [going to play] disciplined football because that’s a disciplined team.”
Aquinas, winner of three consecutive state titles and the nation’s thirdranked team before dropping a 12-0 decision at Centennial (Arizona), rarely appears vulnerable, but if ever the Raiders were, one would think it’d be after their first shutout loss in 21 years.
Deerfield knows not to fall into that trap.
“There’s a very high level of respect for both teams [in this rivalry],” Glenn said. “So you can kind of get rid of the previous game.”
The Raiders worked on fixing offensive issues this week. Personnel groupings were altered to put players in more comfortable positions and cut down on penalties, said St. Thomas offensive coordinator Ryan Collins.
“We made some changes that will help us move the ball in tough situations,” said Collins, a former quarterback with the Miami Hurricanes who also was offensive coordinator at Flanagan under Devin Bush. “We just have to take what the defense gives us and not try to do too much.”
In the shutout loss in Arizona, the Raiders turned to backup quarterback Kyle Engel for three series to start the second half before flipping back to starter Curt Casteel as neither junior signal-caller could get the ball moving. Collins assured St. Thomas would stick with Casteel come today, but Harriott noted he is confident in the abilities of both — or even sophomore Derek Wingo, who possesses dualthreat abilities. Senior Beau Fillichio, who was competing with Casteel for the starting job in the spring and preseason, remains sidelined with an injury to his throwing arm, but Harriott is hopeful he can return before the end of the season.
While the Raiders defense has held strong through the offense’s struggles, the two units have been supportive of each other.
“It’s very easy to get into the fingerpointing mentality, but to these kids’ credit, Coach Harriott, Coach [George] Smith’s credit, they haven’t done that at all,” defensive coordinator Ameer Riley said. “The offense is struggling, we’re struggling with them.”
U-School visits Heritage-Delray
University School puts its 3-0 record to the test, visiting American Heritage-Delray (3-2).
The Sharks have been prolific on the ground in wins against Glades Central, Archbishop McCarthy and Miami Monsignor Pace. Junior running back Kenny McIntosh is averaging 8 yards per carry with 449 on the season and three touchdowns. Josh Sanguinetti, a five-star 2019 recruit as a defensive back, is tied for the team lead, along with Zay Flowers, with three receiving scores.
The Stallions, now with quarterback Ryan Rizk and Florida receiver commit John Dunmore healthy, have won three straight after starting with losses at Miami Belen Jesuit and Cardinal Gibbons. They’re coming off a victory in a different time zone, edging Pensacola Catholic 27-20.
McCarthy, Dillard in a district battle
Now it’s time for Archbishop McCarthy (2-3) to put itself to the test in its return to the state series. After back-to-back titles in the independent Gold Coast Conference, the Mavericks face defending District 15-6A champion Dillard (2-3).
Junior Jacob Baptiste has paced the McCarthy ground game with 333 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. Senior Denzel Simmon (201 yards, three touchdowns) has complemented him.
Dillard’s rushing attack is no slouch with powerful Akron commit Keyondre White bulldozing his way for yardage. Quarterback Moise Francois will look to find possession receiver Bryce Oliver, and defensive end Braylen Ingraham and cornerback Stanley Garner anchor the defense.