Eagles soar past Cobras late, remain undefeated

Chad Ward Jr New Era Prep Staff Writer

BOYNTON BEACH – In a game filled with energy and grit, No. 1 Atlantic found a way to put away No. 10 Park Vista to remain undefeated.

After a fumble recovery early in the first quarter, Park Vista quarterback Tyler Thomas found junior wide receiver Sondy Derival on the sideline for a gain of 22 yards. Shortly after, Thomas connected with wide receiver Aydin Hemingham on a 5-yard fade pass to take an early 7-0 lead.

A few drives later, Atlantic quarterback Kalani Illimaleota connected with senior wideout Chris Wilson for 28-yard gain before finding wide receiver Elani Cleckley for a 30-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.

After a hard fought half, both teams remained tied at 7-7. But it would not be that way for long.

On the first drive of the second half, Illimaleota found senior tight end Kamareon WIlliams for a 15-yard touchdown, and the Eagles took a 14-7 third quarter lead.

Atlantic’s defense played steller all night, grabbing two interceptions and sacking Park Vista’s Thomas multiple times throughout the game. They held the Cobras to seven points for the remainder of the contest.

Unfortunately the Eagles offense was not finished, and they silenced the crowd with yet another touchdown pass form Illimaleota to running back Antoine Williams to bring the lead to 21-7.

The Cobras tried to capitalize on a blocked punt late in the third quarter, but their offense could not find a rhythm and the Eagles escaped the “Snake Pit” alive and well off to a perfect 4-0 start to their season.

Illimaleota would comment on the team’s performance.

“We did pretty good, but we could do better,” he said. “On those touchdowns, I just threw it to the open man. It feels great (to be undefeated) and we’re looking forward to next week’s matchup”.

Atlantic will face Spanish RIver next week and keep its winning streak in tack. On the other hand, Park Vista looks to regroup and get a win in two weeks at Boca Raton, who is coming off an upset loss to Santaluces.

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