Palm Beach Gardens, FL – Dwyer sneaks by West Boca to clinch District title
Dwyer Panthers came into Friday’s contest as a overwhelming favorite and rightfully so. The general public only voted West Boca as having a 7% chance at winning the district matchup according to New Era Prep’s twitter voting polls. Prior to Friday’s contest Dwyer (6-2) overall (4-1) in their district. West Boca Bulls who have been struggling to find some consistency this season came into the match up with a (3-4) overall record and (2-1) in district play.
It was evident from the very first play from scrimmage that Dwyer’s defense came to play after Dwyer Junior Defensive Tackle Vernon Padgett recorded the first tackle for loss of the game on a West Boca hand off to Sophmore running back Deiontavius Glinton. Both defenses were hitting on all cylinders as West Boca’s defense forced a three and out on Dwyer’s first drive of the game.
A series of penalties and miscues plagued both offensives throughout the first half as neither offense could get much going. The first half ended with Dwyer Sophmore Defensive back Colby Dempsey intercepting West Boca quarterback Dylan Barfosky as the clock expired. It was a defensive game the entire first half as the score was tied at zero. As both teams went their separate ways at the end of the second quarter you could sense the frustration coming from Dwyer’s sideline. West Boca seem be upbeat as they could potentially play spoiler not only for Homecoming/Senior night for Dwyer but also spoil Dwyer’s chances at securing the 13-7A district title.
The second half held a bit more excitement although no touchdowns were scored, it was evident that both teams knew it was crunch time. West Boca’s running attack began to make strides as they marched into Panther territory with about eight minutes left in the third quarter after a clutch run by Bulls Junior runningback Marlin Brunson who bent the corner and got up field for a first down. A couple plays later Bulls took a shot at the end zone with a Dylan Barfosky pass to wide receiver Mahari Desidort who could not reel in the pass for a touchdown. The Dwyer offense sputtered throughout most of the third quarter as the team frustration begin to mount at the start of fourth quarter as players got chippy with each other. West Boca Senior Linebacker Oldy Sylverster was a key player on the bulls defense as he recorded two tackles for loss, one sack, and seem to be around the ball throughout the entire game.
West Boca seemed poised to score on the Dwyer defense as the Dylan Barfosky and Benji Vogel show began, the quarterback and tight end would hook up on two big plays in the fourth quarter that could’ve potentially put the Bulls in position to score but the Dwyer defense would not let up. West Boca had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter but their field goal attempt was blocked by Dwyer senior defensive back Justin Birchette and caught by Dwyer defensive end Ishmael Goulbourne who’d return the blocked kick across the 50 yard line. Defensive End Ishmael Goulbourne was a catalyst throughout the entire game for Dwyer as he recorded two tackles for loss and three sacks.
The Panthers offense would catch their groove late in the fourth quarter after being pinned deep in their own territory by a West Boca punt. The game winning drive started out with a 40 yard pass from Dwyer quarterback Trevor Omans to wide out Jamari Gaines. A few plays later the Dwyer offense would inch closer to defeating West Boca after a Trevor Omans pass to wide out Andrew Kasten, on what everyone in the stadium thought was a touchdown but Kasten was forced out of bounds just short of the goal line by West Boca defensive back Kael Williams. The very next play Trevor Omans would try and pass to Andrew Kasten again who was double covered. Omans pass was nearly intercepted in the end zone by West Boca defensive back Dylan Barfosky.
After a couple time outs and deliberating by West Boca and Dwyer, Junior Kicker Jefferey Martini trotted onto the field to kick the game winning field goal that would give Dwyer a 3-0 lead with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter. West Boca received the ball and started their drive out fast with a bullet pass from Dylan Barfosky to wide out Freidman Dor. The West Boca offense looked sharp as time was winding down but things took a turn for the worst as West Boca’s offense fumbled the ball and Dwyer’s Senior Defensive End Dalton Hustad recovered the fumble. Dwyer’s offense would take the field and take a knee to end the game.
The West Boca coaching staff was upset that they missed an opportunity to knock off district title champs Dwyer but they were proud of their team for giving them everything they had. During a post game interview with West Boca Head Coach Alphonso Moran he simply stated “We should’ve had em.”
Dwyer Head Coach Jack Daniels was able to breathe easy as the clock expired. The Dwyer coaching staff seem to be very proud but you could still see the stress in their faces after playing in such a close contest. During the post game interview with Dwyer Kicker Jefferey Martini he stated “I’m thankful that my team and coaches put me in a position to make the kick. It felt good, it felt really good.”
West Boca now (3-5) overall and (2-2) in district play will take on Cardinal Newman next Thursday. The newly crowned district 13-7A district champion Dwyer Panthers (7-2) overall and (6-1) in district play will have a bye week.
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