WELLINGTON – Until this year, Palm Beach Central had never won 10 games in its high school football history.
The program’s first 10-win season happened on this past Friday night, when it took down cross-town rival Wellington in a 44-14 blowout win at home. It was also the first time two Wellington-based high school football teams played each other in the FHSAA playoffs.
How did it all happen?
No. 3 seed Palm Beach Central (10-1) advanced to the Class 8A Region 3 semifinals because it utilized most of its deeply talented roster to dispatch and eliminated No. 6 Wellington (6-5 final record). After facing a 7-3 deficit for much of the second quarter, Palm Beach Central went on a 38-0 scoring run that lasted until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Scores came from the following players: senior quarterback Michael Moreland (touchdown run off a sneak play for Palm Beach Central’s 13-7 lead with 4:03 left in the second quarter), senior running back C.J. Stewart (touchdown run in the third quarter to give Broncos a 20-7 lead), running back Naquan Hamilton, senior wide receiver Gen’Taris Oliver (touchdown run late in the fourth quarter), and senior kicker Tanner Nairn (three field goals in the game, including one in the final seconds).
“We feed off each other,” Moreland said. “When one scores, we all just get hyped and turned up to play.”
The 30-point blowout win resulted in Palm Beach Central getting to play in a postseason rematch with No. 7 seed Western (9-2), which shocked the state by taking down No. 2 seed Atlantic (10-1 final record) in a 21-7 road win last week.
Last year, Palm Beach Central was 58 seconds away from getting past Western in the 8A regional semifinal round for the first time ever. It was a 14-12 loss at home that still stings to this day.
“We have a lot of young starters coming back, which is going to make it more exciting for us,” Palm Beach Central head coach Tino Ierulli said after last year’s heartbreaking loss.
Can this year’s talent-rich team get over the hump this time?
Stewart seems to think so.
“We just got to come out strong in the first half,” the Broncos starting running back said. “We have to stay disciplined the entire game.”
Moreland chimed in.
“We got what we wanted,” the Palm Beach Central senior quarterback said. “We can be prepared all we want, but we have to take it game by game. We have to stay focused.”
With all that said, here’s my score prediction for this 8A Region 3 semifinal game:
Palm Beach Central will fire on all cylinders early on, just like last year. Only this time, Western’s furious comeback charge to another playoff upset in Palm Beach County will be stopped with a blocked field goal in the final seconds.
I like Palm Beach Central to win this one in an instant classic, 30-28.
SCORE PREDICTIONS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY
1A Region 4 Semifinal
Xavon Christopher: No. 2 seed Pahokee (5-5) will take down No. 6 seed Wildwood (6-5) in a 28-7 win at Anquan Boldin Stadium.
2A Region 4 Semifinal
Naji Tobias: No. 3 seed Glades Day (7-4) hasn’t been a great team on the road this season. It has some talent with the likes of junior athlete A.J. McPhee and junior two-way started Lorenzo Powe. But it’s a long road trip to Naples, and I think it’s going to catch up to the Gators in a 24-20 loss to No. 2 seed St. John Neumann (9-1).
3A Region 2 Semifinal
Ken Stephens: No. 1 seed King’s Academy (9-1) will take out No. 5 seed Holy Trinity (6-4) for a relatively convincing 35-17 win at home. We can’t see King’s Academy scoring anywhere less than 20 points in this one, as it would be the only way Holy Trinity could pull off an upset. It’s not happening. King’s Academy will move on to the 3A Region 2 finals next week.
3A Region 4 Semifinal
Kevin Fielder: No. 2 seed Benjamin 27, No. 3 seed Delray Beach American Heritage 24
7A Region 4 Semifinal
Ken Stephens: I like Palm Beach Lakes for the monumental upset win over Dwyer. It’s purely going to come down to heart on the field, and head coach Al Shipman has his team rallying right now in an undeniable way.
“It’s just us,” Shipman reportedly said to his players earlier this week.
Palm Beach Lakes may not be a high scoring team, but for some reason, it feels as if this team will get the job done. This will be an instant classic if the Rams continue to exceed expectations and add to their seven-game winning streak.
Palm Beach Lakes will end Dwyer’s season on the road in a 26-24 win.
That’s it for our FHSAA Week 2 playoff predictions. See if our New Era Prep is right or wrong on our picks later tonight. Enjoy the games, everyone!
