PARKLAND, Fla. – The Stoneman Douglas Eagles (1-2) scored 3:18 into the first quarter, and were held scoreless for the remaining 44:42. The Dillard Panthers (3-1) score 22 unanswered points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter, bouncing back from their first loss of the season to Lake Gibson.
THE INFO: After a return to the 44-yard line by Daquan Bailey-Brown, the Eagles pounded the ball up the middle and carries by Daniel Crescitelli, Mitil Melvens and Matthew Cabey set Douglas up in the red zone. From two yards out, quarterback Tyler Goodman found the end zone on the ground for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. He also ran in the point after to give his team an early 8-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Dillard wideout Bryce Oliver beat his man and Francois Moe connected with him for a 55-yard pass, setting the Panthers up with a first and goal situation. Dillard failed to capitalize on their position on the goal line when a dive over the pile by Tajue Williams resulted in a fumble, recovered in the end zone by the Eagles for a touchback.
In the second quarter, Dillard began driving. A balanced rushing and passing attack including a holding call set the Panthers up in scoring position after Moe found Abdul Leiba for a 20-yard pass. Moe capped off the drive by connecting with Oliver again, this time in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to just one.
The Panthers had a chance to go ahead with just seconds left in the first half, but Jamal Polycarpe intercepted Moe on the goal line to end the half.
REPLAY: Watch the replay of the Dillard-Douglas game from HSPN Sports here
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers woke up. Just seconds into the final quarter of play running back George Golden found a hole and went 60 yards for the touchdown to put Dillard up 13-8. The Panthers opted to go for two and Moe found tight end Jordan Wright – who recently picked up an offer from Florida State – in the end zone to extend the lead to seven.
With the Eagles threatening to tie up the game, the Panthers’ defense made a stand and forced a turnover on downs with a huge fourth down stop. Moe found his top receiving threat on the night, Bryce Oliver, once again for the score, this time going for 75 yards down the sideline to go ahead 22-8.
Douglas was unable to answer the offensive onslaught and Derek Williams sealed the deal when he intercepted Goodman in the end zone late in the game.
STAR OF THE GAME: Dillard receiver Bryce Oliver was the obvious star of the game. The junior singlehandedly outscored the Douglas Eagles with his two receiving touchdowns and had two receptions for 40+ yards on the night.
QUOTABLE: “We’re trying to get back on track,” Dillard head coach Lorenzo Davis said. “We had a tough loss to Lake Gibson and we’re trying to keep the guys focused and working to get where our goals are – getting in the playoffs and competing for a state championship.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Up next for the Dillard is an away game against rival Boyd Anderson (3-0). As for the Douglas Eagles, they travel to Cooper City next week to take on the Cowboys (2-1).
