West Boca Raton football shuts down 5-star QB, tops American Heritage

West Boca Raton football has built their reputation around a strong defense, and the 2026 campaign doesn’t look to be any different for the Bulls. 

West Boca downed American Heritage 24-7 on Friday night, starting their title defense season with a win over a Patriot squad ranked No. 23 in the USA TODAY National Super 25. 

West Boca suffocated an offense led by Texas QB commit Neimann Lawerence. The Bulls did not concede a first down until midway through the third quarter, and picked off the 5-star junior twice. 

West Boca jumped out to an early lead, scoring on their second possession on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Trey Moran to Lorantae Davis. 

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Moran was exceptional in the win, finishing the night 13-of-20 with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. 

“At the end of the day, we know what this defense is going to do,” said head coach Dylan Potts. “So we’re ok with these 24-7 games. We don’t mind playing field position… the defense is something special.  

Another Patriot 3-and-out was answered with a West Boca touchdown drive. The Bulls used three running backs in the win, and each helped chew up clock and keep the Patriot defense on the field. After gashing American Heritage up the middle for most of the drive, the Bulls lined up in empty before Moran connected with a wide-open Billy Clancy III from 5-yards out. 

“I think all three of those guys ran the ball really well today,” Potts said. “We threw the ball in the first half, and we knew we wanted to establish the run and take seven minutes off of the clock. And that was key for us.

Delorian Airall Jr. snuffed out any momentum the Patriots were trying to build with his interception just five plays later. A pass breakup in the end zone from Blake Mitchell protected a 14-0 West Boca lead at halftime. 

A clock-chewing drive in the third quarter resulted in a 1yd touchdown score from Moran than extended the lead to 21-0. The Patriots responded with a 2-yard touchdown carry from Tremaine Mullen five minutes later.

A mishandled snap on a punt attempt gave the Bulls good field position to start a possession, and West Boca cashed in with a field goal. Max Reid put a nail in the game with his interception three minutes into the 4th quarter. 

“It’s huge, you’re playing a nationally-ranked team on their home field, and coming off a tough loss like we did last week, I though we answered the call well. We were able to hang out hats on the defense until we got into a rhythm offensively. And as long as No. 1 is out there I’m comfortable that we can beat anyone in the country.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Boca Raton football shuts down 5-star QB, tops American Heritage

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