DELRAY BEACH – After five games played, it is clear that Atlantic (Delray Beach) is the most talented team with the most depth in Palm Beach County.
This was purely evident in the 7A Gold semifinals against Miramar, which resulted in an easy 46-21 home win on Friday night (Dec. 11).
Where do we begin with our Team of Week 6?
Let’s start with Eagles senior quarterback Guenson Alexis, who set the tone quite early with two touchdown runs in the first quarter. He accounted for his third score toward the end of the first, when he found senior athlete Tyler Burke on a screen pass for a 60-yarder to the end zone.
Guenson’s two rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown in the first quarter gave Atlantic (No. 1 seed in 7A Gold; 4-1) a 22-7 lead.
Burke would score again on a long touchdown pass from Alexis with 10:54 left in the second quarter, which extended Atlantic’s lead to 29-7 over Miramar (2-2).
Burke spoke on how Atlantic’s early surge came about.
“That’s what happens when you put in hard work during the week,” Burke said. “In pregame, Miramar disrespected my team and my coach. They came on the field talking crazy to us and our coach. We don’t play about respect.”
Atlantic did not put its foot off the game at any point, as it extended the lead even further to 36-7 with 22.8 seconds left in the first half with yet another scoring run from Alexis.
In just two quarters of play, Alexis accounted for five touchdowns against the Patriots. The most improved player in Palm Beach County would sit out toward the end of this one, as he finished 8-for-11 passing with 201 yards and two scores, while adding three more on the ground on six carries for 65 yards.
“My performance was all about executing and my team was on the same page, so we dominated,” Alexis said.
Atlantic extended its 36-7 halftime lead even further as backup junior quarterback Zachary Waters would get some valuable playing time in the process. With his leadership, the Eagles held off a potential mini-rally from the Patriots, who scored on a touchdown catch made by Jaylen Jackson to cut the lead to 36-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.
What did Waters do you make the most of his audition for next season? He just played it cool and found his way to the end zone on a 10-yard quarterback keeper.
The Eagles took a 43-13 lead after senior kicker Carson Wilt connected on an extra point. And speaking of Wilt, he ended this one by making a 36-yard field goal with 8.2 seconds left.
“It was a great team win,” said Atlantic senior linebacker Nygil Shannon, who caught one of the team’s two interceptions in the game. “We executed on all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams. As long as we do that, nobody can beat us.”
Atlantic senior cornerback Jeremiah McClendon accounted for the other interception caught in the game.
SIDE NOTES: Atlantic senior offensive lineman Anthony Landes anchored his unit by way of his four pancakes and no sacks allowed against Miramar.
“We came into this game with one mindset, and that was to dominate on all sides of the ball,” Landes said. “We focused on us and played our game, regardless of the team across the ball. We were all locked in since the start and no one was going to get in the way of that.”
The next and final game for Atlantic will be against Plantation (No. 2 seed in 7A Gold; 4-1 record) on Friday night (Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m. kickoff). The 7A Gold title game of the Tri-County South Florida playoffs will be held at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami.
“We can feel confident going into this Friday’s matchup,” Shannon said.
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
