Kenny Mantu scored three touchdowns, including one in overtime, and Michael Britton ran in the crucial extra point to lift the Weston 115s past Cooper City 19-18.
The win for the Warriors (4-6) prevents the Cowboys (2-8) from making the playoffs. Weston will face Pembroke Pines in the first round at Weston.
Patrick Maddy forced a fumble on a controversial play to end the game. Mantu scored from the 15 on second down in overtime to give Weston the win. In regulation, he scored on a 46-yard run and caught a pass from TJ Pacchiolli in the corner of the end zone for another score.
Alexander Nieves caught a touchdown pass from Adam Koby in overtime for the Cowboys. Alex Arguello caught a scoring pass from Andrew Beer and another one from Charles Coberg.
Pee-wees
COOPER CITY 33, WESTON 6: Camden Krohn scored on runs of 42, 30 and 6 yards and lead the Cooper City Cowboys Pee-wees to a 33-6 victory against Weston. Krohn finished with 164 yards rushing on 11 carries. Quarterback Andrew Flory led the Cowboys offense as he has all year, completing a 31-yard pass to Krohn and moving the ball on the ground to provide the Cowboys with a double threat.
Colin Neff started the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown run, and Ian Pubillones added the extra point. Chris Beaton added an extra-point run and threw a 14-yard completion to Mathew Gahagan. Daniel Benkamper scored his first touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run up the middle behind the lead blocking of Gregory Giancarlo.
The offensive line of Benton Henriques, T.J. Burch, Patrick Mate, Drew Parker, Zack Bowles, Colton Rosiak, Ryan O’Rielly and Zack Hasson dominated the Weston defensive line, allowing the Cowboys to roll up 230 yards rushing. Others who contributed on offense were Dalton Mahle, Brandon Harris, Vernon Kineard, Kevin Licamelli, Tyler Sobiewski, Kyle Edwards and Bruce Houston.
On defense, the Cowboys played a solid game up front led by T.J. Burch, who was a constant presence in the Warriors backfield. Freddie Kineard, Zack Bowles, William Wright and Mate played well. Justin Diaz and Alex Yi played tough defense and made several tackles, including a sack by Yi on the Warriors last possession. Skai Moore, James Zawoyski and Daniel Ferguson also excelled.
80s
WESTON 14, COOPER CITY 12: Danny Epstein scored on runs of 5 and 3 yards to lift the Warriors (7-3), who face Davie in the opening round of the playoffs at Pembroke Pines. Cole Milican and Ricky Wingate added extra points. Michael Mancino, James Kaminski, Jake Williams, Michael Lashbrook, Gage Holsenbeck and Danny Adams led the offensive line.
Brian Smiley had 75 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Cowboys (4-6), who move on to play Pasadena Lakes in the first round of the playoffs. Zach Parker had two receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, and Brock Snider had a 40-yard run. Ryan Caudill attempted a field goal to tie the game. Spencer Garneau and William Evans paced the defense.
90s
WESTON 30, COOPER CITY 20: Ryan Swartzberg scored twice, and Colton Woodall and Anthony Guerra had a touchdown each for the Warriors (6-4), who are up against Coral Springs in the opening round of the playoffs. Tony Campasano and Matt Lawson recovered fumbles, and Max Vasquez, Ryan Deutsch, Scott Ogden and Woodall also had solid defensive games.
Phillip Genovese caught a 15-yard pass for a score to lead the Cowboys (5-5). DJ Law and Eric Applegate scored on runs. Applegate also had an extra point.
100s
COOPER CITY 6, WESTON 0: Ryan Jessup had nearly 60 yards rushing and scored to lift the Cowboys (5-5), who open the playoffs against Pasadena at Sawgrass.
Joe Brady had an interception, and Justin Sera played tough at noseguard, recovering a fumble. Jesse Gotlieb also recovered a fumble. James Myers had a solid performance, and Steven Colabella put forth a good effort on the line.
155s
COOPER CITY 34, WESTON 0: Antwan Medley had three touchdown receptions from Antonio Sanders, who also ran for a score. He had nearly 350 yards passing. Greg Duval caught five catches for nearly 100 yards. Offensive line excelled on pass blocking. Eric Hider, Dennis Young, Alejandro Luna, Keith McBride and Steven Russell. Lee Cesna, Mohammad Mahmoug and Nick Gagne stepped up for a solid performance on defense.
DAVIE VS. SAWGRASS
The Davie Pee-wees earned their first win of the season, 13-6 against Sawgrass on Saturday.
The Broncos (1-9) excelled behind the running of Nicholas Propri, who had two touchdowns. Justin Leal came up with the extra point, and Brandon Roberts completed two big pass plays to Sam Wilensky. Doug Futch and Conor Von Minden led a tough Davie defense. Stephen Hughes sealed the deal with a key fumble recovery late in the game.
