Blanche Ely Beats West Boca Raton

     The Blanche Ely Tigers pulled away from the West Boca Raton Bulls with 35 unanswered points at one point of the game for a 44-20 victory in a Class 7A regional quarterfinal at Richard L. Williams Stadium on Friday night. The Tigers will play next week against the Dwyer Panthers in a regional semifinal. The Bulls were eliminated in the first round of the FHSAA playoffs for their fourth consecutive appearance.
     West Boca Raton(7-4), who were well rested because they had a bye last week, waited over 11 minutes into the game to score. Following a 19-yard reception by running back Jerrod Ferguson deep in Tigers territory, quarterback Paul Columbo rushed off-left tackle for a one-yard touchdown run with 53.5 seconds left in the first quarter. The extra point failed when kicker Billy Jaffe lost his footing on the wet ground as he attempted to make the kick and the score remained 6-0.
     After the Bulls ensuing on-side kick did not work, Blanche Ely(6-5) struck on the first play of their possession as quarterback Nelson Ervin threw a 30-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to wide receiver Chazton McKenzie with 44.4 seconds to go in the first. Ely kicker Jamal Capobianco made it 7-6 with the extra point as they would never relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
     On the Tigers first drive of the second quarter, Teddrick Moffet Jr. pulled down a 33-yard catch at the Bulls 12-yard line. McKenzie would catch a 14-yard pass in the middle of the end of zone for his second touchdown reception from Ervin and a 13-6 lead at 7:39. Ely added a safety on a bad punt snap at 2:49.
     The Tigers extended their lead to 22-6 with 12.6 remaining in the first half as linebacker Tyquan Fields returned an interception from 45 yards away.
     Ely continued to pile on the points on their first drive of the second half as Ervin found wide receiver Laderrick Smith on a crossing pattern for a 20-yard touchdown at 11:09 of the third for a 29-6 margin. On their following possession, running back James Jean rammed through the middle for a one-yard touchdown run at 7:37 and made it 35-6.
     The Bulls closed the gap to 35-13 at 6:19 on their next march down the field as Columbo fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gerald Ferguson on the right side of the end zone. The drive was created on an interception by defensive back Antoine Lee Jr. as he brought the ball back to the Ely 28-yard line.
     The Tigers capitalized on a turnover when defensive end Terry McCray intercepted a ball and pitched it back to Fields for him to advance it to the Bulls 20-yard line. Capobianco finished the drive with a 32-yard field goal at 1:41 of the third.
     Blanche Ely wide receiver Kenneth Rawls made it 44-13 with 11:27 left in the fourth quarter as he was wide open on the right side of the end zone with a 35-yard grab. West Boca Raton cut the deficit down to 44-20 with 1:42 remaining as running back Keano Grice bounced off some tackles and busted up the middle for a touchdown dash from 22 yards out.