One would have to forgive Mater Academy running back/wildcat quarterback Daniel Doriscar if he wanted to sleep in late Saturday morning.
In a game that was delayed close to 90 minutes because of lightning and didn’t end until close to midnight, Doriscar just kept on trudging along refusing to get tired. And when it was over, he had led his Lions to a big 40-22 victory over Doral Academy in a showdown for first place in District 16-7A at Doral Academy Field.
Doriscar spent most of the night running the offense from the wildcat formation and the Firebirds defense never could figure out how to stop him as he finished the night with 215 yards on 34 carries and four touchdowns at Mater moved its overall record to 4-1 and 4-0 in the district.
“I was really gassed there at the end but I had set a goal [Friday] of getting 200 yards and I really wanted to get there,” said Doriscar, a senior who is getting few looks from colleges and is hopeful Friday night’s performance will change that. “We knew Doral would be all charged up because this is a big rivalry game, but it was just a matter of my guys up front doing the job and making things easy for me. This win really gets us in a great position to move on and have a big year.”
In what was billed as the biggest game in the 10-year history of the Doral Academy football program, a standing-room-only crowd lined the fences and watched a competitive and close three quarters that saw Doral take a 15-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
But the Lions put on the full-court press from there, taking the lead for good when Doriscar went over from 2 yards out with 10:10 left. Devonta Lopez then picked off Doral’s Angel Alvarez, setting the Lions up at the Firebirds’ 25, where Doriscar went in from 6 yards out to make it 26-15 with 7:36 left.
Nez Dacosta picked off Alvarez four plays later and returned it 55 yards for the score to make it 33-15 and all but end the issue. Doriscar scored his final touchdown from 20 yards out with 48 seconds left to put him over the 200-yard mark.
“The kid is just remarkable,” Mater coach Rocco Casulo said of Doriscar. “He just refused to get tired and kept going and going out there and really came through in a huge way for us [Friday]. Hopefully this will start getting him some looks from colleges. This was such a great atmosphere [Friday], one of the best I’ve ever been around with so many people here and I think you saw the beginning of a very long and spirited rivalry.”
Mater couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as the Lions took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in eight plays, with Doriscar going over from 2 yards out to make it 7-0.
The Firebirds answered with a drive of its own, going 68 yards in 10 plays before settling for a 27-yard Vladimir Rivas field goal just before the lightning detector went off suspending the game for nearly an hour and a half.
The Lions didn’t let the delay bother them as they came right back out and went 49 yards in eight plays to go up 14-3 when quarterback Kaywon Hannah, despite facing a first-and-goal situation at the 26, found Eric Demps for a 6-yard score on third-and-goal.
Doral answered that score with a 75-yard drive in seven plays capped by Alvarez sneaking over from a yard out. The score was set up when Alvarez found Brieon Fuller for a 61-yard catch-and-run play to the Mater 7. Rivas’ PAT was blocked, but Rivas nailed a 29-yard field goal just 18 seconds before halftime to trim Mater’s lead to 14-12.
Rivas’ 23-yard field goal with four minutes left in the third gave Doral (4-1, 3-1) its only lead of the night.
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