DELRAY BEACH — Atlantic junior running back Omari St. Fort, coping with the loss of his grandmother just a day earlier, responded with an inspiring performance in the first half to lead the host Eagles to a 47-0 victory over Blanche Ely in the District 14-5A opener for both teams on Friday night.

St. Fort helped the Eagles (4-0) take a 34-0 halftime lead as he rushed for 127 yards and three TDs as the Eagles scored on their first four possessions.

“She passed around 8:15 yesterday morning,” said St. Fort, who scored on runs of 9, 32 and 17 yards. “That inspired me today to just push myself harder. I wanted to do it for her.”

“Our team just came out and executed really,” he added. “We saw they couldn’t really mess with our run game. We have a great offensive line, and we just came out and everybody played their role.”

Terry Gammage added a 37-yard pick-6 and quarterback Pedro Martinez scored on a 14-yard run around left end in the first half as Atlantic piled up 250 yards of offense in the first half and budgeted Blanche Ely to just 16. The Eagles finished the game with 416 yards on offense, while the Tigers ended with 44.

Blanche Ely (2-1) threatened at the end of the first half following a 72-yard kickoff return by P.J. Ford to the Eagles’ 21 with 45 seconds left, but Atlantic held on downs on a quarterback sneak by Hariston Landen-Carter for no gain.

Atlantic coach Jamelle Murray said his team executed the game plan.

“We have to continue to coach these guys up and get better every week,” Murray said. “It was a good week of practice.

“Omari played really well,” Murray added. “He had a tough loss with his grandmother passing away yesterday. It was a really emotional night for him, but that kid works hard every day, and what we saw tonight is what we see every day in practice. A lot of the kids didn’t even know about it. It is still fresh.”

Atlantic scored on its first offensive play of the second half to force a running clock on a 48-yard catch and run by Mark Hanniford on a short pass from Martinez, and the final play of the game on a 6-yard TD pass from freshman QB Tyrelle Gammage to senior wide receiver James Jones in the corner of the end zone for its final margin.

Murray also lauded his team’s defensive performance.

“It’s good to see no points go up against us,” Murray added. “It’s something we’d like every week. We are trying to hold ourselves to a higher standard and keep going. I love what I saw tonight. I see a good direction. We just have to be consistent.”

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/09/13/mourning-st-fort-atlantic-soar-past-visiting-blanche-ely/