Deerfield Beach beats Flanagan in first round overtime thriller

DEERFIELD BEACH – After transferring from nearby Blanche Ely, senior quarterback Danarious Graham knew he could make an immediate impact for his new team. However, what he did on Friday night in the first round of the was some sort of magic that no one saw coming — especially Graham himself.

After very little scoring in regulation, Deerfield Beach (11-0) and Flanagan (9-2) went into overtime tied at 7-7.

Deerfield Beach had the ball first in overtime, and on a 3rd down from the 14-yard line, Danarious Graham had the biggest play of his career as he ran for 14-yards to score the go-ahead touchdown for the undefeated Bucks squad.

“Getting to come here and play with my brothers is like a dream come true. Coming in we knew it was going to be a dogfight, and my brothers and I came through for the win.” said Graham.

Flanagan had been battling all night long by responding to adversity and playing smash mouth football. The young Falcons defense, led by sophomore linebacker Devin Bush Jr., only gave up a total of 97-rushing yards on 40-carries to Deerfield Beach. However, there was one play that stood out above all for the Falcons.

With three-seconds remaining in regulation, Flanagan quarterback Ryan Stanley threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Keavon Mitchell. However, the play was called back due to offensive pass interference on the play that would have won the game for the Falcons.

“We knew (Flanagan) was very physical.” said Deerfield Beach head coach Allen Jackson. “This game just built our character. We made a lot of mistakes so this will just make us more focused on what we have to do.”

Deerfield Beach scored first after a 26-yard touchdown pass from Graham to senior wide receiver Justin Morgan with 11:22 left in the second quarter.

However Flanagan didn’t respond until 5:56 left in the third quarter when senior running back Chris Davis scored his third touchdown of the year on a 5-yard scamper up the middle.

Next week Deerfield Beach will travel to play the Miramar Patriots (11-0) in an Region 3-8A regional semifinal game at 7:30 PM next Friday night at Branca Stadium.