Wellington, FL.– It may be a new era for the Palm Beach Central Bronocs, but the standard of winning stays the same. Last night, Palm Beach Central hosted Boca Raton High in a spring game that turned out to be quite the one sided affair.
“A win is great..Winning is hard, and you have to appreciate them when they come…..” Broncos’ Head Coach Kevin Thompson stated.
Despite an all-new young core, the Broncos didn’t skip a beat, thundering past the Bobcats 50-0. Following today’s performance, I’d say it’s safe to assume Palm Beach County has gotten quite familiar with this revamped squad.
Young Stars Shine
The biggest shining light of the day was 2029 QB Isaiah Hamilton. The dual threat freshman looked poised under center, recording almost 300 all purpose yards and 5 Total Touchdowns: 4 in the air and 1 rushing. Hamilton lit up the scoreboard in glorious fashion, making a statement to South Florida that he’s ready for it all.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of Hamilton’s stellar day was 2028 multipurpose weapon Donnie Yocum IV. Yocum found the end zone twice last night and almost had a third, if not called back for a block in the back. Leading into the match, Donnie Yocum must’ve put all of his XP points into agility moves, as the 5 foot 9 Swiss army knife was dodging and weaving, simply making the opposing defense look silly.
Another highlight night came from 2029 RB Brandon Pendergrass. The 561 legend legacy has began the process of forging his own story, and if last night is any indication- it’ll be a fun one. Pendergrass fell in love with yards after contact. No matter how many Bobcats’ swarmed him, the freshman kept his legs churning. Brandon Pendergrass finished the night with over 100 yards rushing, 2 scores and his longest attempt of the day was 37 yards.
The final Bronco I want to highlight is 2027 WR/DB Nazier Watkins. Watkins excelled on both sides of the ball, recording 65 yard receiving, 1 touchdown and 2 pass breakups. Nazier and Isaiah Hamilton connected on the flashiest play of the day, as the young QB rolled out two his right to evade pressure, and tossed a cross body ball to his veteran pass catcher, who uncontestedly secured the score in the back of the end zone.
Nazier recorded a nice reception earlier in the drive, making a man miss on the sideline and sliding under another defender as he picked up a 21 yard gain. In terms of pure athleticism, Watkins was easily the brightest player on the field last night.
Eyes on the Fall
With last night’s W over Boca officially under their belt, all attention at Palm Beach Central turns to their highly anticipated Week 0 vs Miami Northwestern. It won’t come easy, as the Bulls are looking for revenge following their heartbreaking loss to Raines in the FHSAA 3A State Title that tarnished the perfect season.
“I expressed to these guys, we have a long summer ahead, and we have some stuff to clean up…Kickoff classic Miami Northwestern is coming in here, we have to be ready to make a statement… Summers are long, we have a great opportunity to play a national power, and we can’t take any days off.” Coach Thompson shared
Now, it becomes time for the PBC Broncos to officially adopt their mantras of Attack the Work and ‘Brotherhood, Effort, Toughness’ because like Coach Thompson said- there’s a long summer ahead.
Cover Photo Credits: Dan Calvelli, NewEraPrep