The Davie Pee-wees include Houston Holcombe, Gunner Holcombe, Brandon Roberts, Sean Clark, Doug Futch, Tre Francis, Sam Wilensky, Connor Cox, Stephen Hughes, JJ Lopez, Nick Propri, Ethan Lewis, Justin Leal, Sal Abbate, Gabe Guertler, Alexandros Karabourniotis, Chris Brown, Dylan Zivitz, Ricky Miller, Connor Von Minden, Ronnie Augustine and Avery Taylor.
Will Coyne scored for the Gators (2-8).
80s
DAVIE 25, SAWGRASS 0: Special teams got the Broncos going as Michael English recovered the opening kickoff at the Bronco 48, and three plays later, Tyler Rue ran 43 yards for a score behind the blocking of Anthony Spagenski, Justin Bosley and Daniel Schaefer. The defense, led by Anthony Goins, Shane Hall and Derek Stovall, stopped the Gators on their first possession, and Davie came back and scored again as Eric Lewis outraced the defense on the third play from scrimmage for a 45-yard touchdown with Devin Lykins, Nick Mittel and Tony Grimes throwing key blocks. Kyle Plummer added the extra point behind blocks by Mittel and Ryan Cox.
Davie put together a six-play, 56-yard drive, highlighted by an 11-yard run by Mike Skelton, a 30-yard pass from Rue to Lewis and a 5-yard touchdown run by Lykins, putting the Broncos up 19-0 at the half. In the second half, Brian Coffman, Brandon Diaz and Dalton Davis led the Davie defense, which limited the Gators to four plays on two drives. Davie capped the scoring with a seven-play, 55-yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Skelton scoring from the 2.
Davie opens the playoffs against Weston at Pembroke Pines.
90s
SAWGRASS 12, DAVIE 6: Jerrod Harmon recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score, and Jamie Strawser and David DeLeon combined to recover another fumble for a score for the Gators (5-5). Defensive coach Mark Abratosky guided Nick Rogers, Bobby Hart, Rashaad Joseph, Kerry Bullock, Jerry Kaplan to a strong defensive performance.
Mike Gass scored on a 40-yard pass from Brandon Doughty for the Broncos (4-6). Ian Days ran the ball well and played good defense, and Terrance Moore made some big hits. Lorenzo Clark blocked well, and Alton Bell and Marquise Bellamy did a solid job running the ball and on defense.
115s
SAWGRASS 7, DAVIE 0: Durante Ponder scored on a 60-yard run and caught a pass for the extra point to lift the Gators (3-7), putting Sawgrass in the playoffs against top-seeded Pasadena Lakes at Davie. Jarrin Gooden had many catches and made two interceptions. Henry Herman had four sacks, and Marvin Daniels had eight solo tackles in the second half.
Quarterback Scott Sedley and Clemente Neri excelled on offense for the Broncos (1-9). James Auriema caught four passes for 100 yards, and Max Piera starred on the offensive line along with Beau Risner, who blocked well. Sedley had two interceptions to lead the defense, and Josh Epstein, Mike Stites, Tyler Horwatich and Jensen Weir also did well on defense.
135s
DAVIE 6, SAWGRASS 0: Kenny Thompson scored on a 5-yard run to pace the Broncos (3-7), who advance to the playoffs against top-seeded Cooper City at Davie. Junior McAllister had two interceptions, and Nick Collins and Thompson had an interception each. Everette Lewis excelled at quarterback, and William Antszak ran a reverse for a key first down. Davie, 0-10 last year, has allowed 14 points in its past three games.
Brian Williams led the Gators (3-7) defense with a couple of sacks, and Kendrick Johnson made a key reception on fourth down. Joe Sencow had many pass break-ups.
155s
SAWGRASS 24, DAVIE 0: The game was essentially over at the half as the Gators (9-1) did all of their scoring in the first two quarters against a Davie team playing with 12 players. Robert Borras scored on a 2-yard run, and Peter Leiner kicked a 12-yard field goal. Nikki Cuomo caught a 20-yard scoring pass and Matt Moss a 15-yard scoring pass. Ryan Parker recovered a fumble, and Eric Arbogast had an interception. Dale Campbell, Ramien Afsarmanesh, Treke Lattie also did well on defense.
Sawgrass opens the playoffs against Weston at Weston.
Pembroke Pines vs. Plantation
Playoff spots were on the line along with one – and possibly two – perfect seasons as the Pembroke Pines Bengals squared off with the Plantation Wildcats Saturday.
With the exception of just one team, every squad took the Plantation field with the chance to either secure or solidify their playoff slot.
