Talk about turning a program around…
That’s exactly what West Boca head coach Dylan Potts did in 2023.
Coming off a 6-4 year in his first year as head coach in 2022, Coach Potts knew it was time for his Bulls to show Palm Beach County what they were made of in 2023. And they did just that.
West Boca finished 8-2 in the regular season, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The regular season saw the Bulls break a school record for most points scored in a single season and least amount of points allowed in a single season.
The biggest win of the regular season happened in week 10 when the Bulls upset Blanche Ely, a top team from Broward County. West Boca won 21-7 behind a school-record 345 yards and three touchdowns from four-star running back Javian Mallory.
Other wins included a 40-0 win over Olympic Heights, a 58-0 win over Northeast, a 36-0 win over Deerfield Beach, a 42-0 win over Boynton Beach, a 42-3 over Port St. Lucie, a 51-7 win over Lake Worth, and a 63-0 win over John I. Leonard. If you couldn’t tell, the Bulls were insanely dominant, and that’s putting it lightly.
The Bulls didn’t just dominate in the regular season.
The date was November 10th. West Boca traveled to Delray to face the Atlantic Eagles in round one of the playoffs. To say the least, history was made.
With just eight seconds remaining, the Bulls found themselves down by six against the Eagles. At the 32 yard line, the Bulls needed a last-second heave to win the game. Quarterback Mason Mallory threw the hail mary (or Hail Mallory) to Zach Walls, the intended receiver. Walls could not make the catch, but kept the ball alive by tipping it in the air. The luck was surely in the air as Kyle Andrews was in the right place at the right time. He dove for the ball and made an insane catch to tie the game at 22. John Farfan’s extra point went through the goal post as West Boca stormed the field with a 23-22 win.
Ignoring any doubters and haters, Coach Potts prepared his team for greatness.
“Just believe,” Coach Potts said before the final play. “We’ve practiced these situations all year.”
It went down as one of best plays in West Boca history and one of the best games ever in Palm Beach County. It was also West Boca’s first playoff win since its founding in 2004. Had it not been for Coach Potts’ play-call, the “West Boca Miracle” and “Hail Mallory” wouldn’t be a thing.
The miracle win was also the icing on the cake to secure a coach of the year title for Coach Potts, who finally gained the county’s attention.
“They are now (going to give us credit),” Coach Potts said postgame. “I promise you we will get our credit now. I don’t know how many teams we need to keep beating but we’ll keep beating them to show why we are one of the best.”
While it shouldn’t have taken that long for the rest of the county to believe in the Bulls, West Boca finally got their credit by beating an Atlantic team that has notoriously run Palm Beach County for many years.
While the memorable season came to an end the following week at Coconut Creek, the future is surely bright at West Boca, and that’s something that has never been said.
Just four years ago, the Bulls had zero wins. Three years ago, the Bulls had just one win. But when Coach Potts was hired in 2022, things changed for the better of the program.
The change from a historically bad football team to be one of the best teams in South Florida is simply incredible. But Coach Potts doesn’t want to take all the credit.
“It’s the kids, it’s everyone, it’s the administration, it’s the teachers, it’s the community,” Coach Potts said after the Coconut Creek game about how he was able to turn this program around. “It’s never me, but it’s we. I’ll always stand on that.”
If you think 2023 was a fluke, West Boca will be even more of a force in 2024. It’s the beginning of what is a winning culture, where losses will no longer be acceptable, something Coach Potts said after the Coconut Creek game.
“At the end of the day, this is the beginning. We went the first two years playing with a bunch of freshman and sophomores. All of a sudden now, we are going to be the older guys. I told the kids that we got this window to do something special. We are just going to keep working and get ready for next year and just keep showing why we are one of the best teams.”
The window to do something special is surely now.
West Boca’s leading rusher Javian Mallory will be a junior this upcoming season. The four-star running back, who has offers from Ohio State, FSU, Georgia, and Miami, among others, had 1,853 all purpose yards in 2023 along with 24 total touchdowns (18 rushing). Crazy enough, Javian’s best football has yet to be played.
The same can be said about Javian’s cousin, Mason Mallory, who will also be a junior. West Boca’s starting quarterback had 1,796 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns in 2023. Mason will continue to grow as a player as he works closely with Coach Potts every day at practice; Potts specializes in quarterbacks as he played quarterback at Akron.
Xavier Reid, one of the best defensive lineman’s in South Florida, is another junior. Reid had 27 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, and 70 total tackles this past season.
There are a ton of other young stars at West Boca, including Jaydin Broadnax and Demetrius Geathers, who are class of 2026, as well as two class of 2027 offensive lineman, Gerren Bray and Dequan Bradley.
We shall see what happens next season. But for now, Coach Potts is your 2023 New Era Prep Coach of the Year.
