BOCA RATON — Sophomore Javian Mallory carried West Boca to a 21-7 District 10-3M victory over visiting Blanche Ely on Thursday night.
Mallory finished the game with a school-record 330 yards on 30 carries and three touchdowns, upping his season total to 23 TDs.
“Coming into the game, coach (Dylan) Potts told me what the game plan was and that was to run it down their throat,” Mallory said. “I felt like our defense gave us a great look this week, and we couldn’t get nothing. The game seemed easy. It was just like practice.
“I mean 330 yards is a career high for me and I am at a loss for words right now,” Mallory said. “I am just going to go home, celebrate with my family and go to school tomorrow (Friday).”
West Boca likely clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2013 when they fell to Blanche Ely 44-20 in the Class 7A regional quarterfinals. It would be the fifth time the Bulls have made it to the playoffs in the school’s 19-year history.
“It’s been a while,” said Potts, the second-year West Boca coach, whose team lost to District winner Coconut Creek, 42-28 two weeks ago. “This should get us in. I believe our kids put together a great game plan. We got out to a hot start and got some momentum going into the second quarter.”
“We have been here before as well,” Mallory said. “We were up 12-0 going into the second quarter against Coconut Creek, so when we went into the locker room, we said, ‘Don’t let history repeat itself.’”
Mallory, who wound up with 260 all-purpose yards and three scores in that loss, made a promise to Potts afterward.
“He told me he was going to go for 300 against (Blanche) Ely,” Potts said, smiling. “And he did. He does great things on the football field, but in the classroom, he is just as good.”
West Boca Raton (8-1, 2-1) broke out to a 7-0 lead with 6:32 left in the first quarter on 63-yard touchdown scamper by Mallory.
Mallory, who rushed five times for 162 yards in the first quarter, exploded on 54-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 13-0 with 1:50 remaining in the first period.
Blanche Ely (6-3, 1-2) cut the deficit to 13-7 with 1:27 remaining in the first half on a 2-yard plunge by sophomore Kenson Louis. The scored capped an 11-play, 53 yard drive.
The Tigers, who had been a second half team the past two games, erupting for 36 second half points to blank Deerfield Beach, 36-0 and overcoming a 26-0 halftime deficit to edge Piper 33-26 last week, couldn’t find an answer for Mallory.
Blanche Ely coach Michael Bailey lamented the loss may have knocked them out of the postseason. The Tigers entered the contest seeded fourth in Region 3-3M and could fall out of the state series based on other results on Friday.
“We played our worst game tonight,” Bailey said. “We weren’t prepared. “It’s heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. Their running back was an impressive kid. Assignment-wise we weren’t lined up correctly and that bit us in the butt. I think if we had been lined up correctly, we would have contained him better.”
Mallory put the game away with a 3-yard TD run off left guard with 10:58 left in the game. He made it a two-score game when he hauled in a two-point conversion pass from his cousin, sophomore quarterback Mason Mallory.
“We knew going into half at 13-7 we just wanted to stick to our game plan and our plan the whole week was to run the ball,” Potts added. “I preach to the kids all the time that this is where our culture in the weight room comes in…the stuff in January and all through the summer, every day we are building our program running the ball and playing good defense. I think this is the toughest region in the state with St. Thomas Aquinas, Coconut Creek, Plantation, Blanche Ely, Dillard and the list goes on.”