In the 115s, Pembroke Pines came into the contest in fourth place, but jumped to second after posting an 18-8 win.
Special teams played a big part in the Bengals’ (8-2) success. In the first quarter, Pines’ first touchdown was set up by a 42-yard punt return by Eric Bryant. Bryant broke three tackles on the return and gave the Bengals excellent field position on the Plantation 6.
Two plays later, Jonathan Martin carried the ball in for the score as the Bengals built a 6-0 lead. It was his first of two touchdowns in the half. On the Bengals next possession, Martin scored from 27 yards out on a bounce to the right to give Pines a 12-0 lead.
The Wildcats (8-2) would answer just before the end of the half. With 24 seconds left in the second quarter, Plantation running backs Jonathan Sanchez and George Whigham linked up on a 24-yard touchdown pass.
The Bengals notched their second big play on the punt return with 3:53 to play in the third. Matthew Harris returned a punt 70 yards for a score.
Coach Carl Ramos said the pressure put on by linebackers Devon Desiree and William Forshee coupled with the solid line play of Ben Cuevas, Kyle Ramos and Jonathan Santiago was vital to the Bengals’ success.
The victory, along with Coral Springs’ win over Boca, propelled the Bengals to second place in the league. Plantation fell to third with the loss.
Ramos said the win was even more satisfying after what happened one year ago. The Bengals led the Wildcats 12-0 at halftime, but Plantation was able to score 18 straight points in the second half to pull out the win.
“The guys knew they had to suck it up and they did,” Ramos said. “It was a big, big game. It is our biggest win up to this point. But next week will be our biggest game of the year.”
Pee-wees
PEMBROKE PINES 24, PLANTATION 13: In another matchup between teams near each other in the playoff race, it was the rushing of Ricky Gutierrez Jr. that proved to be too much for the Wildcats.
Gutierrez scored three times in the win but none more important than a 6-yard scoring run with 7:20 to play that gave the Bengals (5-5) the lead. Gutierrez opened the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game.
Plantation (4-6) answered later in the quarter with a long touchdown run of their own. Nicco Whigham ripped off a 52-yard scoring run with 1:10 to play in the first.
Gutierrez’ second score came early in the second quarter. With the Bengals facing a 4th-and-19 from the Plantation 39, Gutierrez took a pitch play around the right end not only for the first down but for a touchdown as the Bengals went back on top.
80s
PEMBROKE PINES 26, PLANTATION 0: Jerron Seymour scored two first quarter touchdowns to lead the Bengals (8-2) past the Wildcats (2-8).
Seymour scored three touchdowns on the day with Andre Samuel adding the fourth.
The Bengals defense posted its second shutout in as many weeks and was led by Chris Penny, Edward Marquez, Irvin Garcia, Kevin Couvillon, Garrett Medina and Sean Vamper.
The Bengals finished the season in third place and will take on Tamarac tomorrow at Sawgrass. The loss eliminated the Wildcats from post-season play.
90s
PLANTATION 41, PEMBROKE PINES 0: The Wildcats secured their lock on first place with a win over the Bengals (1-9)
Ronnie Kennedy led Plantation (9-1) with three rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Alex Curda connected on a first-half scoring toss to Devin Drane for the game’s only passing touchdown. Jordan Batts scored a touchdown, along with Randy Graham.
100s
PLANTATION 18, PEMBROKE PINES 0: The Wildcats completed what they hoped would be a perfect season with a shutout win over the Bengals (6-4).
Plantation head coach Ben Fillichio said the league office will review prior to the playoffs on a ruling which gave the Wildcats their only loss. Fillichio said the AYFL forfeited Plantation’s win over Boca earlier this year because the Wildcats did not have the proper paperwork on one of their players who played for another AYFL team last season.
Fillichio is hoping the league will reverse their previous decision.
“We don’t want [to] lose a 10-0 season over a clerical mistake and penalize these kids,” Fillichio said. “These kids have worked way to hard for what they have done.”
Chase Edwards and Alvin Lilly each caught touchdown passes in the victory. The Wildcats other score came on Buddy Jackson’s kickoff return to open the second half. Fillichio added that Dorian Graham played well on both offense and defense.
135s
PLANTATION 26, PEMBROKE PINES 14: Octavious Woods scored two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats (7-3) past the Bengals (5-5).
Woods opened the scoring in the first quarter, but the Bengals would answer to tie the game at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Wildcats would take the lead for good on a touchdown pass to Brian Cole from Cory Claire.
Woods’ second touchdown run came in the third quarter. With 2:57 to play in the quarter, Woods busted out on a 50-yard run that made the score 20-7.
155s
PEMBROKE PINES 38, PLANTATION 0: The Bengals closed out their perfect season in convincing fashion with three first quarter touchdowns.
