Big plays in fourth quarter propel Western to comeback playoff win over Palmetto
Davie Western’s football team had a pretty tumultuous regular season.
A 1-4 start with losses to national powerhouses could have rattled the Wildcats.
But Western didn’t break.
Two forfeits for using ineligible players stripped the Wildcats of a district championship and left them with a 4-6 record and just barely making the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in Region 4-7A.
But Western didn’t break.
And on Friday night when it appeared this 2024 season was nearing its end, trailing in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats didn’t break.
Western regrouped and scored 20 unanswered points in the final period to rally for a 26-10 victory over Miami Palmetto in a Region 4-7A quarterfinal at Tropical Park in Miami.
Western (5-6), which will be on the road the rest of the way on its quest to win its first state championship, will next travel to Boca Raton to take on the Bobcats (10-1) next Friday in the regional semifinals.
“We dealt with a lot of adversity, and I don’t even wanna get into all that nonsense, but at the end of the day, the boys are here and that’s all that matters,” Wildcats coach Adam Ratkevich said. “We’re 1-0 and that’s been the chant for us. ‘1-0 all the way to the ring.’ We took a big step in that direction tonight.”
Trailing 10-6 and unable to sustain much rhythm on the offensive end thanks to the Panthers’ defense, Western was in danger of falling behind by two scores late in the third quarter.
Palmetto drove inside the Western 10-yard line, but quarterback Andre Bailey’s pass was batted into the air and intercepted at the 1 by sophomore safety Jaylin Jones.
The Wildcats were unable to capitalize on their ensuing drive, but drove the ball into Palmetto’s red zone before being stopped on downs inside the 5. The swing in field position forced a short field after Palmetto punted on its next series.
Western reached the red zone again early in the fourth quarter when its offense finally made the huge play it needed to turn the tide.
Wildcats senior quarterback Sebastian Circo heaved a pass on fourth-and-8 from Palmetto’s 14 into the back of the end zone and sophomore receiver Khamarian Young leaped and made an acrobatic, one-handed catch as he spun around and landed both feet in bounds for a go-ahead touchdown with 7:22 left in the fourth.
Western’s defense did the rest.
The Wildcats protected that 13-10 lead on the next series as the Panthers (6-5) attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-2 from their own 28. Western stuffed a run by upback Ethan Lopez to take over on downs.
“That ‘black shirt’ defense has been outstanding,” Ratkevich said. “We have a lot of young stars on offense, but that defense has been the strength of our team.”
Two plays later, Circo found Tromon Isaac Jr. open for a 21-yard touchdown to begin pulling away.
Western’s defense forced the last of four turnovers in the game when senior linebacker Julian Mendez picked up a fumble and scampered 63 yards for a touchdown to put the game completely out of reach.
“The reality is Palmetto is a heck of a football team and they fought and made it really tough on us,” Ratkevich said. “Our guys were resilient, they made some mistakes, but they fought for four quarters. That’s basically how we told them this game was going to go.”
