BOCA RATON – Don’t be fooled by Ashton Gillotte’s smile.
His presence on the field could be a nightmare for any opponent. Just ask Monarch, a team that was heavily favored to beat Boca Raton but went down with a 38-14 blowout loss in Week 8.
Gillotte played a huge role in perhaps the biggest upset of the year so far in Palm Beach County. He finished the game with two sacks as a defensive end and a 10-yard touchdown catch as a tight end from quarterback Andy Caverly.
While we don’t have his full stat line, we can say that without the true two-way presence Gillotte brought to the team last week, the game’s outcome may have turned out differently for Boca Raton. This doesn’t mean the Bobcats would have lost without Gillotte; it just means that it would feel different.
Gillotte has 12+ sacks in seven games this season. His overall impact on the program is primarily why he’s our Breakthrough Player of Week 8.
“Teamwork makes the dream work,” the 6-4, 220-pound two-way player said.
Boca Raton 2020 athlete Tra’Nell, who is our MVP of Week 8 recipient, went out his way to speak of Gillotte’s ability to change the game.
“Ashton is the best football player in the county in my opinion,” said Hollis, who scored a rushing touchdown and caught a pick-six in Boca Raton’s 24-point win over Monarch.
“He dominates on both sides of the ball, and he also has another year of high school football to play,” Hollis continued. “I feel like no one can stop him.”
BOCA RATON HOPES TO MAKE TOP 10, CLASS 8A PLAYOFFS
Boca Raton (4-3) has entered into the Top 10 conversation for the first time this season. It is also favored to beat current No. 7 Santaluces (5-1) by eight points in this Week 9 tilt, according to the latest Joe Pinkos’ Forecast.
A home win over the Chiefs on Friday night (Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m. kickoff) would likely vault the Bobcats into the Class 8A playoff conversation. If the regular season ended today, Santaluces would make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed (.561 RPI) in 8A-Region 3, while Boca Raton would be eliminated as the No. 10 seed (.544 RPI).
So is basically comes down to this: Boca Raton’s playoff aspirations – and Top 10 hopes – are on the line in Friday night’s game against Santaluces.
If the Bobcats win, a legitimate chance exists to make their season debut in our Top 10 next week and qualify for the 8A playoffs. But if they lose, they can kiss both goodbye this year.
“Me and Ashton are gonna compete for MVP this week,” Hollis said. “We gotta compete hard in practice, play as a team like we did last Thursday night against Monarch, and believe in the guy next to us.”
