By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy coach Davidson Loriston Sr. looked back at his 2018-19 boys soccer campaign with pride.

After not making the postseason last year, the Knights not only made the postseason, they won the district title and advanced all the way to the Class 1A regional final before losing 2-1 to host Lakeland Christian. It was their first trip to the regional finals in 19 years.

Along the way, Highlands Christian (11-8-2) needed penalty kicks to defeat St. John Paul II Academy for the district championship and,two games later, needed double overtime to defeat the Eagles again.

Highlands Christian lost in the regional quarterfinals in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, and in 2017 to Trinity Christian, 1-0, when they had last made the postseason. The Knights also lost in the regional semifinals in 2004, 2005, 2014 and 2016.

“It was amazing,” said Loriston Sr., who moved up to head varsity coach after coaching the middle school program at the school. “I told the kids that we had to work and do our part and God would take care of us. They all bought into it. 

The team received strong play from goalkeeper Daryl Carney, who logged 1,180 minutes played and posted four shutouts along with forward Jonathan Pereria, a junior, finished as the team’s leading scorer with 24 goals, and 3 assists. Pereria scored the lone goal against Lakeland Christian in the regional final. Carney left the regional final with a concussion just 15 minutes in, which also hurt the Knights’ chances.

Loriston Sr. said he didn’t even talk about winning the district championship.

“Honestly, when I met with the team, I told them my goal was not to win district,” he said. “I told them my goal was to make it to the final four. From there, the kids believed it.

“My team overcame a lot of things during the season,” Loriston Sr. said. “There were times when we just sat down and talked. I told them to worry about the things they could control and nothing else. I told them not to worry about it. This is your stress relief. Just go out and have fun.”

He said the team had two rallying points. The first when Thiago Nery was lost for the season to an injury and the second when they dropped a 3-0 decision to St. John Paul II Academy at home.

“After that game,” Loriston Sr. said, “we went around in a circle and each kid talked about what they could do better. The next two times we played St. John Paul II, we beat them. They deserved everything that they worked for this year.”

The team also benefitted from a trio of midfielders in sophomore Payton Caja (6 goals, 4 assists), and seniors Thiago Nery (8 goals, 10 assists in 14 games), and Lor Louis (4 goals, 7 assists). Unfortunately for the Knights, they lost Nery to a broken collarbone in a loss to Pine Crest last in the season.

Senior defenders Kyle Coulson (4 goals, 5 assists) and Ronison Exavier (2 assists) also played well in the back. Loriston also cited the efforts of freshman midfielder Moses Edson (goal, 7 assists) and junior defender Raphael Nery (goal, assist).

By Gary Curreri

For two solid weeks, the Highlands Christian Academy basketball camp attracted 40 campers to take part in not only learning how to play the sport but also learn life lessons.

“I am always grateful and excited that we are able to offer basketball camp here at HCA,” said HCA Boys basketball coach and school athletic director Jim Good, who has worked the camp personally for 21 years. “It is by far our most successful athletic camp we do in the summer.”

Reg Cook, the school’s former AD and Boys Varsity basketball coach, started the camp in 1986 with 19 campers in attendance. The first week of the camp consisted of children in the 7th-12th grades, while the second week consisted of 2nd-6th graders. Both sessions attracted approximately 40 campers each.

“I am extremely thankful for our coaches who do a tremendous job leading, working stations, sharing devotions and officiating games,” Good said.

This year’s staff included several of the HCA Basketball coaches: Luke Still (Boys JV), Josh Good (Boys JH), Jeff Sullivan (Boys 6th grade), John Wilson (Former Girls Varsity who is at Charlotte Christian now) and Kayla Lassen (HCA alumnus who is attending Liberty University).

Special guests, including Andrew Smith and Tomasz Gielo, would lead some drills in the morning. Smith graduated from HCA in 2011 and helped lead the Knights to back-to-back District Championships in his junior and senior years. The former first-team All-County selection played four years in the Big South at Liberty University and just finished up his third season playing overseas, including professional stints in Latvia, Netherlands, and just recently in Germany.

