'Cudas overwhelmed by powerhouse Dwyer in Class 4A playoffs; 42-6

NSBNEWS.net file photo by Sera Frederick. The 2009 football season is over for the New Smyrna Beach 'Cudas who were no match for powerhouse Dwyer High School Panthers of Palm Beach Gardens, with a 42-6 loss tonight on the road in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Cudas senior quarterback A.J. Granger, at right, had a rough night getting intercepted by Florida High School Player of the Year Matt Elam early in the first quarter. The Cudas' scoring was limited to six points the third quarter. Dwyer, now 12-1, moves on while the season comes to an abrupt end for the Cudas who finish with an 8-5 record.

Editor's Note: Here is a game summary story, courtesy of the Palm Beach Post:

PALM BEACH GARDENS -- The quarterfinals of the Class 4A state playoffs ended the same way for Dwyer as the previous two rounds did -- with the Panthers looking unstoppable en route to routing their over-matched opponent.

This time it was New Symrna Beach who felt the wrath of the Panthers (12-1, No. 2 Post Top 10), with Dwyer handing the Barracudas a 42-6 loss on Friday night. Panther all-around standout Matt Elam, a verbal commit to the University of Florida was his usual dominant self and set the tone early for Dwyer, which was never really tested.

After its opening drive stalled, Elam quickly gave Dwyer possession back when he intercepted Barracuda quarterback A.J. Granger.

The Panthers quickly capitalized on the turnover when Elam broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown run and 7-0 lead with just over a minute left in the first quarter.

Elam was just getting started tough. He added touchdown runs of 31 and 4 yards in the second quarter giving the Panthers a 21-0 lead at the break.

"He's a phenomenal player and did a great job again tonight," Panthers coach Jack Daniels said of Elam. "The offensive line did a great job of opening holes as well."

Dwyer certainly didn't let up in the second half.

The Barracudas first drive of the third quarter ended with a blocked punt which the Panthers turned into a touchdown, and a 28-0 lead, three plays later when Elan ran in from five yards out for his fourth touchdown of the game.

Dwyer increased its lead to 35, minutes later when quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw a perfect strike to receiver Robert Clark, streaking down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown.

Elam finished with 166 yards on 15 carries to go with his five touchdowns and set out much of the second half, as did most of the Panther starters. Late in the third quarter both teams started to lose their composures and several skirmishes broke out during the rest of the game.

"It's embarrassing, it's really embarrassing the way things got out of hand," Daniels said. "It seemed like every play one of their guys was either coming after one our guys or talking them up."

The fights may prove to be costly to the Panthers who had two players, Keir Dorney and Daevonte Barnett, ejected in separate altercations. Neither players are starters but, the ejections could result in automatic suspensions by the FHSAA.

Even with the big win, Daniels wasn't happy with his team's performance at all. "A lot of stupid penalties throughout the game," Daniels said. "If we play like this next week we're going to get our butts kicked."