LAKE WORTH- Dwyer and Park Vista hadn’t played each other in three years, since 2006, before Friday night. After the rout at GL Homes Stadium, it may be another three before they play again.
Panther’s senior running back Matt Elam rushed for 141 yards and three first-half touchdowns, and Dwyer’s defense completely swarmed the Cobras in a lopsided 41-0 win at GL Homes Stadium Thursday night.
“Everybody was expecting us to run, so they loaded the box,” Park Vista’s running back Tre Mason said. “I just did the best I could. As a team, we did as much as we could but now we have to keep our heads up and bounce back in next week’s game.”
Dwyer (5-1) proved why their high-powered offense was too much for the Cobras (4-2), scoring on the second play from scrimmage with a Elam 47-yard touchdown run in under 20 seconds.
On the Panthers next possession quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who completed 6 of 7 passes for 107 yards, connected with senior Mike Ruiz for a 35-yard touchdown.
Dwyer would continue pounding on Park Vista’s defense to rack up four more impressive touchdowns, pushing the referees to keep the clock running.
Elam, who has made a verbal commitment to Florida, showed how focused he was throughout the whole game by leading the Panthers with 141-yards rushing and three touchdowns on just six attempts.
Park Vista entered the game as one of the county’s highest-scoring teams, but the Cobras were no match for Dwyer which held star running back Tre Mason to a season low 63-yards on 14 attempts. Mason also caught a 5-yard pass from Justin Davis for Park Vista’s only completion of the game.
The Panthers were just demolishing the Cobra’s offense holding them to just 79-yards rushing and five yards passing.
“This is the best team I’ve ever been around,” Dwyer coach Jack Daniels said. “We have a very special group on offense, and then you turn around and see our defense.”
“I’m not trying to disrespect the teams we’ve played, but our players are just better.”
Despite being flagged eight times for 70-yards, Dwyer still managed to keep Park Vista out of the end zone.
The Panthers are now on a five game winning streak and aren’t looking to stop anytime soon as they try to get back to the Regional Quarterfinal game and get a chance to go to state competition.