Tomasz was a teammate of Smith’s while at Liberty but transferred his senior year and finished playing his college ball at Mississippi. He has been playing professionally in Spain the last two years. Tomasz is originally from Poland and is representing his country this summer by playing for the Polish National team.

“It was great having these two young men give back to these kids,” Good said. “They were given a 45-minute time slot of leading some offensively minded drills they have incorporated while playing in college or overseas. The campers had a tremendous amount of respect and ‘awe’ in having them part of our camp this summer.”

The typical morning included a devotion from one of the coaches as they shared a spiritual truth for the day. They then focused the entire group on warm-up runs, dribbling, ball-handling and stretching.

Each morning, the campers performed several speed and agility drills led by the coaches in a station format. The group was then divided up to work on individual skill and development with lay-ups, cone drills, and shooting.

Each day, a specific skill was broken down for the campers to focus on and, every day, the campers competed in a different trophy competition which included: one on one, two on two, free throws, and hot shots.

“Lunch was off campus at Chick-Fil-A, Wendy’s, and CiCi’s Pizza and we are extremely grateful for our relationship with these organizations and the support they have for HCA Athletics,” Good said.

The afternoon consisted of full court five on five games. Hours for the camp were 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and will be offered again next June.

Other camps coming up at HCA are softball, track and field, indoor soccer, golf and volleyball. For more information, visit the website at www.highlandsknights.org.

By Gary Curreri

While this year’s senior class at Highlands Christian Academy may have been small in numbers, it didn’t lack for outstanding young student-athletes.

“It was one of our finest (signing classes),” said Highlands Christian Academy Athletic Director Jim Good. “It was one of our smaller classes as we graduated only 30, but a quality group of young people.”

Eight student-athletes are moving on to the next level and it is something that is not lost on Good, who is also the schools’ varsity basketball coach.

“As an Athletic Director, it’s always rewarding to see our high school kids get the opportunity to play at the next level,” Good said. “For many, it has been a dream since they were younger to continue playing the sport they love at the college level.

“I know that our coaching staff stresses the importance of using their talents to honor and glorify Christ while competing,” Good added, “Years of hard work, effort, and persistence pays off and its always exciting to see the pride and joy in the parents eyes as they sign their name on that letter of intent.”

Good said this year’s graduating class truly exemplified being a student-athlete.

“All eight of them excelled in the classroom as well as on the court or field,” Good said. “Many have been involved with earning top community hours and are the recipients of many class awards.”

Ryan Szklany and Matt Veynovich were among the student-athletes that excelled both on and off the field.

Szklany, who is headed to Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach where he will run cross country and track was the school’s 2018 Valedictorian.

He was also named first team All-County for his junior and season year for cross country and track. In addition to being named the Sun Sentinel Runner of the Year for cross country in his senior year, he was also the recipient of the 2018 Reg Cook Scholar-Athlete Award.

Szklany is considered a “Lifer” at HCA as he began in Kindergarten. He is planning to study Engineering.

Veynovich, who is headed to Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA, where he will play basketball, was the school’s Salutatorian.

Veynovich earned first Team All-State for the Sunshine State Athletic Conference and set the HCA career record for three pointers made in his career with 191. Veynovich is also a “Lifer” and started at the school in Kindergarten. He is planning on studying Psychology.

Other athletes from the 2018 senior class heading off to college include Erin Allen, volleyball, University of North Greenville in Greenville, SC; Sawyer Lawhon, basketball, Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; Chad Allen, baseball, Keiser University in West Palm Beach; Giancarlo Edwards, baseball, Keiser University in West Palm Beach; Jurden D’Arnault, baseball, North Central Missouri College in Trenton, Missouri; and Richard Silva, soccer, Newbury College in Boston, MA.

