JENSEN BEACH – Down 15-7 midway the fourth quarter, Boynton Beach junior quarterback Tyrone Smith led a drive that resulted in his 8-yard touchdown run.
At the 3:46 mark of the final frame, Smith’s rushing score set up a successful two-point conversion for Boynton Beach. This scoring sequence tied the game up at 15-15 with Jensen Beach.
And not long after that, Jensen Beach’s offensive drive stalled, which paved the way for the game’s biggest play.
As Jensen Beach lined up to punt the ball, Boynton Beach sophomore defensive tackle Jamarous “Skip” Thomas found a way to block the punt and send it straight to the end zone for a game-winning safety.
The play of the game sealed Boynton Beach’s 17-15 road win over Jensen Beach on Monday night (Oct. 4).
“I just seen a free lane,” Thomas said. “I sticked it under my hand, took the free lane, and got the block.”
Boynton Beach senior offensive lineman Joseph Pagan spoke on the big play that Thomas made to secure the victory.
“He’s a beast,” Pagan said of Thomas. “He’s different.”
Thomas spoke of Boynton Beach’s come-from-behind win, as his team outscored Jensen Beach by a score of 10-0 in the final few minutes of the game.
“We started off slow,” Thomas said. “But as the quarters went, we had to switch it up…Everything just started rolling.”
Pagan spoke on how his team bounced back from an 8-7 halftime deficit.
“This team has a good way of coming back from adversity,” Pagan said. “We just kept pushing the ball, pushing the ball, and just dominating. That’s how we win games.”
Boynton Beach (4-1) overcame two rushing touchdowns from Jensen Beach running back Dominic Duran.
A 19-yard touchdown run by Duran that gave Jensen Beach (1-3) its 8-7 lead with 4:10 left in the first half. The sophomore’s second rushing score happened at the 8:21 mark of the fourth quarter, when his 8-yard touchdown run – plus an extra point – gave Jensen Beach a 15-7 lead.
The eight-point deficit at that point was enough motivation for Boynton Beach to finish off the game with a spark of its own.
“We have a bend-but-don’t-break defense,” Boynton Beach head coach Clifford Fruge said. “Yeah you might get some yards against us. But when it’s time to crunch down and get to the ball, we’re going to be able to do that. Offensively we made some big throws. Most people think we’re a run-style offense. But we can throw the ball when we have to. That was the key thing for us.”
Now with the Jensen Beach game in the rearview mirror, Boynton Beach can improve to 5-1 with a road win on Thursday night (Oct. 14) at John I. Leonard (1-4).
“We’re doing this with a mindset of being one of the top schools in the county,” Fruge said. “I know a lot of people don’t respect what we do on a day-to-day basis. They’re looking at the scores. They’re looking at the teams we play. But we still got to get out here and perform.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Xavon Christopher
