Can Dillard be a contender? Panthers up to challenge after moving up to Class 7A
Tyler Tate’s position was unenviable. He took over the Dillard football program ahead of the 2020 season following the unexpected death of his predecessor, Eddie Frazier, and then had to maneuver his team through the COVID-19 pandemic his first year at the helm.
There was almost no in-person contact during the offseason and uncertainty whether a season would be played at all.
When the Panthers finally took the field last season, they picked up where they left off in 2019 before Tate’s arrival. Dillard ran the table in its abbreviated season, going a perfect 6-0 in the regular season and marching through its three games in the 6A-1A bracket of the tri-county tournament. The Panthers capped the season with a 32-6 blowout against North Miami Beach and outscored opponents 250-34 in those six games. This came a year after Dillard went 12-1, losing only to eventual state champion Central in the Class 6A regional finals.
“One thing I learned,” Tate said, “I told the kids that there’s gonna be ups and downs and that they have to continue to learn how to play when things are not going right. As the season went on, I really think we got better as far as staying even keel.”
But Dillard isn’t resting on the laurels of its past two seasons. Tate doesn’t want his team settling.
And there is little room for error this year with the Panthers bumped up to Class 7A and playing in the same district as perennial state title contender St. Thomas Aquinas. That Oct. 22 matchup will likely determine who wins the district.
But Aquinas is far from the only challenge on Dillard’s schedule. The Panthers play Deerfield Beach and Miramar in back-to-back weeks and host Plantation to close their regular-season schedule.
“To be considered one of the best,” Tate said, “you’ve gotta beat the best. It’s a great opportunity for my program. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Those big matchups and big games are ones you want to play. There’s nothing enjoyable about something that’s going to come easy. Challenges drive me and my team and my staff.”
Mortimer, a Florida State commit, caught 24 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns last year and also had five touchdowns on special teams (two kickoff returns, three punt returns).
Tate points to Mortimer’s speed and soft hands as his strongest attribute and notes that “he’ll continue to sharpen his game as a route runner, and that will make him tough to guard.”
“He’s basically unblockable,” Tate said.
Outside of the duo, Tate points to the junior running back duo of Jaferris Finley and Christopher Johnson as focal points of the offense. They helped Dillard establish the ground game in the Panthers’ 44-0 season-opening win over Boyd Anderson. Dillard scored four rushing touchdowns in the contest.
Defensively, Tate is high on sophomore cornerback Antoine Jackson and freshmen defensive linemen Armando Black and Anthony Smith.
Other schools of note
Class 8A: Could this finally be the year that Deerfield Beach gets over the hump and makes it back to the state-title game for the first time since 2005? The Bucks return three Miami Herald 2020 first-team members in running back Jaziun Patterson, linebacker Jayvant Brown and defensive lineman Alton Tarber. Davie Western, a regional finalist in 2019, could be a sleeper to make a state-title run as well with junior quarterback Colin Hurst and senior receiver Jullian Lewis leading the offense and safety Websley Etienne on defense.
Class 7A: St. Thomas Aquinas is still the team to beat from South Florida — and, arguably, the state — in Class 7A. They have six of the top-150 recruits in the state of Florida for the Class of 2022, according to the 247Sports composite ranking. Four-star offensive lineman Julian Armella (No. 17 in the state, No. 126 nationally) leads the way, with five three-star prospects — tight end Mason Taylor, running back Anthony Hankerson, quarterback Zion Turner, wide receiver Camden Brown and cornerback Jerrod Cameron.
Class 6A: Broward County has just one five-team district in Class 6A this year, and the Plantation Colonels should be the top contender to win District 15-6A. Plantation went 4-2 during the shortened 2020 season and was the runner-up in the Class 7A division of the tri-county tournament with its lone losses coming in a rain-shortened shootout against Western to start the season and a 44-6 loss to Delray Beach Atlantic in the tri-county title game. The Colonels, however, do have a lot of talent to replace, including quarterback Cedquan Smith, wide receiver Jacolby George and linebacker Joshua Glaze, among others. Boyd Anderson, Coconut Creek, Hollywood Hills and Oakland Park Northeast round out the district.
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