Atlantic has punched its ticket to the postseason for the sixth straight season.
The Eagles clinched their third consecutive district championship, beating District 13-7A rival Blanche Ely 34-16 in Delray Beach on Friday.
“That’s a blessing,” Atlantic coach T.J. Jackson said. “I just come and coach and try to have fun. I don’t even keep count of that. … It’s just a blessing to be able to come out here and be able to coach these young men and get them to play hard and continue to win district titles for Atlantic High School.”
Ely (7-2) took an early lead on a field goal, but Atlantic responded immediately. Junior Tyler Burke returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for the Eagles’ first score of the night.
Atlantic (6-2) built up an 18-point lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by Bry’yon Jones and a 36-yard touchdown pass from Guenson Alexis to Javone Jackson.
But Ely was not out of the game. Senior Darnell Deas punched in an 11-yard touchdown run to cut the Eagles’ lead to 12 with 1:26 left in the first half, and a bizarre series of events allowed the Tigers to make it a one-score game before halftime.
A botched third-down snap pushed Atlantic back 17 yards, making it fourth-and-27. On the punt, another botched snap was picked up by an Atlantic player and carried 7 yards, resulting in a turnover on downs with 11.1 seconds left in the half.
On the next play, Ely quarterback Jevon Williams found junior Dewante Deas on the near sideline. Deas hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-16 at the end of the second quarter.
“We should’ve just punted the ball,” Jackson said.
After a scoreless third quarter, Alexis tossed his second touchdown pass of the game: a 21-yard pass to Tyrese Blue, which gave the Eagles some breathing room.
Following an interception by Jeremiah McClendon, Jones sealed the game with a 17-yard touchdown run. Jones finished the game with 98 rushing yards on 14 carries.
“He’s been coming on strong and doing a wonderful job,” Jackson said. “We’ll hopefully get Montahj [Joseph] back next week. He’s a little banged-up. I think we’ve got two of the top backs in Palm Beach County.”
Atlantic takes on reigning Class 8A state runner-up Miami Columbus to end the season next week.
“It’s a great schedule that we set here,” Jackson said. “We’ve been having playoff games each and every week, no matter who our opponent is. I think our schedule is preparing us for the playoffs.”
