Boca Raton 52, Park Vista 35: Quarterback Eddie Sullivan beats former team and helps Bobcats and first-year coach Keith Byars to district title

Friday, November 06, 2009
by Jason Lieser

Photo by Bill Ingram / The Palm Beach Post

Click here for stats and video on the game

When Keith Byars took the job as Boca Raton's coach in May, he inherited a team that graduated nearly half of its starters and was realigning into the area's strongest district.

Still, he promised the Bobcats they were good enough to win their new district. They proved him right with a 52-35 win over Park Vista Friday night to clinch the 8-6A title with a perfect record.

"To go 4-0 the first year is a testament to our players' and coaches' hard work," Byars said. "We fought hard each and every week and it feels great now."

Quarterback Eddie Sullivan, facing his former team, completed 22 of 38 passes for 371 yards and five touchdowns and scored on an 80-yard run to lead the Bobcats to their first district championship since 2001.

The victory gives Boca Raton (7-2, 4-0 and No. 4 in The Post) a home game against Vero Beach when the playoffs open Nov. 20.

Park Vista's loss, coupled with Atlantic's win over Palm Beach Central, sends the Cobras, Eagles and Seminole Ridge into a three-way tiebreaker for District 8-6A's runner-up playoff slot. Those three teams finished 2-2 in the district and will play a tiebreaker tournament at 7 p.m. Monday at Park Vista. Seminole Ridge and Atlantic will play one quarter and the winner advances for a 12-minute game against Park Vista (6-3, 2-2 and No. 6) to determine the district runner-up. The winner Monday night will travel to face Treasure Coast in the first round of the post-season.

"We'll get our kids ready for whatever we have to," Park Vista coach Brian Dodds said.

Dodds' biggest concern leading up to Friday's game was the Bobcats' big-play capability. Boca Raton had 11 plays of at least 15 yards in the win, including 17-, 27-, 20- and 55-yard touchdown passes by Sullivan.

Sullivan started for Park Vista as a sophomore in 2007 and scored the game-winning touchdown in the Cobras' second-round playoff win over Vero Beach. He transferred a few months later to Boca Raton in a move that the Florida High School Athletic Association later ruled was a recruiting violation by Boca Raton.

"It's a district game and that's what's important to me," Sullivan said. "I wanted to win the district, not beat Park Vista."

Boca Raton withstood an exceptional performance by Cobras running back Tre Mason, who had 21 rushes for 294 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season on his 80-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.

On Park Vista's next possession, backup quarterback Justin Davis hit R.J. Rodriguez for a 52-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead, but the Bobcats followed with 27 unanswered points and did not trail the rest of the game.

Anthony Darrisaw led the Bobcats with seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, and Terrell Williams caught five passes for 118 and a score.

Cameron Lewis grabbed two touchdown passes and Jeremy Retzch, last week's hero for Boca Raton, caught one as well.

The friction between the teams was evident at the end of the game when Boca Raton continued to line up in the shotgun and throw, despite having a 17-point lead. Both sides needed to be calmed down before the post-game handshakes.