PALM BEACH COUNTY – This has been a season for the ages at Palm Beach Lakes.
For the first time in recent memory, Palm Beach Lakes (9-0; 7A) ends the regular season as the undisputed No. 1 team in Palm Beach County. There is no debate on this one because the Rams are the only team that hasn’t lost a game at this juncture.
And to be quite honest, no opponent on its schedule lost by less than 15 points to Palm Beach Lakes when the final buzzer sounded. To sum it up, the most talented and most loaded roster also had the best team chemistry with the best possible leader for them in head coach Al Shipman.
Palm Beach Lakes has been our Team of the Week four times this season (Weeks 3, 5, 8, and 11). That’s more than any other team in Palm Beach County.
Also, Palm Beach Lakes has won the District 12-7A championship with relative ease, taking down the likes of Royal Palm Beach (34-7 in Week 4) Seminole Ridge (23-3 in Week 8), Dwyer (53-27 in Week 9), and Martin County (53-23 in Week 10). The Rams finished district play with a 4-0 record.
Palm Beach Lakes finished the regular season by scoring 361 points, while allowing only 116 points per game. The Rams averages turned out to be around 40.1 points scored per game and 12.9 points allowed per game.
Palm Beach County’s best team was ranked as high as No. 23 in the state’s all-classification team rankings this season, while being ranked as high as No. 5 in Class 7A.
For their accomplishments, the Rams are the No. 1 seed in Class 7A – Region 3. They will be hosting East Lake (No. 8 seed) in the first round of the 7A playoffs on Friday, Nov. 8 (7:30 p.m. kickoff).
With that said, let’s get to our final Top 10 of the regular season.
TOP 10: WEEK 11
1. Palm Beach Lakes (9-0; 7A) [LW: 1]
2. Delray Beach Atlantic (6-3; 7A) [LW: 2]
3. Palm Beach Central (8-2; 8A) [LW: 3]
4. Boca Raton (8-2; 8A) [LW: 5]
5. Santaluces (7-2; 8A) [LW: 6]
6. Cardinal Newman (7-2; 3A) [LW: 7]
7. Palm Beach Gardens (7-2; 8A) [LW: 4]
8. Benjamin (7-3; 3A) [LW: 10]
9. Seminole Ridge (6-3; 7A) [LW: NR]
10. Delray Beach American Heritage (5-5; 4A) [LW: 8]
Dropped from rankings: Former No. 9 Forest Hill (6-4; 8A)
Teams on outside looking in: Forest Hill (6-4; 8A), Jupiter (6-4; 8A), Park Vista (6-4; 8A), Royal Palm Beach (6-4; 7A), St. Andrew’s (7-3; 3A)
FINAL TEAM RANKINGS RELEASE: TBD; Once every ranked team has completed their seasons
PHOTO CREDITS: Ryan Lavon