The HCA Junior Varsity boys’ basketball team won the SACC Tournament recently with a 63-61 victory over Westminster Academy. (L to R) top row: James Nichols, Sean Julien, Bryce Everette, Brady Tiedemann, Darryl Carney, Pasha Szklany, Coach Luke Still; (bottom row): Nick Vaccaro, Mike Giourgas, Jimmy Good, Kolton Wik, Lor Louis, Josh Gray. Submitted photo

By Gary Curreri

The Highlands Christian Academy junior varsity boys basketball team got a little revenge as it captured the South Atlantic Coast Conference (SACC) championship with a 63-61 victory over Westminster Academy.

The Knights finished 15-8 this season and avenged its overtime loss to Westminster last year. Highlands Christian finished 15-3 last year.

“I could not be prouder of our guys,” said Coach Luke Still, whose team also won the Sheridan Hills JV Invitational a week ago by defeating Boca Christian and then Sheridan Hills. “Going into this season we knew we had lost some talented guys from the previous year; however, this team was full of guys who were determined and not afraid to put in hard work.”

The top-seeded Westminster Academy squad advanced to the championship game with a 59-57 win over fourth-seeded Berean Christian, while second seeded Highlands edged third-seeded Jupiter Christian, 47-46, to move on. That win also avenged a two-point defeat to Jupiter Christian earlier this year.

In the opening game against Jupiter Christian, James Nichols led the Knights with 13 points, while Jimmy Good added 12 including 3 three-pointers.

In the championship game against the Lions, Nichols led the team again with 16 points, while Kolton Wik added 15 and Good had 13. The Knights had seven baskets from long distance that game with Wik and Good both hitting 3 each.

“As a first-year student and player at Highlands, I knew this would be the right fit for me,” said Nichols, 14, of Deerfield Beach. “I enjoyed how Coach Luke prepared us in practices for the games. We worked really hard as a team and were able to accomplish our goal of winning the SACC Championship.”

The Knights were tied at 61 when Lor Louis got fouled with one second left on the clock. He hit both free throws to seal the Championship.  He finished the game with 5 points and had 8 points in the semis against Jupiter.

“Just getting into the championship game was success for me, but our team was determined,” Still added. “After posting our best half the entire season, we let the lead slip in the fourth quarter. Westminster always plays hard, and had tied the game, with one second left on the clock, Lor Louis was fouled and knocked down both free throws. What a moment, for our team, for Lor who has worked incredibly hard to improve his game, and for our school.

“To win the SACC on our home floor and the first win in over eight years,” he added. “As a coach, you desire to see young men improve on the court, but, more importantly, to see them grow in character and integrity as young men. It was such an honor to coach this incredible group of guys this season.”

By Gary Curreri

After opening the season with wins over Sheridan Hills and Boca Raton Christian, the Highlands Christian Academy boys’ basketball team found the going rough in its own holiday tournament.

The Knights began the regular season as it topped Sheridan Hills, 83-67, and then downed District 7-3A rival Boca Raton Christian, 53-40, in the opener of the 40th annual event that was started by former AD and basketball coach Reg Cook.

Sophomore guard Alex Villas led the team in scoring with 16 points, including going 6 for 6 from the field with 2, three-pointers in the win over the Blazers.

The Knights (2-2) dropped its final two games in the tournament, falling to the eventual tournament champion, Pine Crest, 57-44, and to King’s Academy, 57-56, in the third place game. Highlands trailed Pine Crest by 14 points and were able to draw within four before the Panthers pulled away for the win.

“Playing these three games really sets the tone for our season and gives me a good indication of what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said Knights coach and Athletic Director Jim Good. “Although we ended up losing two out of the three games, I was very encouraged and pleased with our effort. Unfortunately, we found ourselves too deep in a hole versus Pine Crest and King’s trying to overcome double digits.”

Highlands and King’s are quite familiar with each other as they faced off the previous two tournaments. Highlands defeated King’s for third place last year and in double overtime the previous year for the championship game. The Knights were down 12 in the third quarter before senior point guard Sawyer Lawhon hit 3, threes to draw them close. Lawhon was named to the All-Tournament team.

“We, unfortunately, did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line that night,” Good said. “I guess King’s was finally due to pick up a win against us. It’s always a great week as we host the Classic right after Thanksgiving.”

Pine Crest, the defending champion, won the title with a 72-55 victory over North Broward Prep as Brian Anderson was named tournament MVP. The Knights had won its own tournament nine times – 1978, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2009, 2010 and in 2015.

Santos Sweep helps Piranhas finish 15th in Winter Champs

Pompano Beach’s Mattheus Santos, 16, and his 15-year-old brother Raphael went 1-2 in the 15-16 boys high point standings to help the Pompano Beach Piranhas swim team to a 15th place overall finish at the 27th annual Speedo Winter Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex recently.

Mattheus had 64 points, while Raphael added 60.50 as the pair combined to score 124.50 of the swim club’s points for the four-day meet and led the boys’ team to an 11th place finish with 219.50 points. The girls’ team finished 28th with 26 points as the program ended up with 245.50 total points.

The meet featured nearly 1,100 swimmers and more than 50 teams from the Florida Gold Coast (South Florida teams) organization, in addition to teams from out of state and international squads. Swimmers ages 9-16 were involved in the competition.

Hosted by the Plantation Swim Team, the Winter Championships is the state’s largest age group meet and one of the nation’s largest LSC (Local Swimming Committees) meets.

Other top finishes for Pompano included Emilio Barrantes, 14, who was sixth with 46 points; Summer Schulte, 14, who finished 18th in the Girls 13-14 high points with 17 points; Alex Marquez, 15, (7 points) and Shane Schulte, 16, (5 points) placed 30th and 35th, respectively, in the meet.

By Gary Curreri

Lighthouse Point’s Taylor Anderson is showing Michigan State University that they made a good choice in offering her a full gymnastics scholarship.

The problem is that the Spartans still have to wait two years for her services. Anderson, a Level 10 gymnast at American Twisters in Coconut Creek, had a good showing in three of her four events at the Region 8 Level 10 championships where she finished first in the All-Around (37.275).

The 16-year-old was first in the bars (9.600), tied for first in the beam (9.400) and tied for third in the floor (9.350) at the Regional competition at the Kidsport Gymnastics Academy in Burlington, North Carolina that featured 495 gymnasts in both Level 9 and Level 10.

Anderson also tied for 18th in the vault (8.925). Her efforts on bars and beam tied her personal bests for the events.

“Gymnastics means a lot to me because I do it so much and I have done it my whole life,” said Anderson, a sophomore at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale.

“I love doing all of the flips and having fun…just being able to do what gymnastics is,” Anderson added. “It is just a crazy feeling knowing what to do and how do it.”

Anderson, who gave her verbal commitment to Michigan State University, earlier in the school year, also had a strong showing at the prestigious Tim Rand Invitational competition at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. The meet attracted 1,300 competitors.

In placing second in the all-around (37.525), Anderson won the bars (9.675); placed second in the beam (9.400); tied for fifth on the floor (9.300) and was seventh in the vault (9.150).

Admittedly, it is like a job with a 6-day, 30+ hours a week commitment.

“It is really tough, but it pays off,” Anderson said. “You have to think about the outcome of it and what is going to happen in the future.”

“Taylor comes in the gym everyday and works really hard for her goals and their aspirations,” said American Twisters coach Christina Ramirez.

Highlands advances 11 to state track meet

Highlands Christian Academy Sydney Blackburn won the shot put (35-08) and placed second in the discus with a throw of 120-08.00 at the Region 4-1A competition at Westminster Academy last week.

Freshman Ciara Huntley was second in the triple jump (30-07.50) and junior Sasha Graham placed third in the 400-meter dash (1:02.25) to qualify for the girls state championships. Highlands Academy was sixth in the meet with 48.25 points.

After placing fourth in the 1,600-meter run (4:44.16), junior Ryan Szklany battled back to win the boys 3,200-meter run (10:09.64).

Highlands Christian senior Josiah Ritzer was second in the boys discus (121-11), and third in the shot put (42-10.25) and senior Jake Peterson was third in the boys 110-meter hurdles (16.47). Senior Herman Robinson was fourth in the shot put (41-07.75) and freshman Alex Villas was fourth in the triple jump (38-10.50).

