WELLINGTON – One play can make a difference.

This is all it took for Nick Touissant, who caught an interception and converted it into a touchdown for Palm Beach Central last Friday night (Nov. 12).

Up 13-3 over Centennial in the Class 8A – Region 2 quarterfinals, the defensive end made sure to take advantage of his chance to impact the game. He did that in the middle of the third quarter, as Palm Beach Central (9-0) would go on to extend its lead to 20-3.

Palm Beach Central went on to score a 41-9 blowout win over Centennial.

Our Breakthrough Player of Week 12 spoke on how he got it done.

“It was all Coach [Kevin] Thompson and Coach [Ryan] Blaszczyk,” the 6-foot-2, 185-pound tight end said. “They made the perfect play call in order for me to wrap around and get in position to make the play on the screen pass. I just had to execute, and that’s what I did.”

Touissant finished the game with seven tackles, three quarterback pressures, and the pick-six.

“Nick’s a great player,” Palm Beach Central senior team leader Ben Moss said. “Beginning of the season, he got limited reps. But when we played Boca, he got in towards the end of the game because we were blowing them out. He had one sack and three tackles for loss in a row. Coaches took notice and started giving him more reps, and now he’s just taking advantage of every opportunity he gets. I think his pick-six is a preview of the damage he’s gonna do in the playoffs and next year during his senior season.”

For this season to date, Touissant has had 21 tackles (four tackles for loss), six quarterback pressures, one sacks, and last week’s interception returned for a touchdown.

“Kid just keeps getting reps,” Palm Beach Central head coach Scottie Littles said. “When his number was called, he made the most of it. He has grown so much and just gets better every week.”

Touissant touched on how he felt about being selected for our Breakthrough Player of Week 12.

“It feels amazing,” Touissant said. “A lot of hard work I’ve been putting in is paying off, and it’s good knowing there are people noticing what I’ve been doing.”

Touissant reflected on how his junior year has gone so far at Palm Beach Central.

“It has been going very well,” Touissant said. “Although I don’t start, I can still make plays and I get many opportunities. I’ve been having a lot of fun doing it with the team. It has been a long grind, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.”