West Boca Raton football routs West Broward for back-to-back state titles
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MIAMI — West Boca Raton cemented its status as a Florida high school football powerhouse with its trademark defense and rushing attack on Friday afternoon at Pitbull Stadium.
The Bulls routed West Broward 31-0 in the Class 6A state championship game on Dec. 12 at Florida International University for the program's second consecutive FHSAA state title.
University of Miami signee Javian Mallory broke a 50-yard rushing touchdown and senior Tray Mitchell returned a fumble 65 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to give West Boca Raton (13-2) its decisive edge after a scoreless opening quarter.
The game was blown open from there, with the Bulls stampede looking as unstoppable as ever.
Javian Mallory puts forth big claim after three-score performance
With a hat trick of scores in tow, Javian Mallory was once again the driving force behind West Boca's one-sided win.
Mallory wasn't shy in staking out West Boca Raton's place among Palm Beach County's all-time greats after the championship repeat.
"I feel like we're one of the best teams in Palm Beach County history," Mallory said. "This senior class started at West Boca. We were the first generation to come in with coach (Dylan) Potts and rebuild this program."
Mallory earned "Most Valuable Player" honors with 18 carries for 117 yards and three touchdowns, including a 1-yard score in the third quarter and a 7-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Trey Moran also enjoyed a big day on the ground with 129 rushing yards, including a 63-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
It didn't matter that the West Broward defense knew that the Bulls wanted to run the ball. They made some impressive stops to limit Mallory's production in the first quarter, but the Miami commit always seems destined to break free for big gains every game he plays in.
Friday's championship was no different.
Before the season started, Mallory spoke at length about his role as a mentor, but he also talked about how difficult it was to remain off the field when the Bulls won the 6A title last year — and the need to be on the field for a repeat.
He entered the season with his cake, but now the star ball-carrier gets to eat it, too.
Dylan Potts, West Boca continue to cultivate powerful program identity
Long an afterthought of Palm Beach County high school football, West Boca Raton is now 10-0 in the playoffs over the past two seasons under head coach Dylan Potts.
"It's indescribable. We've talked about this for four years and we've answered the call," Potts said. "Everyone knows when you play West Boca we're going to run the ball and play defense. That's what we did."
"It's on to the next one for us. We're ready to go get our third one next year."
West Boca Raton football is the first back-to-back FHSAA state champion from Palm Beach County since Glades Day won consecutive Class 1B championships in 2009 and 2010.
With Cardinal Newman's upset win over Chaminade-Madonna on Thursday, Palm Beach County now has multiple FHSAA football state champions in the same year for the first time since 2009 (Dwyer, American Heritage-Delray and Glades Day).
They've done it through a ground-and-pound culture that, quite simply, gets the job done.
Especially when a team does it with the lethal efficiency that has become universally recognized and expected from West Boca.
"We never worry about the outside noise because when you get to December, they all say two things," Potts said. "If you can play defense and run the football, you have a chance at winning a championship. That's been our 'MO.'"
That success in both aspects has been in part due to a senior class that welcomed Potts in with open arms and embraced a culture change that has elevated the program from an entity unknown outside of Palm Beach County to state powerhouse.
"This '26 class has meant to much to me," Potts said. "I'm just happy for the senior class. They've been here for four years. I can't sit here and name them all. They've just meant to much to the program as a whole. We earned them one and this one's special."
Defense shuts out West Broward for first time this year
West Broward came into Friday's game seeing their first state championship action in program history, but that did little to discredit the merit of a triumphant year.
They've beaten high quality opponents, badly.
On Friday, that narrative was flipped on its head and West Boca Raton's defense shut the Bobcats down. It was the first time all year that West Broward has not scored a single time.
One has to revisit West Broward's Week 2 loss to Mainland to find the last time the Bobcats were unable to score.
"The defense came out here and dominated," Demetrius Geathers Jr. said. "Turnovers, we stopped the run, we stopped the pass. We did everything we could and I'm proud of this team, man."
"We just did what we do every week and trusted our coaches and play our brand of football," Jaydin Broadnax said. "We don't think anybody can sit with us."
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@usatodayco.com.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Boca Raton football dominates to win back-to-back state titles
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