The Knights qualified three athletes in the pole vault taking second, third and fourth: Sophomores Chanz Miller (12-00), Kyle Coulson (11-06.25) and junior Scott Bush (10-11.75). The boys were fourth in the meet with 67 points.

The state championships are this weekend at IMG Academy Stadium in Bradenton.

By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy (HCA) junior Ryan Szklany is looking to take his track career to new heights so it is fitting he is hoping for a career in aerospace.

Szklany won the 1,600-meter run (4:55.03) and the 3,200 (10:33.66) at the recent District 13-1A competition to help the Knights to a runner-up finish behind host King’s Academy of West Palm Beach. The Highlands girls won the District 13-1A competition with 190 points.

Szklany’s season-best time of 4:27.49 in the 1,600-meters is the second fastest in the state this year. He also has run a 9:34.08 clocking in the 3,200, which is also second fastest in the Class 1A state rankings this year. He has recently competed to the UF Pepsi Florida Relays, where he finished third in a large field

“It would be amazing if I could attend Embry Riddle Aeronautic University because of their world-class aeronautic and aerospace programs,” said the 17-year-old Szklany, of Lighthouse Point who has been at Highlands for 13 years. “Texas A&M also has a very good aerospace engineering program as well as a nationally-ranked track and field program.”

His motivation?

“What keeps me focused on improving is my dream of running on a college scholarship; glorifying God, who gave me my abilities; and impacting people around me,” Szklany said.

Highlands Christian Academy coach Marc Veynovich called it is a pleasure to coach Szklany, who has participated in track since the 6th grade and ran a 5:05 in the 1,600-meter run his first year.

“Ryan has always responded well to coaching advice and approaches every practice with a desire to push himself to the next level,” Veynovich said. “He also brings this ‘can do’ attitude to his academic life, maintaining over a 4.3 GPA while taking honors and college level classes.

I know that whatever Ryan decides to do in the future, this approach to life will make him successful. Any college would be lucky to have him!”

Sydney Blackburn, only a freshman, won the shot put with a 34-05 throw and also captured the discus title with a 122-02 throw at the district competition. She is the second-ranked shot putter in the state at 35.86 feet and her throw of 127.95 is tops in the state in discus.

Blackburn got her start in track in 2014 with Highlands Christian while participating on the HCA Middle School Track and Field team. She holds the school record in both events and also qualified for the Junior Olympics in 2015 (USATF) and in 2016 (AAU).

“I strive for perfection and hope to not only assist my team but personally challenge myself on and off the field,” said Blackburn, who hopes to attend Oregon State University or the University of Florida to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Education (Literature) and be a member of their T&F team. She is also gunning for the 2020 Olympics.

Other Highlands athletes to capture top honors in their events in the district competition included 8th graders Bianca Francis in the triple jump (32-02.75) and Abby Simpson in the 100-meter hurdles (18.93). Freshman Alex Villas won the long jump (18-07.25), while sophomores Chanz Miller captured the boys’ pole vault (11-06.25), and Jamie Sims won the girls pole vault (6-02.75).

The next step for the Highlands athletes is the regional competition at Westminster Academy on April 28 at 1 p.m.

By Gary Curreri

If Highlands Christian Academy is going to make a deep run in the postseason, it will have to find a way to get past nemesis Jupiter Christian.

Highlands Christian is 6-2 this season, with its only two blemishes coming at the hands of the Eagles by a combined nine points. The Knights dropped a 73-68 decision in the 39th annual Highlands Holiday Classic and then fell 69-65 to Jupiter Christian in a District 7-3A game on Tuesday night. On Friday, the Knights will host district leader Boca Christian (5-3, 3-0 in the District) at 7 p.m.

Senior point guard Herman Robinson has been a member of the varsity team at the school since he was in the seventh grade. He averaged 15.0 points and 6.2 assists per game last year.

“Basketball means everything to me,” said Robinson, 18, of Deerfield Beach, who hasn’t decided on a college yet. “It’s my life. It has taken me through a great journey and taught me a lot of life’s lessons. It’s shown me no matter what I can do anything in life if I put my mind to it. The hard work is making me a better person.”

“I think we have a great team this year,” Robinson added. “We didn’t have a great year last year by our standards, but we have been working hard in the gym and preparing. It’s my senior year, so it is important for me to end my (long) career here on a good note. We have room up there for another banner.”

Highlands Christian has won 12 district championships in school history, however, none since winning in 2011. The Knights made it to the state final four in 1979 and 1994.

“Herman has been the face of Highlands basketball for about six years now,” said Knights head coach and athletic director Jim Good, whose team last season finished at 10-13. They finished third in the Holiday Classic. “He gets the guys to do things that I can’t do and has an incredible work ethic. I never question his intensity or his passion for the game. He is definitely going to be missed next year.”

“Our expectations and goals for the season is to compete for a district championship,” Good added. “We should be a little deeper, so we are trying to play more up tempo and press. We have placed much more of an emphasis on defense.”

It is an experienced group with seven seniors and several returners. Junior guard Matt Veynovich (8.9 ppg, made 60 3-pointers) improved during the offseason and Good called him the team’s sleeper player. Veynovich was the lone Highland’s Christian Academy selection to the All-Tournament team in the Holiday Classic.

Another top player back from last season that Good and the Knights will count on is senior forward Kyle Lassen (11.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds).

“Matt has really worked on his game and gives us a lot of options,” Good said. “Herman is our leader and the focal point of the team, but he has a lot of help this year. The players have put in the time and we are going to be a little more balanced I think.”

Good knows this is a difficult district to get by. In addition to Jupiter Christian and Boca Christian, the Knights will also face stiff challenges from Village Academy and non-district foes like Canterbury (St. Petersburg), the opening round opponent in the Keswick Christmas Tournament.

“We play a tough schedule and tough district, so all of those games will prepare us for the postseason,” Good said. “It is a wide open district with very competitive teams. I am happy with where we are as a team and I see improvement in all of our players. I think they want to do something special this season. I am excited about the progress that we’ve made.”

By Gary Curreri

The numbers were so sparse that Highlands Christian Academy had one player attending off-season workouts and the school had to cancel its spring football game.

This Friday, the Knights (4-3) will travel to Palmer Trinity (5-0-1) to play for the Florida Independent Football Conference (FIFC) championship at 3:30 p.m.

Highlands Christian, which knocked off Palm Glades Prep Academy, 26-14, in the semifinal game, avenged a 25-22 loss earlier in the season to Palm Glades.

“There is always the outside thought that it was possible if everything went well, but, realistically, no,” said Highlands coach Josh Harris, 36, of Boca Raton.

Harris, who is in his first year as head coach after assistant coaching stints at Miami Northwestern, Doral Academy and Somerset Academy started to believe that his team could make a run at a championship when the team played Palmer Trinity in the regular season. The Knights led the host Falcons, 14-13, with five minutes remaining in the game and was halted because of darkness.

“I saw that we could compete with the best teams in the conference,” Harris said. The game was never finished because it wouldn’t have affected the standings. The FIFC consists of five teams: Highlands Christian, Palmer Trinity, Palm Glades Prep Academy, Scheck Hillel, and Pinecrest Prep (Miami).

“One of the things I had to work with on them was having pride in themselves and pride in the program,” Harris said. “They have something to play for and a chance to leave a legacy where they can come back 40 years from now to the school and see a banner up there for football. Right now, there is nothing up there related to football, but a lot of other sports are there. That’s what they have come out and done. Winning Friday would be huge!”

The Knights, with just 23 players on the roster and seven players going both ways on offense and defense, have been led by 8th grader Christian Opalsky (RB/DB), seniors Carl Schuberth (QB), Noah Camanini (OL/LB), Josiah Ritzer (OL/DL) and sophomore Titus Baggs (TE/DE). Opalsky has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season in just seven games.

Highlands Christian Academy hasn’t had a winning season since 2011 when the team finished 6-4.

Bucks win district title

While Deerfield Beach head football coach Jevon Glenn was disappointed with his team’s play in a 35-0 victory over host Piper on Friday night, the effort was still good enough to clinch the District 11-8A championship for a second straight year.

