BOCA RATON — Trailing by three points with just over a minute remaining in the game, John I. Leonard quarterback Jadiel Cruz knew he had to make a play.

With the Lancers defense forcing a punt, Cruz dropped back and looked off the safety and threw to the right side of the field – as head coach Keith Chattin has taught him to do – and delivered a beautiful pass to Brandon McCrary, who worked his way into the end zone to put the Lancers up 35-31.

“I just used everything Coach Chattin taught me, look off the safety, come back to the backside, and it’s open,” Cruz said. “I saw [McCrary] had two or three steps, and he caught it and made a play.”

The touchdown, which won the game for Lancers, was Cruz’s fifth touchdown of the night, and the second where he connected with McCrary.

“He’s my captain, and I will follow him, and I will ride with him,” Chattin said.

The Lancers first points were scored by the connection, when Cruz connected with McCrary over the middle of the field for a catch-and-run touchdown.

After a touchdown pass to Jonel Dieujuste put the Lancers up 15-6, Cruz showed his dual-threat ability, breaking multiple tackles on his way to his third touchdown of the first half.

“You always gotta be ready to expect to run,” Cruz said. “A bunch of quarterbacks I see would rather take a sack than run, and that’s not me.”

On the last play of the half, Spanish River quarterback Jonathan Alexandridris connected with freshman wide receiver Alexander Rosenthal for a touchdown to cut the Lancers lead to 22-18.

After Cruz’s fourth touchdown in the third quarter, however, the Spanish River offense began to pick up the pace, and take the lead.

Touchdowns by Deiontavious Gilton, who had over 100 all-purpose yards, and quarterback Jonathan Alexandridris (his third of the game) put the Sharks up 31-28.

“On defense, we gotta tighten up,” Chattin said about his defense. “We got some young kids, but that’s no excuse. [Spanish River] is so much better than they were last year.”

The win marks the first time that the Lancers began the season 1-0 since 2012, when they defeated Jupiter in the first game of the season.  

The Lancers will host No. 7 Palm Beach Gardens next week on Friday, Aug. 30. The Sharks will travel to Santaluces on Friday, Aug. 30.