Boynton Beach football builds momentum with district rout of Somerset-Canyons
Dr. Anthony Lockhart, principal of Boynton Beach High, performed a whole bunch of pushups on the sidelines Monday night.
A Tigers’ tradition calls for Dr. Lockhart to perform six pushups for each touchdown. The Boynton Beach football team kept him busy, especially in the second half, as the host Tigers rolled up on Somerset-Canyons in a 55-14 stunning blowout in each team’s first District contest.
The purple-and-gold exploded for 41-second half points after leading by 14-7 at halftime behind the running of quarterback Tyrone Smith and running back Bobby T. Smith and the tactical move of switching Marc Arcelin to fullback after intermission.
Arcelin racked up 205 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns and Bobby T. Smith amassed 150 yards on 10 rushes.
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Meanwhile quarterback, Tyrone Smith had three rushing touchdowns and threw a fourth TD to Christopher Mornvil – a dazzling, 83-yard, catch-and-run.
They did all this damage with running back Bobby Smith Jr. out because of a suspension.
“It’s what we do — run the ball,’’ Bobby T. Smith said. “That’s all we do is run the ball. We got outstanding backs including me. It’s amazing.’’
Boynton Beach scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and three more in the fourth, turning what figured to be a dogfight between intra-town rivals into a rout.
The Cougars, a former independent, were playing their first district game in history and came in with a 3-1 record compared to 3-2 for Boynton Beach.
“People definitely doubted us,’’ cornerback Ohmari Black said. “They were 3-1 and we were underdog in this game.’’
It was Black’s 18th birthday and he came up with an interception in the fourth quarter on a deep pass to Waden Charles and ran it back 36 yards to the 16. Black was in charge of defending Somerset-Canyons receiving star Charles, who was quiet.
“They had one of the top receivers in the country and he had one reception on me in 10 targets,’’ Black said.
Black’s INT set up a 16-yard touchdown run by Bobby T. Smith with 8:43 left. That made it 55-16 with 8:43 left and running time ensued, according to the bylaws.
“We were looking for 60 today,’’ Bobby T. Smith said. “Unfortunately came short by 5 points.’’
The game felt one-sided early when Somerset-Canyons went 3-and-out on their opening possession and the Tigers scored after a 37-yard scamper by Bobby T. Smith and a 1-yard QB sneak up the gut by Tyrone Smith for a 7-0 lead six minutes into the contest.
Somerset actually had this tied 7-7 after it capitalized on two pass interference penalties and Denairius Gray ran it 20 yards into the end zone.
The lone dark cloud in South Florida caused a rainstorm across the second quarter into halftime and the Boynton Beach floodgates soon opened.
A fumbled punt gave Boynton Beach good field position and Arcelin scored on a 5-yard sweep to the left for a 14-7 lead at intermission.
Somerset-Canyons coach Alex Gonzalez felt that punt-return turnover was the turning point and felt the cancelled practices from Hurricane Ian effected his team.
“We came out flat,’’ Gonzalez said. “But it was 14-7. We didn’t execute in the second half with poor tackling and dropped passes. They have a disciplined, tough program.’’
At halftime, Boynton Beach coach Clifford Fruge made a move, shifting Arcelin to fullback and relying less on freshman RB Andrew Ulysse, who was attempted to replace the suspended Smith.
“We were moving slow, but the second half we had to lock in,’’ Arcelin said. “They moved me to fullback and after that just started running it up. We’re all athletes on this team. When we’re together, nobody can stop us.’’
Indeed, on the first play of the second half, Arcelin sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead, scored again from 12 yards out on a sweep left for a 28-7 bulge. It was all but over.
Fruge has long wanted to schedule a non-league contest against the school from the west side of Boynton Beach but it never materialized. Now it’s a District battle – one in which looked lopsided for one wet night.
“We’re playing a brutal schedule playing up to a lot of teams and we’re a smaller school,’’ Fruge said. “When we get into district play, our record doesn’t show what really our team is all about.’’
Monday Scores
FOOTBALL
Dwyer 14, Pahokee 12: Head coach Al Shipman can now claim back-to-back wins over Pahokee and Glades Central in his first season leading the Panthers.
Dwyer stunned the Blue Devils 14-12 in Pahokee on Monday night to pick up a third-straight win.
The Panthers (4-2) defeated Glades Central 21-18 last week in Palm Beach Gardens in another game postponed by weather. Dwyer got back on track with a win over West Broward after early-season losses to Palm Beach Gardens and Jensen Beach.
The Panthers face Forest Hill (2-3) in a tune-up ahead of district matchups with Atlantic (3-2) and Seminole Ridge (4-1).
Cardinal Newman 40, John Carroll 7: The Crusaders were tied with the Rams at the half, but Newman scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, including an interception return for a touchdown, as the Crusaders (6-0) got past the Rams (4-1) in West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach Gardens 42, Palm Beach Lakes 0: The Gators steadily racked up points, having 35 points by halftime and then scoring another touchdown in the fourth quarter, as the Gators (4-2) blanked the Rams (0-6) in Palm Beach Gardens.
Wellington 36, Forest Hill 7: Ryan Anthony’s eight-yard touchdown pass added to Wellington’s 21 unanswered points by the half. Although Forest Hill’s Dmitry Peters responded with a 65-yard touchdown catch, the Wolverines (3-2) still defeated the Falcons (2-3) in Wellington.
West Boca Raton 21, Deerfield Beach 17: The Bulls (4-2) were down by three points but rallied in the last six minutes to score a touchdown run, giving them the lead against the Bucks (2-4) in Deerfield Beach.
Other scores:
Monarch 62, Olympic Heights 0
Saint John Paul II 28, Spanish River 16
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Jupiter Christian d. Fort Lauderdale-Westminster Academy 25-19, 25-16, 16-25, 25-17: Ella Brodner had eight aces, nine kills, and 12 digs, and Allison Moore added 20 kills and seven digs as the Eagles (11-5) took down the Lions (9-8) in Jupiter. Isabel Asconape had 35 assists, and Lindsay Cox added 13 kills and 10 digs for the Eagles.
Other scores:
West Boca Raton d. American Heritage 25-12, 25-17, 25-18
Olympic Heights d. Palm Beach Lakes 25-11, 25-9, 25-18
South Fork d. Palm Beach Gardens 21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-13, 16-14
West Boca Raton d. Spanish River 25-23, 17-25, 15-25, 23-25
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton Beach football shows what it's all about in district opener
