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Atlantic takes on Boynton in rivalry game
By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR
Atlantic coach Andre Thaddies is familiar with Boynton Beach’s Rick Swain, having gone against him both as an assistant and as a head coach when Swain was at Boca Raton High for four seasons.
So there will be few surprises when the Eagles (3-0) take on the resurgent Tigers (2-1) in another area rivalry game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Atlantic High.
The biggest difference Thaddies sees between this Boynton Beach team and those Swain coached at Boca Raton High is in the quality of athlete Atlantic will face.
“This year’s team is far more athletic,” Thaddies said. “Boynton since its inception has always had skill guys. And I think, at Boca, he had one, maybe two, maybe three skill guys, that he had to spot them.
Right now they’ve got six skill guys who could probably play on any team.”
One of those skill guys is quarterback Isaiah Howard, who threw for 119 yards and the winning two-point conversion in last week’s come-from-behind 22-21 win over Olympic Heights.
“He could throw, he could run, he’s a kid who can play,” Thaddies said.
Defensively, Thaddies said the Tigers are young, but their front four has impressed him.
Since many of Boynton’s best players go both ways, Thaddies wants to “sling the ball around, make them run, especially going into the third and fourth quarters.”
Eagles defensive end Percival James got a wake-up call from Thaddies last week, and he responded with three sacks and a safety in the Eagles’ 28-14 district win over Treasure Coast.
“I think it was time for him to step up,” Thaddies said. “He’s the only senior on our defensive line. D.J. McCellian was making plays and getting doubled because of it, and it was time for him to show that he is a college recruit. He answered the bell.”
Offensively, quarterback Mark Leal threw for 173 yards and a TD and ran for two more scores in last week’s win, but Thaddies said his stats could have been even gaudier.
“We’ve got to encourage receivers, invite them to catch his balls,” Thaddies said. “He’s one of those kids, he has not said anything to a receiver. We’re talking about in the hands, a combined 14 passes (dropped) in two games. So it kills our drives. Once we clean that up, I don’t think there’ll be much stopping our offense.”
This rivalry goes back several years to when the kids went against each other in youth football, and Thaddies was quick to remind his players of that this week.
“It doesn’t matter the records right now, it’s Boynton vs. Atlantic,” he said. “It’s the Rocks vs. the Bulldogs. These kids have been playing against each other for six, seven years. Most of them are related in some way or another … it’s going to be a barnburner.”
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