Leroy Goulbourne’s interception on Plantation’s opening drive set up PPO’s first score. Jamil Clark scored the first of his two consecutive touchdowns on a 29-yard run with 7:46 to play in the quarter. Gary Ingleton’s extra-point run gave the Bengals (10-0) an 8-point lead.
The second Plantation (2-8) drive was more of the same. Chris Pommells’ interception set up Clark’s 23-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Shawn Laue. Goulbourne tacked on the extra point.
Pembroke Pines vs. Tamarac
Pee-Wees
WEST PINES 25, TAMARAC 0: The West Pembroke Pines Wildcats Pee-wees (9-1) played an almost flawless game for the win. Nice blocking from the offensive line fueled the offensive barrage.
The offensive line is led by Zack DiPrima, Cameron Frazier, Jonathon Gonell, Jeffery Cabrera, Jonathon Boozer, Casey Davila, Bret Lowy, Joey Diaz, Brendan Beahn, and Danny Fratianni.
Wildcats quarterback Tyler Gomez had to leave the game with a knee injury, but Steven Jaworski stepped in, and the Wildcats didn’t miss a beat. Jaworski and Gomez had a terrific supporting cast in the backfield. Nate Benton, Daniel Braverman, Austin Zoda and Travis Martin all ran hard and blocked well. Eric Ellis had a breakout game with several long runs.
The defense held the Cougars from scoring. Jonathon Gonell and Mel Kitchens anchored a solid front line. Shane Wise, Christian Lopez, J.P. Tirone, Cameron Frazier, Chris Ramos, Alex Robles, Daniel Riccuilli, Zack DiPrima rounded out the defensive line. Linebackers Austin Zoda and Nate Benton along with defensive backs Steven Jaworski, Albert Iglesias, and Daniel Braverman played solid team ball, with Braverman getting several interceptions off the Cougars quarterback. Danny Bonfiglio, Alex Schmalz, Danny Wahlberg, Tyler Sesto, Ryan DiPaola, and Enzo Colucci also played well.
80s
WEST PINES 24, TAMARAC 6: Brian Maura had a breakout game scoring on runs of 32, 2, and 22 yards in the first half as West Pines built an 18-6 halftime lead. Maura gained more than 120 yards in total offense for the defending Super Bowl team.
The Wildcats (10-0) dominated their final game of the regular season winning convincingly over the Tamarac Cougars and ran their record to 23-2 over the last two seasons.
“This is the best team by far that I have ever coached,” West Pines coach Ralph Fratianni said. “The defense has only allowed four touchdowns for the entire season. The offense has scored over 200 points and has over 2,000 yards. The uncompromising success of this team is proof that when players work hard, condition hard and act unselfishly as a team, success is gained and maintained.”
Miles Doleman also excelled on the offensive side of the ball and was solid defensively. Giovanni Diaz, his counterpart on defense, also had a nice game. Michael Fratianni had a strong defensive performance and recovered one fumble. Isiah Prieto, Josh Morales, Jared Mims and Matt Sost controlled the defensive line of scrimmage. Defensive tackle Zachary Oliver had his best ever performance recording more than five solo tackles, one of which caused a fumble. The offensive line was anchored by Tyler Shoemaker, Jerry Martin, Joshua Doyle and Chris Ross. James Boozer engaged several key blocks to allow teammate Maura to break loose on his touchdown runs. Cody Riggs ran for more than 70 yards, scoring a key touchdown in the third quarter. Neil Anton once again proved to be a team leader for the undefeated West Pembroke Pines Wildcats.
Coach Fratianni acknowledged the efforts of all his players: Robert Knapp, Bryce Gomez, Thasa Cottrell, Kyle Harrington, Brandon Blondun, Michael Barrera, Anthony Brignola, Dillon Montes de Orca, Casey Black, Michael Benjamin, Jeffery Alphonso, Taylor Cutler, Christopher Headley, Jorge Barreto, Eric Wilcox, Paul Marcello, Kareem Auguste and Clifford Freyman.
Tamarac (5-5) and the only team representing the city in first round of the AYFL playoffs at American Heritage on Saturday (against Pembroke Pines), fell behind, 12-0, but rallied to cut the lead to 12-6 on an 8-yard touchdown run by fullback Anthony Benetiz with 41.9 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cougars offense put together the time-consuming scoring drive behind the blocking of Andre Warner, Chris Irizarry, Stephano Visca, Stace Ford and Brandon Wokral.
Special correspondents Joe Luciano and Tim Dwyer contributed to this report.
Walter Milner covers the Weston Warriors. Football coaches should e-mail results to Milner by 6 p.m. Sunday. He can be reached at wm9@hotmail.com.
