By: Malcolm Shields
On a wet and muddy field at West Boca Raton on May 18, the Bulls faced a Miami Gulliver Prep team that had multiple Division I prospects. One of those prospects is senior running back Bo Ellis. In 2011, Ellis rushed for over 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns for the Raiders.
Although Gulliver Prep was a tough test for the Bulls to conclude its spring football season, West Boca Raton’s defense was up to the challenge as they held Ellis in check for most of the scrimmage. The Bulls ended its matchup with Gulliver Prep in a 0-0 tie. “We stopped a real good running back,” West Boca Raton coach Willie Dodaro said. “We are real pleased about that.”
Offensively, the Bulls had its ups and downs. The Bulls did connect on 44-yard pass play in the final minutes of the game by quarterback Zach Miner to get West Boca Raton in field goal range. With no time out remaining in the final seconds of the game, West Boca Raton was unable to get its field goal unit on the field to attempt a game-winning field goal.
“It was the first time that we ran that offense,” Dodaro said. “We moved the ball in certain keys [situations] and we are seeing some things [are] lacking. The backside blocking wasn’t too [good], but that is why we have the spring game for.”
Spanish River 0, Gulliver Prep 0
The Sharks also had an opportunity to test themselves against Gulliver Prep’s top players. Although they were able to keep the Raiders out of the end zone, Spanish River committed multiple penalties and missed assignments on both sides of the ball.
“Defensively, I thought the effort was good, but with any young team, kids were not lined up in the right place,” Spanish River coach Rod Payne said. “I was happy with the effort, but we have a lot of things to go over.”
One of the bright spots in the game for Spanish River on defense was Tyler Cousino. He intercepted a Gulliver Prep pass and returned it inside the Raiders red zone in the first quarter.
West Boca Raton 3, Spanish River 0
In a matchup between rivals in District 13-7A, neither side played their starters long as Spanish River played some of its starters in the first couple of possessions and West Boca Raton had most of its reserves on the field against the Sharks from the beginning of the scrimmage. The only points in the game came on a 28-yard field goal by Mike Jaffee with 5:56 remaining in the first quarter.
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