Dwyer At East Lake Preview

     The Dwyer Panthers will make a long cross-state trip to Tarpon Springs and take on the East Lake Eagles on Friday night in a Class 7A state semifinal. The Panthers had been at this point of the FHSAA playoffs on the road several times in recent years. They fell short to Plant in 2008, barely lost to Armwood in 2010 and were defeated by Manatee in 2011. A good sign for East Lake is that all of those teams eventually won a state championship.
     Dwyer(13-0), who has their best record in school history, will play in their fifth state semifinal game in the last six years. The undefeated Panthers have outscored their opponents 556-103 this season. This should be a big test for them because have not traveled outside of Palm Beach County this season and all of their playoff games this year have been played at home against Broward County schools. Dwyer routed Boyd Anderson 35-8 in the regional quarterfinal, dominated Blanche Ely 49-7 in the regional semifinal and edged the defending Class 7A champions St. Thomas Aquinas 35-28 in a regional final.
     The Panthers are led on offense by quarterback Daniel Parr as he will throw passes to a slew of wide receivers that include Johnnie Dixon, Ezra Saffold, Clint Stephens, Eddie Giles and Nick Martinsen. Running back Alonso Smith will get more of the carries from the backfield. Gerald Hearns and Cornelius Smith can be used in situations for short yardage. Shawun Lurry is a major threat as a special teams return specialist and has scored several touchdowns this season.
     Undefeated East Lake(13-0) has not given up more than 16 points in a game and have five shutouts this year. The Eagles, who outscored their opponents 579-83 this season, played all their playoff games at home and will be well prepared. In addition, their scoring output has been at least 42 points in 11 of 13 games. They slipped by Palmetto 13-12 in the regional quarterfinal, shut out Pinellas Park 45-0 in the regional semifinal and romped Port Charlotte 49-15 in the regional final.
     Running back Weston Fordham will be the Eagles focus on offense with his rushing. The team had a quarterback battle between Jake Hudson and Jordan Leston earlier this year. Wide receivers Artavis Scott and George Campbell can get receptions on any part of the field.