By Dave Brousseau
DEERFIELD BEACH – Over the past four football seasons, Deerfield Beach High has struggled to find it identity.
The Bucks had compiled 42 non-losing seasons since the school began playing football in 1970. Through all the years of success and as a consistent playoff contender, the program has fallen on hard times.
A 7-33 losing record is proof.
Following a 21-7 victory over South Broward on Thursday there’s a glimmer of hope that coach JT Thomas is building team confidence for a winning program.
The Bucks will wait and see if they get an invite into the FHSAA Florida Invitational Tournament.
With the regular season now complete, the Bucks are 6-4, snapping a school record four consecutive losing seasons. The team could have easily been 8-2 if not for potential late game winning field goals blocked.
Sophomore quarterback Xavier Henry passed for 150 yards and a pair of touchdown passes in the victory over the Bulldogs.
“This felt great as a sophomore and knowing it wasn’t the prettiest game, but we won and that’s all that matters,” said Henry. “It felt good to win.”
“Minus the penalties, this game shows our potential,” said Deerfield Beach coach J.T. Thomas. “Tonight I really liked the energy from the guys. Other than the penalties we had I was pleased with the way we played. We started fast and ended strong and that’s all I could ask from the kids.”
The Bucks never trailed at any point of the game, scoring on their first possession on a 1-yard run by Meiki Desolomme. They added another score on the final possession of the half as Henry connected on a 44-yard scoring pass to Ramelo Adams for a 14-0 lead.
The Bulldogs (7-3), who struggled offensively throughout the game, got their lone score on a 50-yard fumble return from J-Quan Henry with 7:52 left in the third quarter that cut the deficit to 14-7.
Deerfield iced the game as Henry completed his second scoring pass, this time to senior Colin Dixon for 15-yards early in the fourth quarter.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. He was recently inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.