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It was a do-or-die situation for the West Boca Bulls on Thursday night against Blanche Ely.
A win would put West Boca in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, but a loss would end the Bulls’ playoff hopes.
So, the entire season was on the line, including everything the Bulls have prepared and worked for. Luckily, the Bulls had their “A” game.
Led by Javian Mallory’s 345 yards and three touchdowns, and an electric performance from the defense, West Boca upset Blanche Ely 21-7.
It was a statement win for the Bulls against one of Broward’s top teams. West Boca just needs to beat a 2-6 Olympic Heights team next Friday night to officially clinch a playoff spot.
Recap
Both teams were forced to punt on their opening drives.
West Boca struck first with 6:32 remaining in the first quarter when four-star running back Javian Mallory broke loose for a 60 yard rushing touchdown.
Javian Mallory wasn’t done as he scored another 60 yard rushing touchdown to end the first quarter, putting West Boca in front 13-0.
It was indeed the Javian Mallory show early on as he had over 150 rushing yards in just one quarter. It was also a defensive show for the Bulls as West Boca held Blanche Ely off the scoreboard for four consecutive drives.
The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with 1:27 remaining in the first half after a short rushing touchdown, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 13-7.
Fast forwarding, West Boca was still in front, 13-7, heading into the fourth quarter.
Javian Mallory wasn’t comfortable with West Boca’s lead, though, as he scored his third rushing touchdown of the night. Javian Mallory also produced on the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 21-7 with 10:58 left in the game.
With the Bulls up by two scores and little time remaining, West Boca just needed to continue playing lights-out football on defense and waste clock.
Coach Gamboa’s defense did just that as the Bulls were victorious when the clock hit zero.
Diving Deeper
Blanche Ely is averaging 32.6 points per game (against tough Broward opponents), but West Boca’s defense showed a lot of fight and heart out on the field to hold the Tigers to a season-low seven points.
“We came in and we knew what we had to do,” defensive lineman and captain Xavier Reid said after his two sack performance. “We’ve been preparing for this all week. We knew this was do-or-die. We did not want to die, I can tell you that. Every last one of them played their hearts out. I can not physically be happier to play with this group of guys. They are amazing and I love them.
Javian Mallory finished with 345 yards on 30 carries, a school record. In the last six games, the sophomore has 16 touchdowns. On the season, Javian has 22 touchdowns. These are Madden stats.
“I really think he solidified himself as one of the best players in South Florida and one of the best players in the country,” head coach Dylan Potts said. “To have a 300 yard rushing performance against a stout defense like Ely… it’s all credit to him and the offensive line… just coming out here and doing what he does day in and day out.”
Javian showed off his elite speed and ability to shoot out of the gate during the course of the game. While Javian’s skill is above all running backs in the country, a lot of credit has to be given to West Boca’s offensive line for creating a lot of open spaces for Javian to run through. Gerren Bray and Dequan Bradley held up well against a very tough Blanche Ely defensive line.
“I’m built for these types of moments,” Javian Mallory said after the game. “A whole lot goes into it… people are not giving us our (West Boca) respect… people are not giving me respect… I take everything personal so I came out here and decided to let Ely have it.”
West Boca needs to score 18 points next week against Olympic Heights to break the school record for most points in a single season.
Unless Olympic Heights scores 70 points next week, West Boca’s defense will have the school record for least points allowed in a season.
“To see where we’ve come from two years ago to where we’re at now, this is everything we’ve envisioned,” coach Potts said. “We knew it was a big game for us. It was do-or-die. And I was very excited to see the way our kids played because we had two games earlier this year that we thought we had and slipped away from us. Our kids preached all week ‘finish’. We knew even when we went up 13-0 that Ely would rally back. We just kept with our gameplan. We want to run the ball and play defense. That’s what we did tonight.”
What does the playoff picture look like?
First of all, West Boca isn’t in the playoffs just yet. First, the Bulls have to beat a low-flying Olympic Heights team next week to make the playoffs. But that will happen with ease. Olympic Heights is one of the worst teams in Palm Beach County.
“It’s a blessing,” Javian Mallory said when asked about how he feels to be able to play in a playoff position. “Coming to West Boca, they weren’t good in previous years so we had to change the culture around here. I feel like coach Potts and me and Xavier Reid and Demetrius Geathers and Mason Mallory are doing a great job changing the culture around here. Big things are coming from West Boca soon.”
West Boca’s seeding will be decided by FHSAA’s point system; the Bulls are expected to be around seeds 6-8.
“I came in with the goal to take this team to states,” Xavier Reid said. “My captains really helped me with that and I think by my junior year, we’ll have a run for it (states). And by my senior year, we’ll be state champions. I 100% believe in that. This is just the first step on the road to greatness.”
St. Thomas Aquinas is expected to be the No. 1 seed while Atlantic and Coconut Creek will likely sit at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Blanche Ely, Dillard and Piper are expected to make the playoffs, too.
“This is a good statement win for the county just to show the level of football there is in Palm Beach County,” coach Potts stated. “All you hear about is Dade and Broward, but there are a lot of great football teams in Palm Beach County. You got Atlantic, Palm Beach Central, St. Andrew’s, Benjamin, Cardinal Newman… there’s a lot of teams that I believe can compete with the best teams. We just wanted to prove and show that we belong. We are good in the underdog role. We don’t care… we’re just worried about showing up day in and day out and we know when we get an opportunity to play against a team like Ely, we’re going to be ready.”
