On a beautiful Thursday night in Boca Raton, the West Boca Bulls improved to 3-1 after defeating the Port St. Lucie Jaguars 42-3 at home.
The Mallory’s were the headliners yet again for the Bulls. Running back Javian Mallory had three touchdowns and his cousin, quarterback Mason Mallory, threw four touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Branden Hoch had his best game of the season, recording two touchdowns and an amazing diving catch.
Recap
Things didn’t start well for the Bulls on offense. The first play of the game featured a bad snap resulting in a dead play. And the second play of the game featured a fumble, which was recovered by Port St. Lucie.
The fumble recovery put the Jaguars in amazing field goal position, but the Bulls defense didn’t allow them to cross the goal line. Port St. Lucie settled for a field goal, ultimately their only points of the contest.
West Boca got on the board next drive after Mason connected with Hoch for a 55 yard touchdown pass.
The first touchdown of the night for West Boca 💣@mallory_mason7 ➡️ @HochBranden pic.twitter.com/mqSomJoleC
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) September 15, 2023
West Boca extended their lead to 14-3 in the first quarter when Javian scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season, a 35-yarder.
In the second quarter, the Bulls didn’t slow down on offense. Caleb Ayala caught a short pass from Mason but used his shiftiness to weave through the Jaguars defense for a flashy 35-yard touchdown.
SHIFTY!
Caleb Ayala (@football_pro5) weaves through Port St. Lucie’s defense for an amazing toudhdown. pic.twitter.com/PmlXORkN7n
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) September 15, 2023
West Boca led 28-3 after Javian recorded his second touchdown of the game, a short run up the middle with two minutes left in the first half. It is obvious: no one can stop Javian at the goal line (St. Andrew’s would argue otherwise, though).
With just 12 seconds remaining in the first half, Javian recorded his third touchdown of the game (ninth on the season) and his his first receiving touchdown of the year thanks to a dump-off pass from Mason. Javian finished off the play by running over an opposing defender.
JAVIAN MALLORY RAN HIM OVER 🫣
What a touchdown for the four-star RB 🔥@mallory_mason7 ➡️ @mallory_javian3 pic.twitter.com/wm4BNsgFIA
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) September 15, 2023
In the second half, Hoch recorded his second touchdown of the game on a 30-yard pass from Mason, making it 42-3 (a running clock). Hoch finished the game with three catches for 125 yards.
On his performance, Branden said the following:
“My quarterback threw some good passes and all week we just worked hard. Coach wanted to throw the ball this week and we just did our jobs.”
Their second touchdown connection of the night 🔥@mallory_mason7 ➡️ @HochBranden pic.twitter.com/cCiBbvddET
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) September 15, 2023
Surprisingly, that was the only score of the second half for the Bulls. But it didn’t matter. West Boca won by 39 points.
Quarterback Situation
Mason got banged up on the very first play of the game, yet he persevered through injury to record his best passing game of the season. The 6-0, 165-pound quarterback completed nine of 11 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns. It was a very efficient day at the office.
Backup quarterback Trey Moran, the son of former West Boca head coach Alphonso Moran, played more than a dozen snaps as the backup quarterback, filling in for Mason while he was on the sideline (due to injury). The freshman completed two passes for 92 yards, including a 50 yard strike to wide receiver Zacharius Walls.
The Defense Keeps Winning
What is new? Defensive lineman Xavier Reid was the star Thursday night. Reid continues to get past offensive-lines to get to the quarterback. The sophomore had three sacks and five tackles for a loss.
Cruz Baeza, Demetrius Geathers, Preston Ricks and Ioannis Michalakelis also recorded sacks.
The Bulls also blocked a punt courtesy of Amari Ford.
Javian Mallory
Javian had seven carries for 105 yards and three catches for 55 yards. The 5-11, 200-pound running back now has nine touchdowns on the season in only four games after scoring three first-half touchdowns Thursday night. He keeps on proving why he is one of the best running backs in the nation. Hence, he has offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Miami, etc.
Rivals just came out with their ’26 rankings, ranking Javian a four-star and the 89th best player nationally in the Class of 2026 (No. 1 running back in Florida for his class).
Despite the big win, Javian knows there’s still a lot to work on.
“We left points up on the board. First drive… two bad snaps killed us. Defense was a little sloppy… too many offsides. Offense… running to the ball after the playcall is called. Little things is going to help the team elevate.”
What Is Next?
Led by running back Bobby T. Smith, the Boynton Beach Tigers (1-2) travel to West Boca next Thursday night in an effort to spoil the Bulls homecoming game. This is a non-district game, but the Bulls will surely be seeking their revenge. The Tigers beat the Bulls last year 42-7.
FUN FACT: At this point of the season last year, the Bulls were also 3-1.
