Despite daunting obstacle ahead, Coconut Creek football aims for big playoff run
Coconut Creek’s football team is very close to still being undefeated heading into the playoffs.
Ironically, if you ask Cougars coach Chris Yeargin, his team probably learned more from two close defeats to state powerhouses Delray Beach Atlantic and Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons than any of their victories.
“Those games taught us more than anything about how to finish,” Yeargin said. “Our guys understood because last year we lost after we were up at halftime against Ely. We saw what it was going to take and we finished.”
Coconut Creek is hoping its battle-tested season will translate into a prolonged championship run.
The Cougars looked like a contender on Friday night at Milander Park in Hialeah when they had no trouble cruising past Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy, 49-20, in a Region 4-5A quarterfinal.
Coconut Creek (9-2) moved past the first round after failing to do so last season, but next faces likely the most daunting obstacle to their goals next Friday. The Cougars must topple Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which beat Palm Bay Heritage 58-7 on Friday, and is in pursuit of a state-record seventh consecutive state championship.
More than that, Aquinas has beaten Coconut Creek in all five playoff meetings all-time and recently eliminated the Cougars in 2022 and 2023.
“That’s a great program and (Aquinas) coach (Roger) Harriott is doing special things over there,” Yeargin said. “They’re St. Thomas. So we have to bring our A-game for sure.”
Creek looked like a team, which isn’t going to back down no matter how intimidating the competition, on Friday when it rolled out to a 42-0 lead with 4:35 left in the first half.
Mater Academy (8-3), which was making its first playoff appearance under veteran coach Tim “Ice” Harris, then scored its first points when sophomore King Leite returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The Lions couldn’t avoid the running clock starting in the second half, however, after the 35-point mercy rule kicked in once Creek held on for a 42-7 halftime lead.
The Cougars, who lost their two games this season by a combined eight points, dominated up front, allowing their running game to amass over 200 yards.
Cayden Delions led the effort with 92 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns on 12 carries while Jordan Jett Thompson had 87 yards on six carries and two touchdowns of his own.
Quarterback Josiah Sanchius went 9 for 10 for 115 yards and threw one touchdown pass - a 55-yarder to Keyondre McClover.
Mater opened the game with a key mistake on special teams as a long snap was mishandled inside its own 5, allowing Khalil Grenade to pick it up at the 3 and run it in for Creek’s first touchdown.
After Creek extended its lead to 35-0, the Cougars scored on defense when Mater quarterback Dontavious Kinchens tried throwing the ball away to avoid a safety. The ball ricocheted off a lineman up in the air and was caught in the end zone by Creek defensive end Malik Lane for a touchdown.
Sophomore backup quarterback Kayne Garbutt threw a pair of touchdown passes for Mater in the fourth quarter after the outcome was not in doubt.
“It was just preparation and discipline and holding up the standard we’ve had here at Creek, which hasn’t changed for years,” Yeargin said. “We’ve got 1 and 2 with one of the best running back combinations in the county or the state, really and we’re real physical up front.”
