Glades Central Beats Dillard

    It was a battle which involved two high school football programs that had a long tradition over the decades Friday night as the Glades Central Raiders defeated the Dillard Panthers 31-19 at Otis Gray Jr. Memorial Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. It was the Raiders second appearance this season in Broward County following a second-week loss in Plantation against the Colonels.
    Both teams participate in much heralded rivalry games during the final week of the regular season every year. Glades Central takes on the Pahokee Blue Devils in the Muck Bowl while Dillard faces the Blanche Ely Tigers in the Soul Bowl.
    The Raiders had the only score in the first quarter on a 30-yard pass by T.J. Abrams to David Bailey at 2:41. In the second quarter, Roland Cierjuste kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Panthers and closed the gap to 7-3 at 9:06.
    William Likely finished off a two-play, 53-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown run up the middle and extended the Raiders lead to 14-3 with 7:51 left in the first half. Dennis Turner caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Lee Martin for Dillard at 4:23 and cut the deficit to 14-10.
    Calvin Savage intercepted a pass for the Panthers early in the third quarter and returned it to the Raiders 23-yard line. Four plays later, Cierjuste connected with a 29-yard field goal at 7:21 as Dillard was only down by one point 14-13. They would never come any closer to take the lead.
    Glades Central(2-4) bounced back immediately on their next possession. On the third play of the drive, Likely raced down the left sideline on a 55-yard screen pass. It looked like he put the ball around the pylon when he jumped in from the three-yard line for the score, but the side judge thought otherwise. He scored on the next play with a one-yard run to finish a four-play, 65-yard drive at 6:02 and a Raiders 21-13 lead.
    In the fourth quarter, Bailey increased the lead to 28-13 at 9:21 on a four-yard touchdown catch for Glades Central. Dillard(4-3) responded with nine-yard reception by Turner for a touchdown with 6:40 remaining to make it 28-19. Giovanni Lugo nailed a 31-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the game for a Glades Central 31-19 lead.