Glades Central wins in four overtimes

Steve Dorsey | Special Correspondent

Glades Central players celebrate as they force a Dwyer fumble in the fourth overtime to win the game at Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington on Saturday, Oct. 4th, 2008. (Scott Fisher, Sun Sentinel / October 4, 2008)

Wellington - Their homecoming game was spoiled by circumstances beyond their control. Their faces were smeared with wet turf after toiling for almost three hours in a driving rain that rendered the playing field at Palm Beach Central Stadium an Everglades-like swamp.

None of that, however, seemed to matter to Glades Central seniors James West and Artavious Dowdell after the Raiders (5-0, ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A state poll) had defeated previously unbeaten and 4A state-ranked Dwyer 6-0 in four overtime periods Saturday afternoon on a day more suited for mud-wrestling.

West, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound wide receiver, caught a pass from junior quarterback Leron Thomas at the 3-yard line, broke a tackle at the 2 and lunged into the end zone for the game's only touchdown on a third-and-17 play in the fourth overtime period.

Glades Central muffed its PAT attempt, but a few moments later, Dowdell recovered a fumble on Dwyer's first play of the fourth OT to secure the victory and hand the Panthers (3-1) their first defeat this season.

"It's emotional," Dowdell, a defensive lineman, said of the Raiders' win, which culminated an emotionally draining week for the team.

Following two shootings in the past two weeks, one involving a teammate and the other a fatal shooting of a player from neighboring rival Pahokee, Palm Beach County School District officials moved the game from Friday night to Saturday morning and the site of the game from Belle Glade to Palm Beach Central. Glades Central coach Jessie Hester said his team practices also were affected early in the week because of safety concerns stemming from the recent rash of violence in Belle Glade.

"If we can't be beat in these conditions and under these circumstances, I don't think we can be beat," Hester said. "Our offense is very ineffective in weather conditions like this, but to win this game is testament to how great our defense is. Our defense won this ball game."

Dwyer won the statistics battle, especially on the ground where the Panthers had 164 yards rushing compared to only 38 for Glades Central in conditions that dictated running the football. The two teams combined for 20 fumbles, with Glades Central losing three and Dwyer two. One of Dwyer's lost fumbles was recovered by Glades Central junior Gregory Dent just before the end of the scoreless first half after Dwyer had drove to the Glades Central 10-yard line.

Dwyer had another golden opportunity to score in regulation when the Panthers drove to the Glades Central 4-yard line but had a 21-yard field goal attempt denied when holder Curt Maggitt could not handle the slippery football. That happened with 3:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, setting up the drama-packed four-overtime finish.

Dwyer quarterback Bradley Wallace was stopped a foot from the goal line on a fourth-down play in the first OT period. Glades Central then had a chance to win the game, but sophomore Alanda Shaw's 25-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright to send the game to a second OT period, with both teams getting another set of downs from the 10-yard line.

Glades Central fumbled away the ball on its possession in the second OT, but Dwyer again mishandled the snap on a 30-yard field goal attempt. Then in the third OT, Wallace again was stopped just short of the goal line on a fourth-down play, and Glades Central lost its third fumble.

Three plays later, West scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Thomas, and Dowdell joined him in the hero's circle a few moments later when he pounced on the final fumble of the game.

"We had our chances and didn't get it done," Dwyer coach Jack Daniels said. "We'll let it sting for a little bit and then get ready for Olympic Heights next week."