Doral Academy advances to regional semifinals
With what coach Pamela McDonald calls her best team in her 11 seasons at Doral Academy, the Firebirds mercy-ruled Hallandale 8-0 at home in the Region 4-3A quarterfinals on Thursday.
Seven different Firebirds scored for Doral (22-1), ranked third in Florida and 12th nationally by MaxPreps.
“There are no individuals. They play as a team. There’s no one guy that’s a superstar,” McDonald says. “They play together. They love each other. They’re a family.”
The game was called when Andre Zabala scored the eighth goal with 25:08 remaining.
Kenneth Quesada scored twice in the first half, and Christian Cervantes recorded a goal and an assist.
Doral advances to the regional semifinals, where it will host Plantation American Heritage on Tuesday. Hallandale ends its season at 10-9-1.
MORE SOCCER
Region 4-1A — SLAM 4, Miami Country Day 0: Edwin Macfarlane goal. Caleb Acosta goal. Ayoub Amrouss goal. Cristian Sanchez goal. Jefry Padilla 10th shutout. SC 14-5-1.
Region 4-3A — American Heritage Plantation 2, Jackson 1: Mikael Dasilva goal. Zachary Atkinson goal. AHP 15-2-3.
▪ Region 4-1A — Hillel 2, Archimedean 1: Albert Didhy goal. Juli Rivak goal. HIL 18-0-3.
▪ Region 3-5A — Boca Raton 2, Monarch 1.
▪ Region 4-1A — Westminster Academy 8, Posnack 0.
▪ Region 4-2A — American Heritage Delray 3, North Broward Prep 0.
▪ Region 4-2A — Oxbridge Academy 1, Somerset 0.
Region 3-5A — Deerfield Beach 2, Palm Beach Central 0.
ALL-COUNTY
Columbus football defensive lineman Peter Delatour earned All-Dade Class 8A-6A third-team honors. Delatour helped the Explorers advance to the Class 8A state championship game.
Dr. Krop golfers Emily Palmeiro, Catherine Knowles, Leeland Bien, Zachary Bien, Soloman Levy and Ben Manley earned All-Dade golf honorable mention.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
McArthur had to hang on for an 86-82 victory over Pines Charter in the BCAA Big 8 boys’ quarterfinals on Thursday to earn another shot at USA Today Super 25 No. 12 Blanche Ely.
It took senior 6-7 forward Sandro Noel (15 rebounds) coming alive for 14 of his 16 points in the second half and reserve guard Luis Escobar hitting two free throws with 12.5 seconds left to survive a game-high 26 points from Charter 6-5 star swingman Haanif Cheatham and a dramatic Jaguars rally at Fort Lauderdale High School.
Mustangs coach Warren Gale said that despite the shaky finish, the Mustangs will be ready to avenge an 80-68 loss to Ely (20-0) at the Kreul Classic.
“That is what we have been waiting for,” Gale said. “We are going to be more ready and prepared to start the basketball game. I don’t think we were prepared to start the basketball game at the Kreul. That is why we struggled in the first quarter. From the first quarter on, we either won the quarter or played them even. We are going to play McArthur basketball. It will be a different game.”
McArthur feasted on the three-pointer line, connecting on 12 from long distance, including five each from Felix Rivera-Vega (23 points) and Terrell Turner (17 points). Derric Jean added 13 points and 10 assists.
If McArthur hopes to even be within striking distance against Ely in the fourth quarter on Friday, it will have to fix the lack of execution down the stretch on Thursday that left the door open for Pines Charter.
McArthur held a 68-59 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before Cheatham sparked a comeback with a three-pointer and then a layup to open the fourth quarter.
Charter guard Mike Jones converted a driving layup to cut the lead to 83-79 with 2:43 left before Cheatham found Jones again for a three-pointer in front of the Pines bench to make it a McArthur 83-82 lead with 1:22 left.
Pines Charter had a chance to take the lead after Mustangs guard Derric Jean turned the ball over on a five-second violation with 52.9 seconds left, but Bryant Hall lost the ball on the ensuing possession, leading to Escobar getting fouled and making two free throws for an 85-82 lead. Joshua Ferguson had 17 points and Dimitri Harper added 16 points for Pines Charter.
Dillard beat Western 68-31 in the late quarterfinal, setting up its own rematch with District 16-5A rival USA Today No. 15 Cardinal Gibbons on Friday.
FABIAN LYON
▪ Braddock 51, Varela 32: VAR: Martinez 8, Ramos 7, Lyewsang 6, Gallego 5, Vargas 3, Brown 3. Three-Pointers: Martinez 2, Ramos 2, Vargas 1, Gallego 1. BRA (12-10): E. Garcia 14, Ruiz 14, Estrada 8, Diaz 5, Reese 4, Dominguez 2, Grant 2, L. Garcia 2. Three-Pointers: Ruiz 4. Rebounds: Ruiz 5. Assist: E. Garcia 6. Steals: E. Garcia 5. Half: BRA 25-10.
