ROYAL PALM BEACH – When head coaches from both teams say generally the same thing about a game’s outcome, you’ll know the winner had a clear vision in mind.
It was quite remarkable to see the concept of ball control movement on display, as Lake Worth dictated the terms of Monday night’s (Oct. 28) game in its 20-7 road win over Royal Palm Beach.
From the very first snap to the final buzzer, Lake Worth (4-5) made sure to dominate the game with just two things: using the run game for consistent short runs and making timely defensive plays to disrupt Royal Palm Beach’s rhythm.
It worked to perfection – for the most part, at least.
There was only one particular sequence that kept Lake Worth from having a perfect game. It was a perfectly executed 60-yard touchdown pass from Royal Palm Beach junior quarterback Peyton Manifoli to sophomore athlete DeJuan Tolbert with 7:10 left in the fourth quarter, which cut Lake Worth’s lead from 20-0 to 20-7.
The brief moment of hope for Royal Palm Beach (5-4) had the potential for a memorable finish, but the Trojans went on to extinguish any hopes of a Wildcats comeback from that point on.
“Hats off to Lake Worth,” Royal Palm Beach head coach Davis Lowery said. “They ran the ball well against us. They kept our offense off the field. They did a good job of consistency, which is one of our goals this year. I thought they did a fantastic job up front. They earned it on the ground versus us, and I thought they made some plays on defense versus our offense.”
Case in point: Throughout the first quarter, it was scoreless at a 0-0 tie. But Lake Worth held the ball for 10 minutes and 39 seconds, while Royal Palm Beach only had four offensive plays to work with for a total time of 1 minute and 21 seconds.
By the time it reached the start of the second quarter, Royal Palm Beach’s defensive unit looked worn out.
With 11:25 left in the second quarter, Trojans junior athlete Terry Hunter Jr. raced past the Wildcats defense for an 18-yard rushing touchdown. The scoring play gave his team a 6-0 lead.
And following a series of failed offensive possessions for both teams, Lake Worth continued its mastery of ball control with senior athlete Ke’Andre Hollis as its field general.
With just 47.8 seconds left in the second quarter, Hollis punched it into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the Royal Palm Beach 3-yard line. And right after the Hollis score, Hunter took it to the house on a two-point conversion, which extended Lake Worth’s lead to 14-0.
“We just wants to ground and pound, control the clock,” Lake Worth head coach Donal Hanna said. “We wanted to gain three, four yards per carry, and we were able to do that in the first half.”
It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the third quarter, as both defenses clamped down on each other. But make no mistake: the ground-and-pound strategy for Lake Worth dominated the third quarter, as the road team was able to get another score in on a short run to the end zone by Hunter, which extended the lead to 20-0 at the 6:54 mark.
But when the fourth quarter started, Lake Worth started to loosen its tight grip.
“We got ahead of ourselves, thinking the game was over,” Hanna said. “We didn’t finish. We gave up seven, but we were able to get back on track and finish the game.”
Lake Worth’s defense caught two interceptions in this one, which also helped to secure the win.
WEEK 11 SLATE
Lake Worth: Away at Boynton Beach (3-5) – Friday, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. kickoff
Royal Palm Beach: Home vs. Spanish River (0-9) – Friday, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. kickoff
