WEST PALM BEACH – In its first official season of existence, Keiser has been making some strides.

Palm Beach County’s first and only NAIA college football team is mostly comprised of players specifically from our local area. That’s definitely a first of its kind in a locale which is squarely focused on all things Palm Beach County.

It’s not just the players who are mostly from Palm Beach County. It’s the coaching staff as well, which is led by head coach Doug Socha, who was previously the head coach in high school football stints at Delray Beach American Heritage and Oxbridge Academy.

So if you’re around the Keiser program at any time, you’ll instantly feel connected to the players and coaches. This is particularly for those who already know some of them on a personal level, and even for those who have watched them on the gridiron from their high school days.

With that said, Keiser (4-2) will be hosting No. 23 Webber International (4-1) today at 12 p.m. The fledgling program will go into this game as the underdog, but anything can happen.

Webber has some local talent on its team as well, including the likes of senior quarterback Antwan Washington (Glades Central alum), senior defensive lineman Antonio Brown (Glades Central alum), freshman fullback Alex Germilus (Boca Raton alum), junior offensive lineman Luke McHardy (Jupiter alum), sophomore kicker/punter Joe Ebel (Berean Christian alum), and sophomore defensive back Isaiah Trexler (Spanish River alum).

Going back to Keiser, the first-year program has scored wins over Pikeville (24-17 in Week 1), Bluefield
College (45-17 in Week 2), Edward Waters (27-23 in Week 6), and Faulkner (26-22 in Week 7). The only losses were to nationally ranked NAIA programs Bethel (52-7 defeat to the nation’s No. 19 team in Week 4) and Georgetown College (21-15 defeat to the nation’s No. 9 team in Week 5).

Here are some of the top Keiser performers through Week 7:

Quarterback Eli Matthews (Palm Beach Gardens alum): 93-169, nine touchdown passes, seven interceptions, 1006 yards in six games played

Running back Marques Burgess: 78 carries for 448 yards and four touchdowns in six game played

Wide receiver Jaylen Arnold: 21 catches for 308 yards and five touchdowns in five games played

Defensive back Sage Chen Young (Wellington alum): five interceptions

Which players will stand out today? We’ll find out soon enough.