▪ Coral Springs Charter 92, International School of Broward 68: CSC (15-5): Charles 6, Kinsey 14, Lee 15, Fraser 7, Borders 26, Crawford 3, Vaughn 15, Hylton 6. ISB: Isaac 35, Munnings 15, Pierre 8, Anderson 7, Burton 3. Rebounds: Lee 13, Vaughn 9, Hylton 9, Fraser 9. Half: CSC 50-28.
▪ Princeton Christian 62, Brito 46: BM (8-7): Alphonse 25, Dol 12, Huerta 3, Bovi 2, Clavero 2, Wongden 2. PC: Thomas 20, Rodriguez 18, Duran 16, Victoria 8. Three-pointers:Duran 2, Victoria 2. Assists: Huerta 4. Rebounds: Bovi 12. Steals: Alphonse 3, Dol 3. Half: 33-22 PC.
▪ Archbishop Carroll 59, Keys Gate 26: AC (20-5): Rosario 14, Diaz 8, Fred 8, Cordero 7, Aarestrup 6, Miralles 5, Anglada 4, Villamil 3, Louis-Jean 2, Balfour 2. KG: Sanchez 7, Ortiz 6, Brown 5, Mutulin 4, Abreu 3, Byrd 2, Palacio 2. Rebounds: Rosario 6. Assists: Fred 4. Steals: Cordero 6. 3-pointers: Fred 2, Aarestrup 2.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
▪ District 14-4A semifinals — Coral Springs Charter 38, University School 27: CSC (10-10): Etienne 9, Jones 4, K. Williams 12, J. Williams 13. US(10-8): Tolchinsky 6, Branse 10, Feinstein 7, Shashoua 4. Half: 14-11 CSC.
▪ District 16-4A semifinals — Florida Christian 59, St. Brendan 47: FC (17-6): Jimenez 23, Moura 20, K. Jim 14, Prinz 2. SB: Diaz 13, Munillo 12, Prieto 9, Perez 6, Canas 4, Dominguez 3. Three-pointers: Moura 3. Rebounds: Moura 11, K. Jim 9. Assists: Jimenez 4, Prinz 4. Steals: Jimenez 6, Prinz 5. Half: 31-23 FC.
▪ District 16-4A semifinals — Gulliver 53, Ransom Everglades 21: GP (20-7): Deutch 4, Pyatt 1, Bellinghereri 8, Ranisevlejic 8, Pagliery 5, Dubrovina 13, Thomas 4. RE: Lopez 6, Stern 2, Oppenheim 5, Schatz 2, Tallman 5, Ajagbe 1. Three-pointers: Dubrovina 2. Rebounds: Thomas 13, Assists: Bellinghereri 5. Steals: Deutch 3. Block: Pyatt 2 Half: GP 34-10
▪ Late Wednesday, District 16-5A Tournament quarterfinals — Cardinal Gibbons 62, Hallandale 67: CG (15-7) : Tumminello 20, Cohen 14, Armstead 14, Antoine 5, Cypress 5, Cypress 4, Gregos 3, Bitar 2. HAL (9-17): Walters 28, Wekyne 17, Williams 14, Hall 4, Trayveen 2, Shatoria 1. Half: HAL 36-28. Three-pointers: Tumminello 3. Rebounds: Cohen 20, Hall 9, Wekyne 11. Assists: Tumminello 7. Steals: Armstead 3, Antoine 3.
▪ Late Wednesday — Brito 55, LBA 28: LBA: Ramirez 6, Castillo 5, Williams 4, Benito 3, Molina 3, Gazmuri 2 Larroude 2, Mortorey 2. BM (8-6): Alphonse 14, Huerta 13, Bovi 8, Dol 6, Wongden 6, Perez 3, Batista 2, Nieto 2, Clavero 1. Rebounds: Dol 17. Steals: Dol 5. Assists: Dol 3. Half: 20-12 BM.
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
BCAA Big 8 semifinals at Fort Lauderdale: Cardinal Gibbons-Aquinas winner vs. Dillard-Western winner, 6:30; McArthur-Pines Charter winner vs. Ely-Douglas winner, 8
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
District 12-8A final at Piper: 7
District 15-8A final at Braddock: 7
District 15-7A final at St. Thomas Aquinas: 7
District 14-6A final at Stranahan: Boynton Beach-Stranahan winner vs. Pines Charter, 7
District 16-6A final at Northwestern: 7
District 16-5A semifinals at Dillard: Cardinal Gibbons-Hallandale winner vs. Dillard, 6; Archbishop McCarthy-Coconut Creek winner vs. American Heritage-Pompano Beach winner, 7:30
District 15-4A final at La Salle: 7
District 15-3A final at Miami Country Day: 7
WRESTLING
GMAC championship at Reagan – Opening rounds: 10 a.m.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
Region 4-5A final at Columbus: St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Lourdes, 7
Region 4-4A final: Riviera Beach Suncoast at Pines Charter, 7
Region 4-3A final: Cape Coral Ida Baker at Plantation American Heritage, 7
Region 4-2A final: Gulliver at Delray American Heritage, 7
Region 4-1A final: South Florida HEAT at Miami Country Day, 7
COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING
State championships, Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee
This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Doral Academy advances to regional semifinals."