PAHOKEE – One thing is for sure.
Emmanuel Hendrix knows how to get the very best out of his Pahokee Blue Devils.
The players love him. The coaches on his staff love him as well.
And with the entire team being on one accord at this year’s Muck Bowl, it was easy to see how Pahokee got an easy 28-0 home win over Glades Central on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Our Coach of Week 11 spoke at length in how his team got it done.(Image1)
“It’s very exciting,” said Hendrix, who won his first Muck Bowl as a head coach. “It’s very humbling. I have been itching to be the head coach at Pahokee for a long time. To come back and have the season that we’re having, and to cap off the regular season winning the Muck Bowl, it’s priceless.”
Hendrix had more to say.
“They expect to dominate every game,”Hendrix said of his team. “Getting beat 38-0 last year, that will get it done. It’s all the motivation in the world to come back…We were determined to shut them out.”
Hendrix spoke on Pahokee’s first score of the Muck Bowl. It was a pass from freshman quarterback Austin Simmons to junior athlete Jashon Benjamin that helped the home get a 7-0 lead with 6:07 left in the first quarter.
“We wanted to make sure we got the ball to him (Jashon) early,” Hendrix said. “All year, Jashon has been making big plays for us…Once he scored that touchdown, we were ready to roll from there.”
Hendrix continued with the first of two rushing scores from co-MVP of Week 11 and senior running back Micah Steele. This one – an 11-yarder to the end zone – happened at the 9:31 mark of the second quarter and helped Pahokee to a 14-0 lead over Glades Central.(Image2)
“Mike came back home (from Alabama) to play in the Muck Bowl,” Hendrix said. “Mike doesn’t talk much, but he always talks about Muck Bowl. He’s been waiting for this for a long time.”
Hendrix spoke at length about co-MVP of Week 11 and junior defensive end Deejay Holmes, who had the Muck Bowl’s best play with his scoop and score in the third quarter. The Holmes play helped to extend Pahokee’s lead to 21-0.
“Deejay Holmes is probably the best football player in this whole state,” Hendrix said. “He can pass rush. He can run stop. He could run the ball. You could throw it to him. He’s freakish. No matter what happens in a play, you’re going to see Deejay Holmes around the ball. He hustles on every play, and with this one, he just found his way to the end zone.”
Hendrix went back to Steele, who sealed the deal with a long touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“I was excited to see him out there doing his thing,” Hendrix said of Steele.
TEAM OF WEEK 11: PAHOKEE(Image3)
And now with this year’s Muck Bowl officially in the books, Pahokee (7-1) has moved on to the Class 1A playoffs.
As the No. 2 seed in Class 1A – Region 4, Pahokee has a bye this week. It will host the 1A-Region 4 semifinal round next Friday night (Nov. 19) against the Bradford-Newberry winner.
“When I took this job, I didn’t necessarily take this job to win the Muck Bowl,” Hendrix said. “The standard is winning championships at Pahokee. And that will never change. You have to win state championships here at Pahokee. That’s the bottom line. Nobody cares about anything else. It’s state championship or nothing.”
