The Blanche Ely Tigers will travel up to Palm Beach Gardens and face the Dwyer Panthers on Friday night at Blum Stadium in a Class 7A regional quarterfinal. Both schools have met in the FHSAA playoffs on two other occasions in recent years. The Panthers had two home victories which included a 28-0 shutout win in 2011 during a regional quarterfinal and a 49-7 rout during a regional semifinal in 2013.
After missing the postseason last year following their Class 7A state championship in 2013, Dwyer won the District 13-7A title this year. The Panthers were undefeated through nine games until they lost at home last week to the Atlantic Eagles 32-21.
Quarterback Toddy Centeio will lead the way for the Panthers on offense. He was the starting quarterback for the Royal Palm Wildcats the previous two seasons and helped that school win the District 13-7A last year. They lost in the regional final on the road to the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders. He transferred to Dwyer during the off-season.
Centeio has adjusted his style from a pass first, run second quarterback with the Wildcats to a pocket passer with the Panthers this season. The team has a capable backup quarterback in Eli Matthews who filled in as a starter for several games.
Dwyer will have only one running back in the backfield as Jakari Moses will be on almost all rushing opportunities. The main target for Centeio to connect with is wide receiver Isaiah Johnson, who is a University of Florida commit. Wide receivers Noah Matthews, Austin Gold, Oyeh Lurry-Davis and Wesley Oldham can make an occasional reception. The Panthers play a five-man offensive line with no tight end involved.
Blanche Ely had a underachieving regular season with just two wins and finished as District 14-7A runner-up. Their two victories came down to the wire. They intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the final minute against the Fort Lauderdale Flying L's for a district win. They captured the Soul Bowl last week at Lockhart Stadium against longtime rival Dillard 18-12 on the final play of the game when they stopped the Panthers on an incomplete pass in the end zone.
The Tigers run a similar spread offense as Dwyer does without a tight end in formation. Quarterback Zachery Purdue will guide Blanche Ely with running back Arthur Forrest to get most of the carries from the backfield. Wide receiver Thomas Geddis will be hard for Dwyer to contain and will get his share of receptions. Demeterice Bellamy converted from running back to slot receiver this season and has helped on short plays while wide receiver Jeremy Taylor can make some catches.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment