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.

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach High senior quarterback Nick Holm turned in a MVP performance to lead the host Bucks to a convincing 30-3 victory over Blanche Ely before an estimated standing-room only crowd of 4,800 on Friday night in the 3rd annual McDougle Bowl.

Holm, who passed for 289 yards and two scores and added another score on the ground, was named MVP for the Bucks and received a $1,000 scholarship from retired NFL players and brothers Stockar and Jerome McDougle.

The brothers, who partnered with the BCAA and other area businesses, also awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Blanche Ely senior James Harris as the Tigers’ MVP.

Stockar McDougle (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) and Jerome McDougle (1997 Blanche Ely grad) are heavily involved in the community and are happy with the growth of the game’s prominence. It is part of the McDougle Family Foundation’s “Firstability” program, which focuses on a balance between academics and athletics.

“It’s tough because you really want to see a successful game,” said Jerome, 37, who played with the Philadelphia Eagles (2003-07) and the New York Giants (2008) after finishing with the University of Miami, where he won a national championship in 2001.

“I bleed orange and green and I want to see them do good,” he added. “We’ll get there. It’s what we always say with Firstability and the McDougle Family Foundation. We want kids to keep fighting when they are down and getting back up and never giving up. We have to set the example. We are down now, but I believe we will fight back as a school and we will get back and win one…they can’t win them all. It is a little bittersweet.”

Jerome McDougle said it is a great cause.

“I mean the stands were packed, even with people on the side. You just want them to come out and enjoy themselves. Then to be able to give two student athletes scholarships that they will be able to use when they go to college. It is an all-around good thing to do combining sports and academics.

Stockar McDougle said the game has huge implications.

“What we are doing is bigger than the game and much bigger than the jerseys that these kids wear,” said Stockar, 39, who played with the Detroit Lions (2000-04), Miami Dolphins (2005) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2006-07) after a college career at the University of Oklahoma. “It is all about unifying two communities – the city of Deerfield Beach and the city of Pompano Beach.

“A lot of these kids may know each other, they may even be family members and that is what it is all about, letting them know it is bigger than just sports,” he continued. “It is about education. It is about being well-rounded and being a good person and that’s why we are willing to come back and invest in our community.”

Holm said the team needed the win after it dropped its season-opener 22-21 to host Hallandale in overtime. Deerfield Beach (1-1) had a bye week after the loss.

Holm and Jerry Jeudy, an Alabama commit, teamed up for scoring tosses of 34 and 13 yards and Holm scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper as the Bucks seized a 20-0 halftime lead. Jeudy finished with nine catches for 131 yards, while teammate Leroy Henley caught 6 passes for 101 yards.

The Bucks’ Jaylan Knighton added an 11-yard TD run and Ledin Rivera kicked a 25-yard field goal. Blanche Ely (1-2) averted the shutout on a 27-yard field goal by Charite Wensley with 9:41 remaining in the game.

“It was big for us to get the early lead, build some momentum and show Ely who we were,” said Holm, who finished 14 for 23 with one interception.

“We needed this win,” said Holm, who went 14 for 23 with one interception. “It’s a big rivalry. There was a little talk back and forth during the week on who was going to win. We had a pep rally today and it was good to come out with the win. This was our first win of the season.”

Deerfield Beach is 9-3 in the all-time series dating back to 2004, having won the last five contests after dropping three straight from 2009-2011. The Bucks were the 10th ranked Class 8A team in the state, according to Associated Press.

Blanche Ely coach Carl Wilburn took over at Blanche Ely after the Tigers finished 2-9 last season — including a first-round exit in the playoffs to Dwyer. The team split its first two games this season winning against Plantation last week after dropping its opener on the road to North Marion.