Glades Central Drops Cardinal Newman

     The Glades Central Raiders defeated the Cardinal Newman Crusaders 40-24 at Sam Budnyk Field in West Palm Beach on Friday night. The Raiders, who face Pahokee in the Muck Bowl next week, are now in striking distance in qualifying for a top four seed to the FHSAA Class 4A playoffs in Region 4.
     Things started out right for Glades Central(6-2) on the third play of the game when defensive back Steve Smith recovered a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a score at 10:47 for a 6-0 lead.
     The Raiders got the ball back on their next possession and scored on the fourth play. Quarterback Davious Richards sprinted up the middle of the field and scored from 19 yards away at the 7:23 mark for a 13-point margin.
     Cardinal Newman(5-2) began to climb out of the deficit with 17.8 seconds left in the first. Quarterback Jayson Moschella went through the right side of the line for a one-yard touchdown and got the two-point conversion with a rush around the left end.
     In the second quarter, Crusaders linebacker Eric Clark intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards to the Raiders four-yard line. Two plays later, Moschella raced to the left side on a three-yard touchdown run and then he followed it with a two-point conversion run around the right end with 3:40 left to give the Crusaders their first lead of the contest 16-13.
     Glades Central regained the lead 12 seconds later on the second play of the ensuing drive as Richards found wide receiver Dejuan Miller on the right sideline for a 65-yard touchdown pass. On the Raiders following possession, they scored on a fourth-down play when Richards fired a 50-yard strike in the front of the end zone to wide receiver Kamare Stephens with 49.8 seconds remaining in the first half.
     The Raiders extended their gap to 34-16 early in the third quarter. Running back Steve Barrett busted through the middle from one yard out at the 9:10.
     The Crusaders would not go away and cut the lead to 34-24 with 23.4 seconds to go in the third. Moschella handed the ball off to wing back Javarius Williams and he carried it to the right side. He stopped before the line of scrimmage and connected a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jack Barnum on the right side of the end zone.
     In the fourth quarter, the Raiders used the clock effectively to get the only score as Richards got his third touchdown pass of the game. Wide receiver Jymetre Hester caught the ball in the left seam and ran away from the Cardinal Newman secondary for a 57-yard touchdown with 1:17 left in the quarter.