John I. Leonard 21, Boca Raton 7: Lancers' defense dominates

Friday, October 05, 2012
by Special to the Palm Beach Post

With quarterback Kevin Anderson out for the season, Boca Raton was forced to be a one-dimensional team, and John I. Leonard was ready.

The Lancers limited the host Bobcats to six first downs and 146 total yards, and Ovenson Cledanord's 24-yard fumble return capped a dominant defensive effort and a 21-7 victory for Leonard in the teams' District 10-8A opener.

Boca Raton (2-3), which lost Anderson to a broken collarbone in a loss last week at Fort Lauderdale-Dillard, turned to Tard McCoy and Cedric Bryant behind center. The Bobcats passed on only five of 41 plays -- four incompletions and one interception. Mostly, the new quarterbacks either ran the ball themselves (McCoy: eight carries, 15 yards; Bryant: six carries, 11 yards) or handed off to Cecil Johnson (17 carries, 66 yards).

In the first half, the Lancers outgained the Bobcats 227-32 and held them to one first down. Four of the Bobcats' overall six first downs came on their final possession, during which they had first-and-goal from the 1. But the Lancers held firm, forced a turnover and downs and ran out the final 5:07.

The Bobcats' longest play from scrimmage was Johnson's 17-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Lancers quarterback Adam Johnson had an erratic first half. Of his 20 passes, only nine were completed and two were intercepted. But early in the second quarter, he connected with Larry Dunnon on a deep pass down the right sideline for a 35-yard gain, which set up his 3-yard touchdown pass to Kenute Morris.

Later in the quarter, the Bobcats tied the game thanks to a huge gift. They got the ball on the Lancers' 8-yard line when Danny Zamorano slipped to the turf trying to punt on fourth down. Two plays later, Cecil Johnson scored from the 4 with 4:10 left in the half.

But on the next play from scrimmage, Adam Johnson threw a short pass to Tavares Martin, who weaved his way through the Bobcats' defense for a 75-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 3:45 to play.

In the final minute of the third quarter, with the Bobcats in shotgun formation on their 41, the ball was snapped over the quarterback's head. Cledanord chased the ball down, picked it up at the 24 and ran it into the end zone for a 21-7 lead.

Adam Johnson wound up completing 10 of 23 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for a team-high 62 yards on 17 carries.