FORT LAUDERDALE — Plantation sophomore Desmond Christian scored three touchdowns on Friday night — two on offense and a third on a pick-6 — as the visiting Colonels stunned previously undefeated Dillard 21-14 in a 4A regional quarterfinal.
Christian said he told himself all week he was going to score three times and help his team win the game and knock Dillard (10-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“I just came in here really confident,” said Christian, who entered the game with just four TDs all season. “The whole week I had that mindset that I was going to come in here and dominate. That was really it.”
Christian caught TD passes of 36 and 22 yards and the Colonels (7-4) went up 13-0 in the first quarter. Both scores were extended by fourth-down pass interference calls against Dillard (10-1). Christian’s third TD of the night came on an electrifying 97-yard interception return that gave the Colonels the lead for good with 30.5 seconds left in the third quarter.
Dillard, leading 14-13 at the time, was driving and had the ball on the Plantation 1 before a false start penalty backed up the Panthers. On fourth-and-goal, Dillard senior quarterback Jayden Chico rolled to his right and was intercepted by Christian, his first of the season.
“The QB rolled out my way, and I just had a feeling he was going to throw it,” Christian said. “I went with my gut feeling, reached out for the pick and rest is history. We knew it was going to be a tough game, and we were probably the hardest team they ever played. To be honest, it’s been a minute since I had three TDs in a game. I really can’t remember.”
Plantation scored on its first drive after the Panthers were whistled for a pass interference call as junior De’Angelo Brim’s pass on a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 from their own 23 was incomplete. Given new life, Christian finished off the 11-play, 77-yard drive when he hauled in a 36-yard scoring toss from sophomore quarterback Zachary Johnson for a 6-0 lead with 8:21 left in the first quarter.
The Colonels extended the lead to 13-0 after another pass interference call against the Panthers, this time on a fourth-and-2 on the Dillard 40. Three plays later, Christian and Johnson teamed up again for a 22-yard TD. In addition to his two TD passes, Johnson carried 25 times for 85 yards.
Dillard grabbed a 14-13 halftime lead, benefiting from a pass interference call of its own. The Panthers had cut the lead to 13-7 on a 5-yard scoring run by senior running back Anthony Carey with 6:13 left in the first half. Dillard then took the lead, marching 60 yards in nine plays, capped by a 7-yard TD pass from Chico to Carey.
The Panthers shot themselves in the foot, committing 10 penalties for 105 yards and turning the ball over three times on interceptions.
“Desmond had the two touchdowns on offense and came up big for us on defense,” said Plantation coach Darrell Strong. “It was perfect timing for us and we took advantage of that and made them turn the ball over.”
Dillard also came up short in two red-zone opportunities, losing the ball on downs on a fourth-and-goal from the 8 with 10:52 to go and a fourth-and-10 from the 25 with 2:36 left in the game when Chico’s fourth-down pass was intercepted by junior Jemari Foreman.
Plantation ran out the clock and secured a regional semifinal berth against defending state champion American Heritage, a 50-20 winner over Fort Pierce’s John Carroll.
“It was a tough loss,” said Dillard coach Demitris Mincey. “We had the lead and got down to the goal line, had a false start penalty and then the pick-6. It was the small things. We didn’t take care of the football and we didn’t take what the defense was giving us.”
The Colonels’ victory marked the second straight win over the Panthers, who snapped a four game losing skid last season and is now 23-19-1 in the series between the two teams.
“We knew Dillard was good and at the end of the day it is still hard to go undefeated,” Strong added. “It was a rivalry game and we knew we were the better team and did what we had to do.”
“It was hard (to keep our composure) because of how deep the rivalry is,” Strong continued. “It was crazy how we got lined up against them in the first round of the playoffs. We usually play them during the season, but we wound up playing in the playoffs. At halftime, we made the right adjustments and made their quarterback throw the ball. We knew if he was throwing the ball we was going to have a chance and that’s how it turned out tonight.”
