Trey Moran threw three touchdown passes and the defensive line overwhelmed Western's offense in a shutout win.
WEST BOCA RATON — No Javian Mallory? No problem.
Mallory, West Boca’s four-star running back, was sidelined by a minor ankle injury, but the Bulls still overpowered Western 35-0 on Oct. 3.
West Boca junior quarterback Trey Moran threw three touchdown passes, junior running back Anderson Gracilien scored twice, and the defensive line gave a dominant effort in the shutout.
"I think we came out and played a really good game, especially defensively," West Boca coach Dylan Potts said. "Offensively, I thought we played a pretty clean game. I thought Anderson Gracilien at running back had two receiving touchdowns, Trey Moran played lights out. I thought we were balanced, receivers as a whole. If the defense plays like that, it’s going to be hard for a lot of offenses to move the ball. We hang our hat on that unit."
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Calebre Hermane, Quinton Miller and Billy Clancy III also scored touchdowns for the Bulls and Omari McNeal also threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
With the win, West Boca (No. 2 Class 6A) improves to 5-1 while Western falls to 1-5. The win also avenged West Boca’s lone on-field loss from 2024 — a result that was later overturned as Western used an ineligible player.
"We were planning on doing this all week," Moran said. "This was a revenge game. They beat us last year, so we knew what we had to do."
Here are three takeaways from West Boca’s win.
1. West Boca’s defensive line was outstanding
Western has a solid quarterback in junior Jack Spader, but West Boca’s defense rarely gave him time in the pocket.
Christopher Medina set the tone early when he ended Western’s first drive with a tackle for loss on fourth down. Junior defensive lineman Jamar Thompson had multiple sacks. Edge rushers Javion Herrington, Grant Edmond and Demetrius Geathers Jr. (USF commit) were able to get around Western edge rushers and keep Spader on the run all night and the trio all made plays in the backfield.
Everyone on the defensive line was eating in this one.
2. The Bulls offense has several playmakers it can count on
Not having Mallory (Miami commit) suited up just meant more of West Boca’s other skill positions players got a chance to shine.
Gracilien ran hard between the tackles and repeatedly had several yards after initial contact. Clancy had two big catches — one in each half — at the Western 1-yard line that led to scores.
Hermane, who previously played at Western, opened the scoring and added key blocking. Wide receiver Zach Walls has multiple first-down catches.
West Boca won a state title with Mallory sidelined last season, but it’s a good reminder that this time has plenty of offensive players this year if he’s unable to go.
3. West Boca might be peaking at the right time
West Boca has critical games in October.
It travels to Royal Palm Beach in a key District 12-6A matchup, travels to Cardinal Newman, and hosts Palm Beach Gardens in its final district game before finishing the regular season against undefeated Atlantic on the road.
The way West Boca played against Western is definitely a performance it can build on. Outstanding defense and efficient offense won the Bulls a state title in 2024 and could do it against this fall.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Boca football dominates Western without star RB Javian Mallory
Category: General Sports
