Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn reflected on a week filled with tragedy following the Bucks’ come-from-behind 30-22 victory over Miami Edison at Butler Stadium on Friday night.
“Believe it or not, you make no excuses, but we had a helluva week as a program,” said Glenn, whose team was dealing with the loss of the fathers of two players (Joseph Kennerley and Alton Tarber) and a grandmother (Tarber) due to COVID, and another player (Aaron Hicks) lost his brother, who died after a seizure last Friday.
“We had a very rough week from an emotional standpoint,” Glenn added. “Our kids were hurting. We had guys that were emotional wrecks, and today is their first day here. I love the fact that these kids fought together.”
Glenn said his team didn’t always play well, but he was just glad to get through it. He said there were several times during the game that he was struggling with his emotions.
“We didn’t play well, but on a night like this, an ugly win is better than those pretty losses,” Glenn said. “From an emotional standpoint, we have to figure out a way to gather ourselves and heal. We are in the midst of planning funerals…to come out here and fight, I am proud of them for that.”
Backup senior quarterback Luke Collins engineered a three-play, 45-yard drive following a Red Raider punt that struck the back of a lineman giving Deerfield Beach the ball on the 45.
“Coach trains us to be ready,” Collins said. “When he gave me the call, I was definitely ready. I was ready to make a name for myself.”
A 5-yard run by Jaziun Patterson was followed by a 26-yard scramble by Collins to the Miami Edison 14. On the following play, Collins found junior wide receiver Tastean Reddick for a touchdown and tied the score at 22 with 5:12 left in the game. Peyton Giersbrook converted the extra point for the 23-22 lead.
Miami Edison got the ball back on their own 43 with 1:37 left in the contest. With the aid of an unsportsmanlike penalty and a late hit out of bounds against the Bucks, the Red Raiders drove to the 20-yard line.
Deerfield Beach defensive end Deshawn Willoughby recorded sacks on successive plays to push the ball back to the 28. A 10-yard quarterback scamper by Hezekian Harris put the Red Raiders at the 18 to set up a potential 35-yard game-winning field-goal attempt by Derek Fletes with 17 seconds remaining.
Junior free safety Harlem Howard broke through to block the kick and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown with two seconds left and the 30-22 win.
“I lined up behind my D-lineman, and he pushed the pile,” Howard said. “I followed him, blocked the kick, and took it to the house. This is huge, man.”
Deerfield Beach seized a 9-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by Giersbrook and a 35-yard scoring run by Patterson with 4:57 remaining in the first quarter. Patterson, who had 8 carries for 84 yards in the first half, finished with 15 carries for 88 yards and the one score.
Miami Edison took advantage of the Bucks’ lone turnover in the first half as Elonzo Barnes returned a Michael Merdinger interception 25 yards to the Deerfield 17 that set up a 1-yard scoring run by Harris, just four plays later that cut the lead to 9-7 with 5:33 remaining in the first half.
The Red Raiders wasted little time in seizing a 14-9 lead, as Nathaniel Joseph returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for the score. Not to be outdone, the Bucks’ Joseph Kennerley returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and a 16-14 lead with 11:25 left in the third quarter.
“I was traumatized because me and my father was really close,” Kennerley said of his father’s passing. “That really hurt me. I had to come out here today and turn my pain into passion like Coach said.
“[Before the kickoff] I was telling my Pops to be with me,” he continued. “I was telling him to keep his boy in the game and I got this. He came through. I did what I had to do. I returned the kick, and we were back in the game.”
British Mitchell gave the lead back to the Red Raiders when he scored on an 82-yard catch-and-run from Harris midway through the third period. Mitchell then picked up a botched snap on the extra point attempt in the backfield and scored the two-point conversion run for a 22-16 lead before the Bucks scored twice in the fourth to pull out the victory.
