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For 365 days, Dr. Phillips High<br />
School football was haunted<br />
by the demons that destroyed its<br />
dream of a state championship in<br />
2016. But rather than succumb to<br />
them, the Panthers used them as<br />
motivation for redemption.<br />
Saturday night, Dec. 9, in the cold<br />
confines of Camping World Stadium,<br />
DPHS football exorcised those same<br />
demons, both individually and as a<br />
team, with a 17-7 victory over Delray<br />
Beach Atlantic Community High<br />
School to bring home its first football<br />
state championship in school history.<br />
One year ago, then-sophomore<br />
Cameron Williams was flagged<br />
for pass interference, which allowed<br />
Miami Southridge High School to<br />
continue a touchdown drive that<br />
led to its 14-10 victory over DPHS.<br />
Saturday night, Williams, now a<br />
veteran linebacker with 137 tackles<br />
this season, intercepted an Atlantic<br />
pass and returned it 8 yards for the<br />
game-sealing touchdown.<br />
One year ago, then-sophomore<br />
Jaquarri Powell intercepted a<br />
Southridge pass and was on his<br />
way to scoring a touchdown, but<br />
he was tripped up by a shoestring<br />
tackle, resulting in no points. During<br />
this year’s battle, Powell, an unquestioned<br />
team leader and captain, was<br />
an assassin on defense, registering<br />
seven tackles, including a crushing<br />
tackle on a fake punt and a fourthquarter<br />
sack for a 10-yard loss that<br />
effectively buried Atlantic’s bid for a<br />
comeback.<br />
One year ago, the Panthers saw a<br />
10-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate<br />
in the span of two drives. This<br />
year, the football team grabbed a<br />
10-point lead, added seven more<br />
and delivered the knockout blow on<br />
defense they had trained for and<br />
envisioned every single day for an<br />
entire year.<br />
Play by Play<br />
Coming into the game, the<br />
Panthers knew they had to stick to<br />
the game plan on both sides of the<br />
football. Offensively, they had to<br />
secure the football, sustain drives<br />
and take advantage of field position.<br />
Defensively, they had to create<br />
www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x December 21, 2017 - January 3, 2018 x 5<br />
SPORTS<br />
turnovers, swarm tackle and prevent<br />
the big plays that had been a staple<br />
in Atlantic’s success this year. And it<br />
worked. While the offense did not<br />
put up eye-opening numbers, they<br />
didn’t need to. DPHS’s defense accounted<br />
for two touchdowns, held<br />
Atlantic deep in its own end of the<br />
field on eight of their 12 drives, and<br />
eliminated the Eagles’ rushing attack<br />
to just 19 yards on 34 carries.<br />
Midway through the opening quarter,<br />
Atlantic faced third and 1 at its<br />
29 and handed off to their bruising<br />
fullback up the middle, but DPHS senior<br />
defensive tackle Brice Ingram<br />
met him in the hole and buried him<br />
for no gain to force a punt. That set<br />
the stage for junior linebacker Powell,<br />
who charged in untouched from the<br />
left side, blocked the Atlantic punt at<br />
the 20, scooped it up at the 9, and<br />
took it to the house to give DPHS a<br />
7-0 lead. That was just the first of<br />
many highlights for Powell, who finished<br />
with 11 tackles, six of them for<br />
a loss, including three sacks.<br />
Atlantic was clearly shaken on its<br />
next drive. On second and 6 at the<br />
34, DPHS senior defensive end Joe<br />
Gulla broke into the backfield and<br />
chased down the quarterback for<br />
a sack and a loss of 6 yards. One<br />
SPOTLIGHT<br />
Finished!<br />
The Panther Nation Celebrates DPHS Football’s First State Championship<br />
After winning its first football state championship, the<br />
Dr. Phillips High School Panthers give a moment of thanks.<br />
by John Magrino, DPHS Assistant Athletic Director<br />
play later, it was<br />
Powell again, tearing<br />
through the line<br />
and sacking the<br />
quarterback for a<br />
loss of 11, forcing<br />
the second of six<br />
first-half punts.<br />
Later in the second<br />
quarter, Powell<br />
drove the Atlantic<br />
quarterback into<br />
the turf again with a<br />
sack for a loss of 12<br />
to force a punt that<br />
gave the Panthers<br />
possession at the<br />
Atlantic 44.<br />
DPHS senior Devodney Alford<br />
busted into the secondary for a 14-<br />
yard gain and senior quarterback<br />
BeSean McCray followed up with<br />
a 16-yard keeper for a first down<br />
at the 14. Alford carried again for<br />
a gain of 7, but the drive stalled<br />
two plays later, and senior kicker<br />
Sterling Stockwell split the uprights<br />
from 28 yards out to put the<br />
Panthers up 10-0 through the half.<br />
Atlantic had gained only 39 yards<br />
of total offense in the first half and<br />
virtually nothing on the ground, so<br />
the game plan for the second half<br />
was to get the ball in the hands of<br />
its talented receiving corps and use<br />
whatever tricks it had in its bag to<br />
establish some momentum. On its<br />
opening possession of the third<br />
quarter, that backfired.<br />
Facing fourth and 1 at its own 29,<br />
Atlantic faked the punt, but the back<br />
was drilled immediately by DPHS<br />
senior defensive tackle Christian<br />
Williams and Powell for no gain,<br />
giving the ball back to the Panthers<br />
on downs. Midway through the third<br />
quarter, Atlantic’s next offensive possession<br />
drove it into DPHS territory for<br />
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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