By Dave Brousseau - BCAA  Writer

POMPANO BEACH – Every offensive player on the field during Saturday’s high school football game between Deerfield Beach at Blanche Ely didn’t come close to the performance of senior Ladarious Smith, a 5-10 senior, typically plays wide receiver and strong safety. On this night he was called on to be Saturday’s starting quarterback after the departure of Landen Carter.

It turned out to be a great decision by Tigers coach Josh Moore.

Smith rushed for 208 yards on 24 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown run of 64 yards with 30 seconds for a Ely 14-7 none-district game on Saturday.   

“The victory was the Tigers fourth straight over the Bucks, having out scored them 127-7. Deerfield had won 12 consecutive games against Ely dating back to 2012, while outscoring the Tiger 430-67 during that stretch.

“I’m real tired but it comes with preparation, and I wanted to help my team out,” said Smith. “They pushed me to become the best player that I am. Today I had to step up because my teammates depended on me.”

“We lost our quarterback earlier in the week because he transferred out,” said Moore. “I told Ladarious we needed him to play pretty much the whole game. Special teams, defense and quarterback. He came out and put on a show for everybody.”

Deerfield Beach (1-4) took a first quarter lead after recovering an Ely fumble at the Tigers 20. Senior quarterback William Martinez completed a 10-yard scoring pass to Amarion Ray for a 7-0 lead with 4:14 left in the quarter.

Ely (3-2) tied the score at 7-7 on a Preston Tookes scoring receptions with 7:51 left in the second quarter.

Both teams had put themselves in potential scoring positions in the second half, but defenses stiffened in keeping the game tied.

On third-down and nine from their own 36, Smith ran the ball into the gut of the Bucks defense breaking free for the winning score.

“My coach said if the defensive end comes crashing down, go straight up the middle and that’s what I did,” said Smith. “My goal was for 200 yards and get the win for my teammates.”

“That kid was amazing,” said Deerfield Beach coach James Thomas. “We would have rather run the clock out, rather than give him another shot.”

Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.