ANOTHER PEAK ATHLETE

Dwyer Boys win State Title

bhe third time truly was a charm for Jacoby Brissett and the Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) boys basketball team, which captured the Class 5A state title in impressive fashion last weekend in Lakeland.

Brissett, the outstanding two-sport athlete who is headed to the University of Florida on a football scholarship, scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Dwyer's 72-57 romp over Lake Wales on Saturday at The Lakeland Center's George Jenkins Arena. The Panthers did it despite a partisan crowd that favored Lake Wales, which is only about 30 miles from Lakeland.

"This just takes my breath away," Brissett said after the Panthers secured their first state title since winning back-to-back championships in 2004 and '05. It also helped soothe the pain of being upset in the state semifinals each of the previous two years for Brissett and the Panthers, who finished the season with a sparkling 32-1 record, the only blemish coming in a loss to Class 6A state champion Winter Park during the prestigious City of Palms Classic tournament in Fort Myers during Christmas break. (Note: Dwyer also lost to 6A power Dr. Krop of Miami in early January, but that loss was reversed when Dr. Krop was forced to forfeit most of its wins for using an ineligible player).

It also helps ease the pain Brissett felt in early December when the Dwyer quarterback fell short of winning a second consecutive state title in football.

Dwyer bulldozed every opponent in the playoffs during its state championship run. The Panthers won their three regional games by scores of 78-54, 81-54 and 91-55, then trounced Fort Walton Beach 83-58 in the 5A semifinals last Friday before taking down Lake Wales in the title game. That impressive run vaulted the Panthers to No. 10.