“I am disappointed as you can be with a 35 point win,” said Bucks coach Jevon Glenn, whose Bucks improved to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the district. The team’s lone loss this season came against Grayson (Logansville, GA) on the road, 39-14.

“We came out in the first half and got on them,” Glenn said. “With (Nick) Holm going down, that kind of hurt and we could have brought him back but we felt we could do this to this team.”

Nick Holm threw for two touchdowns before leaving with 10:04 remaining in the first half with an injury to his throwing shoulder as the Bucks knocked Piper from the ranks of the unbeaten for the second straight season. Last year Piper entered the game undefeated at 9-0, only to lose 38-0 on the road to the Bucks.

Holm threw TD passes to Daewood Davis for 7 yards and a 29-yarder to Alton Allen to stake the Bucks to a 14-0 lead. Ashtan Pierre returned an interception 41 yards with 5:46 remaining in the first half to extend the lead to 21-0.

Deerfield put the game away late in the fourth quarter when Taletrious Bradley scored on a 67-yard TD run in the fourth quarter and Alec Brown hit Jerry Jeudy for a 28-yard TD to seal the game. Piper fell to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the district.

Deerfield Beach plays host to Cardinal Gibbons Friday at 7 p.m. in a non-district game.

By Gary Curreri

Highlands Christian Academy boys soccer coach Darryl Mauro said his team did as well as expected given the fact they didn’t train as a full unit until midway through the season.

The Knights finished the 2015-16 campaign with an impressive 14-2-2 record following a hard-fought 2-1 loss to host Trinity Christian in the Class 1A regional semifinal.

Highlands opened the season with a 1-1 draw with Coral Springs Charter and suffered its only loss of the season to King’s Academy, 2-0, in the third game of the year on Nov. 10 and went unbeaten the rest of the way until falling to Trinity Christian.

“We had the early loss and we do what we can with the players we have,” Mauro said. “When you have four full-time players and the rest don’t touch the ball until October, we only have they little window to try and teach them.”

“They do have fight when they need to and it usually comes when their backs are against the wall,” Mauro added. “We went down 2-0 and we fought and we fought.”

Jorge Zambrano and Joey Daanti scored for the host Warriors (14-3-4), while Evan Henderson scored for the Knights with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Mauro moved senior defender Caleb Bien-Aime up top and hoped no one would break through as he changed his formation to a 3-4-3. He also received strong play from senior forward Elijah Kerr.

“I had two ninth graders (Bryce Everette and Kyle Coulson) on the outside and a senior (Henderson) on the inside (defenders),” Mauro said. “They did their job. Our goalie (freshman John Harris) was sick all week and he did as well as he could.”

The Knights will graduate four starters and Mauro hopes that the school will start an intramural program.

“It would be more established with a soccer-minded (philosophy) so the kids can touch the ball because our biggest issue is, since we are a small school, most of our players don’t touch the soccer ball again until October,” Mauro said. “That’s why I have a full head of grey.”

Mauro said, in addition to the football players, another issue he faces is that he didn’t get his international baseball players until early in the season.

“I was working with baseball so that they could finish their club ball and I don’t think we had a full training session with them until mid-December,” said Mauro, who had to wait on forward Tisjar Clotida and defender Swindly Lint to come out for the team after baseball had ended. “We beat some good teams this year and we tied Hillel, which was our only other blemish.”

Mauro said the team ran into a more talented Trinity Christian squad. It was still an improvement for the Knights, who didn’t make it past the district semifinals last year and graduated a lot of seniors from that squad.

“I had two baseball players and a couple of others come back,” Mauro said. “I am thankful I can coach with my son. I just want good soccer and today wasn’t their best. I thought (Trinity Christian) was a little more talented. They had five players up top. Their midfield and forwards had a little more energy than we had.”

“Today, I just think it was the pressure on them,” Mauro concluded. “We teach them to play patient, simple soccer. I want them to dribble. I want them to pass. I just love good soccer.”