DELRAY BEACH – Western was a slight underdog coming into last night’s matchup and proved it was able to play with the best.

This was a game that came down to who’s defense would have the best performance. Early on it was evident that each team was well aware of what was at stake here.

Western (9-2) would receive the ball first. The road team seemed to hold on to the ball forever, as they were able to score with 6:38 left in the first quarter on a quarterback sneak by Jesse Rivera.

With the extra point, Western was up 7-0.

Of note: The Atlantic defense was a helping hand as they racked up 35 yards in penalties on Western’s scoring drive.

It would be a back-and-forth battle for much of the first and second quarter as no one was able to score again.

Atlantic (10-1) put together a promising drive with 3.9 seconds left in the first half. But what seemed to be a botched call by the refs led to the Eagles going into the half without a real chance to score.

This happened as time was expiring and when Atlantic head coach T.J. Jackson was calling for a timeout.

The Eagles would come out swinging in the second half as senior linebacker Jalen Wring made a thunderous tackle to force a fumble. They would recover and eventually score on a 3-yard run by Henry Bryant III with 6:17 left in the third to tie the game at 7-7.

With a little over four minutes left in the third quarter, it looked as if Atlantic would be poised to take the game over. Defensive end Zach Ceci made a crucial sack to force a three-and-out, but nothing would come of that.

Atlantic threw a costly interception towards the end of the third quarter that relinquished its momentum.

It would be all Western the rest of way as it was able open the fourth with a touchdown pass from Rivera to Shamarr Wright. With the extra point, it put the Wildcats up 14-7 with 11 minutes left in the game.

Turnovers would continue to plague Atlantic as the quarterback threw another interception with 8:39 left in the fourth. Western would get the ball down to Atlantic’s 3-yard line and punch it in on another Rivera quarterback sneak with 3:31 left in the game.

A comeback wasn’t out of the question, but Western’s defense would stay stout for the remainder of the game as they sacked Atlantic’s quarterback. The Wildcats offense would get the ball back and run the clock out to make it a final score of 21-7.

No. 7 Western will move on to the 8A Region 3 semifinals for a road rematch at No. 3 Palm Beach Central (10-1). The Western-Palm Beach Central game will take place on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Wellington.