PALM BEACH GARDENS – Dwyer (3-2) took down Glades Central (1-4) Monday night (Sept. 26) in a 21-18 nail-biter.
After having to reschedule the second half of their matchup to Monday, Dwyer and Glades Central did not disappoint in their efforts to secure a win.
On Friday (Sept. 23), Glades Central got to a hot start over Dwyer with its strong passing game from freshmam Taj Barnes, who was hitting on all cylinders.
The Raiders stat line from Friday night:
Barnes: Passing 8-for-10, 188 yards, 2 touchdowns
Shaborne Demps: 3 catches, 89 yards, 1 touchdown
Robert Luckas: 3 catches, 84 yards, 1 touchdown
Dwyer’s lone score in the first half of Friday’s action came on a touchdown run from running back Alex St. Julien.
This ended the first half with Raiders in the driver’s seat for a 12-7 lead ahead of Monday night’s matchup.
MONDAY NIGHT RECAP
The Panthers kicked things off in high gear on Monday night with middle linebacker Kenny McNeal forcing Barnes to scramble out of the pocket and throw an interception to Dwyer senior athlete Kyle McNeal, who would go 80 yards for a defensive touchdown to give Dwyer a 14-12 lead.
“I knew eventually they’ll have to put the ball in the air,” McNeal said. “I read it, picked it off, and took it to the house.”
The game began look to be out of reach once St. Julien scored his second touchdown of the game to give Dwyer a 21-12 lead with a little over three minutes left in the third quarter.
“I told coach, just put me in, I’m going to get it in, I’m that kind of guy,” St. Julien said. “Coach trusted me and three plays later I got it in, and I can’t do it without my team. It’s always about the team. I’m not a one-man army.”
Dwyer would turn up the heat in the third quarter with defensive back Terrance Frances getting an interception. Then a little over halfway through the fourth quarter, McNeal would force a fumble by putting a punishing hit on Raiders running back that would be picked up by Corrado Desantis.
“First drive of the game, I missed him (Glades Central running back). I said to myself, I’ll get him back,” McNeal stated. “He came through the hole and I laid that boom. Coach always told us to not do much talking and let our pads do the talking.”
Just when it seemed like Glades Central was out of gas, senior running back Kienaskia Workman would score on a Wildcat draw play with 1:44 left in the game to make the score 21-18.
The Raiders would try for an onside kick, the the Panthers would recover and run the clock out to end the game.
“We gotta take the momentum from this game and take it over to Pahokee,” Dwyer head coach Al Shipman said.
Glades Central will be looking to pick up the pieces during a much-needed bye in Week 6 to regroup before its Week 7 matchup against Cardinal Newman on Oct. 7.
Dwyer will have a short week as it has to prepare for travel to Pahokee on Thursday night (Sept. 29; 6:30 p.m. kickoff) – weather permitting.
