By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn was so confident that his team would defeat host Piper for a fourth consecutive district championship, he opted to hold out quarterback Derohn King after he was injured on the Bucks’ first offensive play of the game.

King, a junior, who transferred from Piper before the season, injured his throwing shoulder on the first offensive play for the Bucks in the game, and came out of the game after a 56-yard TD pass to Donte Banton one play later and did not return.

“With Derohn going out early, it made us change our game plan a little bit, but we just wanted to hit them in the mouth and impose our will on them,” said Scott, whose team defeated Piper, 35-0 for the District 11-8A championship. The Bucks finished the regular season with a 9-1 overall record and 5-0 mark in the district.

Glenn said King could have returned but opted to hold him out. King has 1,605 yds. passing and 21 TDs this season.

“Especially with a bye week coming up, we just wanted to make sure,” Scott continued. “We figured we could beat them without Derohn tonight. We want to err on the side of caution and make sure we gave him enough time to get it 100 percent. He could have gone back in. He threw at halftime, but it just wasn’t worth it.”

Enter Bucks senior quarterback Tyron Herring, who came on in relief of injured starter King, who threw for one score and ran in another in the victory. Herring finished 7 for 11 for 110 yds. and a 28-yd. scoring toss to Donte Banton in the blowout win.

His 1-yd. quarterback keeper with just 2 seconds left in the first half gave the Bucks a 14-0 halftime lead. The score capped a 10-play, 35-yd. drive that was set up by an interception by Javon Denis.

“We felt coming into the game after watching the film that this team (Piper) wasn’t on our level,” Scott added. “We just couldn’t give them anything. When we played St. Thomas (Aquinas, a 38-6 loss) we gave them a whole bunch. We came out the next weekend against Douglas and let that affect us. Last week, we got the ball back rolling against Monarch.”

Deerfield also got a strong performance on the ground by junior running back Jaylan Knighton, who finished the game with 20 carries for a game-high 136 yds. and added scoring runs of 10 and 13 yds. He has 1,593 yds. rushing and 22 TDs this season.

Knighton said he felt the pressure to contribute once king went out, but pointed to the scoreboard.

“Derohn going out hurt us,” said Knighton, who ran for 249 yds. on 11 carries and 4 TDs in a 42-0 win over Monarch the week before. “It really didn’t because the score was 35-zip. He went down the first drive and the main thing I wanted was this week for him to heal so he could come out strong for the playoffs.”

Piper (6-3, 4-1) fell for the eighth straight time to the Bucks dating back to 2011 and have been outscored by Deerfield Beach, 309-24, during that span. Piper hasn’t scored against Deerfield Beach since 2014 and has been shut out the past four years and the past 18 quarters.

Deerfield, which has outscored the opposition this season, (320-98 this season) won for the third straight game following its setback against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Bucks also snapped Piper’s modest three-game winning streak.

In 1979, the Bengals stunned the Bucks, 14-12, to win the school’s first district football championship, but there was no upset in the making last Friday for Piper, which last won a district title in 2001.

Now, the Bucks have the week off before opening the playoffs at home. It is a welcomed week of resting the players, according to Scott.

“We need it,” Scott said. “I was telling the guys before, we started working out Dec. 26 (last year) and we have been going strong ever since. We have a lot of nicks and bruises, but we have time to heal up. We are going to be very careful how we handle the bye week. We aren’t going to give them a lot of time off so we don’t lose our edge. We are going to sharpen some things with no pads and no contact. We are just going to keep our guys well rested.

Knighton also welcomes the rest this week.

“We need to come to school every day,” Knighton said. “We have to make sure we get recovered, get film and hydrate, and make sure everything is straight so, when playoffs come, we come (out) strong.

“The St. Thomas loss affected us bad, but we didn’t let it hurt us too bad so we could focus on the following week,” Knighton added. “We can really stay on that loss. We got over it and we have stayed strong throughout the week.”

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn knows bigger days are ahead for the state’s top-ranked Class 8A team.

The Bucks played three games in eight days and showed no signs of letting up last Friday night as they amassed 529 total yards of offense, while budgeting Monarch to 46 yards and crushing the Knights, 49-0, in a District 11-8A game at Coconut Creek High School.

“We are starting to peak at the right moment,” said Glenn, whose team also defeated Douglas, 35-0, and Blanche Ely, 55-8, in recent days. “Defensively, we knew early on they were going to have to carry us.”

“Offensively, our quarterback Tyron (Herring) has been doing a good job and our numbers have been starting to increase and we are getting a little more consistent on that end,” Glenn continued. “We are peaking at the right time.”

Senior Jakari Norwood rushed for 124 on eight carries and scored three times as the Bucks took command of the district race. Sophomore Jaylan Knighton added 16 carries for 140 and a 50-yard scoring run.

Deerfield Beach (6-2, 3-0) won its third consecutive game following a 14-0 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas. It also recorded its third shutout of the season and hasn’t allowed a score in 11 straight quarters, and just one score in its past 14 quarters. Monarch (5-2, 3-1) saw its four game win streak come to an end.

Deerfield got on the scoreboard first on a 33-yard scoring run by Norwood for a 7-0 lead with 7:53 remaining in the first quarter. The Bucks scored twice in the second quarter to open up a 21-0 halftime cushion.

Junior quarterback Tyron Herring scored on a 2-yard plunge with 11:10 remaining in the second quarter to cap an 11-play, 98-yard drive, and Norwood scored his second touchdown on a 27-yard run four minutes later.

Norwood scored on a 1-yard run, while Knighton added a 50-yard TD run in the third. Senior quarterback Kyle Kaplan threw touchdown passes of 60 yards to senior Mason Mobley and 14 yards to senior Ladarius Burrows to complete the scoring. Kaplan was 5 of 7 for 118 yards and two scores in the second half.

“We are battle tested,” Glenn said. “Some guys are running around and they got great records, but they haven’t played anybody. When they do, they get smacked in the face. Let’s just call a spade a spade. We know in our district we are not going to get challenged. That’s why we play teams like St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) and St. Thomas Aquinas. The kids can have that taste of defeat so they can stay hungry.”

Deerfield was 4-1 against Monarch since 2013. The Knights’ lone win over the Bucks came in 2014 with a 35-0 win. Monarch saw its four game win streak come to an end. The Knights won four straight following a 41-9 loss to Coconut Creek in the second game of the season.

Norwood said the team could still improve.

“This is real good performance,” Norwood said. “The O-line did a great job today and the coaches put us in a position to do well. This shows us that we are good, but there is much improvement to be made. We can get better in the running game and hit the holes better.”