Dwyer Eliminates Blanche Ely

It was a battle between two high schools that have consistently appeared in the postseason for the past decade, Dwyer and Blanche Ely. In this Class 7A regional quarterfinal game, it seemed to be no contest as the Dwyer Panthers shut down the Blanche Ely Tigers 28-0 at Blum Stadium in Palm Beach Gardens on Friday night. The Tigers began the first quarter sluggish just like they have for most of their games this season. The Panthers dominated scoring 21 points within the first 12 minutes. On a fourth-and-13 from the Tigers 36, Faton Bauta found Clinton Stephens on the right side and he broke one tackle at the 15 to score at 6:46. Ely started their first possession badly on the third play of the drive as Julian Whigham intercepted a pass from Darrien Allen in the middle of the field and returned it 31 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown making it 14-0 at 5:30. Bauta added to the score with a one-yard run on Dwyer's next possession with 0:26 left in the first quarter. Neither team got any points in the second quarter. The Tigers were unable to come back in the second half as they have numerous times in 2011. The Panthers increased their lead to 28-0 as Bauta connected with Malik Brown on a seven-yard pass with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter. Dwyer will host the Northeast Hurricanes of Oakland Park next Friday night in a regional semifinal game.