WELLINGTON – In Palm Beach Central’s 28-14 win over Palm Beach Gardens this past Thursday night (Oct. 24), DeAngelo Pompey made perhaps the game’s most clutch play.
With the District 10-8A on the line, the Broncos were not going to allow the Gators a real opportunity to steal a win from them. Pompey made sure of it late in the fourth quarter to seal his team’s 14-point win.
In what will go down as the signature district title-winning play for Palm Beach Central, Pompey located the ball and used his athleticism to catch the interception, which turned into a pick-six with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter.
This action stopped a potential scoring opportunity for the Gators, who were going for a score to potentially tie the game up or take the lead at that juncture.
The Palm Beach Central junior finished the game with his interception return for the score, along with four catches for 86 yards as a receiver on offense.
As a result of this clutch happening, Pompey ran away from his competition and scored an easy win as our Breakthrough Player of Week 10.
“This is my first time winning,” Pompey said. “It feels great.”
Pompey’s success throughout the season was made possible by the likes of senior quarterback and two-time MVP nominee Anarjahe Douriet and first-year head coach Scott Littles.
Pompey spoke specifically about Douriet’s impact on his overall growth as a player.
“He’s been a great quarterback through out the season,” Pompey said about the runner-up of the Week 10 MVP vote. “He’s helped me this season by getting me the ball when there were tough situations. But once I get the ball [from him], I have to do something with it.”
Pompey on Littles:
“Coach Littles is a great coach,” Pompey said. “He has been helping me by designing good plays where I can get open. People didn’t think he would lead us this far because of where he’s from. But he proved everyone wrong.”
Pompey credits Littles for Duke showing him interest at this time.
“He also has good connections with college coaches,” Pompey said. “I like that a lot.”
Littles briefly spoke on Pompey’s overall success this season.
“He was clutch with his crucial catches and pick-six,” Littles said. “He’s a great player for us, but he’s an even better person.”
NOTE: Pompey and Palm Beach Central (7-2) have one more regular season game this Friday (Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. kickoff) at John I. Leonard (2-7). This will essentially be a tune up for the Class 8A playoffs, which is likely set to start for Palm Beach Central as a first-round game at home on Friday, Nov. 8.
PHOTO CREDIT: Gene Nardi
