All good things have to come to an end.
West Boca’s incredible season is now over after the Bulls lost to Coconut Creek 24-17 on Friday night in round two of the FHSAA Playoffs.
Without their four-star running back Javian Mallory (injury), West Boca put up a fight against one of Florida’s best teams. Coconut Creek lost by just seven points to Chaminade, arguably the best team in the entire state; that says a lot.
Coconut Creek will now face St. Thomas Aquinas on Black Friday.
“I know we had a good season and we aren’t happy with the outcome right now,” West Boca head coach Dylan Potts said postgame. I thought we had a chance to win the game tonight, but I couldn’t be more happy for the kids, the seniors, everyone… and the direction of where we are going. I truly believe we got a chance to be one of the best teams in South Florida.”
Recap
Coming off a “West Boca Miracle” against Atlantic, the Bulls were looking to keep the magic alive.
The Bulls received the opening kick-off but suffered a quick three-and-out.
Coconut Creek running back Jamarie Hostzclaw put points on the board with a rushing touchdown, giving the Cougars an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, West Boca freshman running Anderson Gracilien trucked a defender, scoring a touchdown for the Bulls, tying the game at seven apiece.
Next, running back Jordan Thompson scored a touchdown, giving Coconut Creek a 14-7 lead with 2:30 remaining in the first half.
West Boca aimed to tie the game before halftime, but the Bulls came up just two yards short. Wide receiver Zach Walls caught a beautiful pass from Mason Mallory and was tackled at the two yard line. Walls could have gone out of bounds to stop the clock. There were also some clock management issues the entire drive. The Bulls ultimately missed out big time due to time management.
In the second half, West Boca defensive end Demetrius Geathers recorded a huge fumble at the Coconut Creek 25 yard line.
The Bulls converted the turnover into points after Zach Walls caught a touchdown to tie the game at 14.
On the next drive, West Boca stopped Creek on third down as the Cougars were set to punt. However, a conflicting helmet to helmet penalty (15 yards) gave the Cougars a first down. Coconut Creek tacked on another 15 yards after an unsportsmanlike penalty on the West Boca sideline.
On the very next play, Jamarie Hostzclaw scored a 50+ yard rushing touchdown to give Coconut Creek the 21-14 lead with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter.
With plenty of time left, the Bulls kept their heads up. However, Coconut Creek stopped West Boca on their own 20 yard line. The Bulls were set to punt, but Creek’s special teams unit blocked the punt.
The blocked punt but the ball on the ground; West Boca’s Michael Fleischer picked up the live ball and ran for the first down, but the refs ruled him a few inches short on an arguable call.
This put Creek in great field position, leading to a short field goal to extend the Cougars’ lead to 24-14.
In the fourth quarter, West Boca drove all the way down the field and settled for their first field goal of the season. John Farfan, who kicked the game-winning extra point last week against Atlantic, nailed the field goal, cutting Coconut Creek’s lead to seven points.
West Boca got the ball back at the 50 yard line, down by seven with two minutes remaining. West Boca had to convert on a fourth down. Mallory took one final heave to the endzone. Branden Hoch jumped up for the ball, the ball hit his hands, but it was ruled incomplete in triple coverage.
Creek lined up in victory formation, kneeling to secure the victory.
West Boca’s valiant effort came up just short. The Bulls were a penalty or two away from tying Coconut Creek, even without their star running back (Javian Mallory), who is a large part of the offense.
West Boca finishes their season with nine total wins (tying a school record for most wins in a season), including eight in the regular season. Had the Bulls recorded a second playoff win, they would be playing St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time ever.
“It’s all credit to the kids,” Coach Potts said postgame when recalling the memorable season. “When you talk about where we’ve came from to where we are at now, it’s been all credit to the kids for just buying in and working. That’s what we’ve been preaching from day one… it’s just outworking everyone and I think the kids are finally seeing that.”
While the season is over, this actually marks the beginning for West Boca. It’s the beginning of what is a winning culture, where losses will no longer be acceptable, something Coach Potts said postgame.
“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 future is surely bright at West Boca, and that’s something that has never been said.
Just three years ago, the Bulls had zero wins. Two years ago, the Bulls had just one win. But when Coach Potts was hired last year, things changed for the better of the program.
West Boca went 6-4 last year, missing out on the playoffs by just one game. But this year, West Boca took an even bigger jump, going 8-2 in the regular season as well as a playoff win against Atlantic.
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 postgame about how he was able to turn this program around. “It’s never me, but it’s we. I’ll always stand on that.”
So, until next year, that’s it for West Boca football.
Fans across Palm Beach County and even South Florida should be on the lookout for what’s to come. Expect West Boca to be even better next year, even with what will likely be a way tougher schedule.
CHECK OUT THE FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZVqG0rN4Eg&t=1s
