By Gary Curreri

Jaylan Knighton put in a good night’s work as he ran for a school-record 348 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns as Deerfield Beach topped Taravella, 44-8 at Coral Springs High last Thursday night.

The 5 ft. 11 in., 190-lb. junior eclipsed the Bucks’ previous single-game record of 332 yards which was set by Marc Renaud against Northeast on Nov. 9, 1991, in just one half of the football game.

Knighton said he didn’t even know that he was on the brink of a history making performance. He hoped to be the Bucks’ single game record holder before he graduated.

“I always wanted to do that,” Knighton said after the game. “It was one of my goals and I accomplished it.

“In the fourth quarter, my coach told me I needed 20 more yards to break the record,” Knighton added. “I pushed and with two carries broke the record. I want to thank my offensive lineman and team for pushing me every day in practice.”

Knighton’s yardage tied him for sixth all-time in Broward history with LeCorey Robey of Flanagan set against Ft. Lauderdale in 2004. The county record is 405 yards set by Sheridan Hills’ Frainy Alfrena in a 2008 game against Highlands Christian.

“He deserves this because he has put in the hard work,” said Deerfield coach Jevon Glenn, whose team improved to 6-0, 2-0 in district and extended its consecutive victories in district play to 17 over four seasons.

“If you think about the incredible backs that we had here at Deerfield Beach, Renaud, Steve Feagin and Brandon Powell just recently,” Scott continued, “to set himself at the top of those names, it’s an accomplishment that I’m very proud of.”

The Bucks will face a difficult test this Friday as they host St. Thomas Aquinas.

Taravella, which entered the game with a 1-0 record in the district and 3-1 overall, pulled to within 12-8 on a Logan Rubin 29-yard scoring pass to Vantraveous Williams. It was all Deerfield after that. The Bucks defense also stepped up big as it intercepted Taravella on four of five pass attempts in the second half.

The Bucks finished the game with 554 yards, while Taravella was held to 121 total yards, 25 coming on the ground.

The Bucks led 24-8 at the half with two scores from Knighton of 16 and 56 yards. The other was a 26-yard pass from Derohn King to Bryce Gowdy. King also tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Williams. Brandon Dorlus added a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Foster, Mascatello, Smith team for win in PBMGA

The trio of Jim Foster, Bob Mascatello and Willie Smith, their blind draw partner, shot a 121 and took top honors in the Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association tournament on Sept. 26 at the Pines Course at Pompano Municipal Golf Course.

The team won the two best ball of threesome tournament on a match of cards with a back nine score of 60.

The team of Pete Strychowskyj, Max Walker and Roy Wilhoite also shot a 121, however they shot a total of 64 on the back nine to finish second. The team of Chuck Brown, Bart Valerio and their blind draw partner, Bob Mascatello, shot a 123 to finish in third as they also won a match of cards with a back nine score of 60.

The closest to the pin winner was Joe Patchen.

By Gary Curreri, Correspondent

Former Deerfield Beach High and University of Michigan quarterback Denard “Shoelace” Robinson was all smiles as his No. 16 jersey was retired at halftime at the annual McDougle Bowl.

By then, current Deerfield Beach quarterback Derohn King had tossed touchdown passes on the first three series of the game as the Bucks seized a 32-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 46-0 win over neighborhood rival Blanche Ely on Saturday night.

“I am blessed to get my jersey retired,” said the 27-year-old Robinson, a 2009 Deerfield Beach grad who played collegiately at the University of Michigan and played from 2013-16 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He became just the second Bucks player to have his jersey retired joining Stockar McDougle in the exclusive club. McDougle had his jersey retired in 2005.

“This is my community and I always come back and give back and they always show me love,” he added. “They ain’t going to wait until I am dead.they showed me love now and I appreciate it.”

King, a junior who transferred from Piper, threw scoring passes of 57 yards to Donte Banton, 23 yards to Deajaun McDougle and 68 yards to Bryce Gowdy. Vgor Fiuza connected on a 35-yard field goal and Jaylan Knighton added a 1-yard run for a 32-0 lead with 1:51 left in the half for the state’s top-ranked Class 8A team by Associated Press and the nation’s 24th ranked team by MaxPreps. King has tossed seven TD passes in the past two weeks.

Knighton added a 43-yard scoring run on the first series of the third quarter to up the lead to 38-0 and force a running clock. Miles Dickens recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:50 remaining for the final margin. Knighton also had a strong game with 16 carries for 148-yards.

Deerfield Beach (4-0) leads the series against Blanche Ely 22-16, winning the last seven times after Ely (1-3) was able to win three consecutive games from 2009-11. The Bucks, who won last year’s contest 55-8, have outscored the Tigers 240-41 during that span.

“In certain points in games like this, we need to play against ourselves,” Deerfield coach Jevon Glenn said. “This was a game of importance because it’s a neighborhood rivalry.”

Deerfield Beach wasted little time in taking a 7-0 lead as King found senior wide receiver Banton on a 57-yard scoring toss on the game’s third play with 10:50 left in the first quarter. It was the only score the Bucks needed.

Retired NFL players and brothers Stockar and Jerome McDougle have hosted the McDougle Bowl for seven years. Stockar McDougle (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) and Jerome McDougle (1997 Blanche Ely grad) are also heavily involved in the community.

They typically handed out $1,000 scholarships to the MVPs from each team for the game; however, this year, they decided to donate the money to Blanche Ely sophomore Wilbens Morissaint, who is making progress in rehab after suffering a severe neck and back injury in a high school football game in August.

The Bucks finished 8-3 last season and was an upset loser to Western in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.