PALM BEACH COUNTY – We have reached the end of this fall football season in our area.

To make this as succinct as possible, we want to make it clear that there are levels to how great our teams have been been throughout the year.

In short, only two teams have been at No. 1 this season. Here is the list below.

•Cardinal Newman (11-1 final record; Class 1M-Region 3 finalist): eight weeks at No. 1 

•Palm Beach Central (12-2 final record; Class 4M state semifinalist): four weeks at No. 1

It is crystal clear that Cardinal Newman and Palm Beach Central were the best teams this season in Palm Beach County. It is also clear that both teams had one common opponent in Pahokee (9-3 final record: No. 3-ranked team in Palm Beach County).

CASE FOR CARDINAL NEWMAN

Pahokee lost at home to Cardinal Newman in Week 1 by a score of 40-12 and went on the road to beat Palm Beach Central by a score of 35-14 in Week 4.

So in essence, Pahokee lost by 28 points to Cardinal Newman and beat Palm Beach Central by 21 points.

For this reason, Cardinal Newman should end the season as our No. 1 team.

Really?

Not so fast.

Here’s why: When we factor in the playoff runs for both Cardinal Newman and Palm Beach Central, one advanced to the state semifinal round and one didn’t.

CASE FOR PALM BEACH CENTRAL

Palm Beach Central won three playoff games, more than any other team in Palm Beach County.

Only two Palm Beach County teams won more than one playoff game, and it wasn’t Cardinal Newman. 

Palm Beach Central’s historic run to the 4M state semifinal round included wins over Jupiter (46-7; 4M-Region 3 quarterfinals), Stoneman Douglas (55-23; 4M-Region 3 semifinals), and Palm Beach Gardens (14-10; 4M-Region 4 finals). The magical run ended in a 27-24 home loss to Apopka (11-3) in the state semifinals on Dec. 2.

Palm Beach Gardens (9-4 final record; No. 4-ranked team in Palm Beach County) was the only other team in Palm Beach County that won at least two playoff games (30-7 win over Wellington; 4M-Region 3 quarterfinals; 35-28 overtime win over Monarch; 4M-Region 3 semifinals).

Meanwhile, Cardinal Newman won only one playoff game. It was a hard-fought 14-6 win over Benjamin (5-5 final record; No. 10-ranked team in Palm Beach County) in the Class 1M-Region 3 semifinal round.

Cardinal Newman’s undefeated season ended in the Class 1M-Region 3 finals, when it suffered a 49-16 road loss to Chaminade-Madonna (12-0; No. 5-ranked team in the nation; likely Class 1M state champion). 

So for this reason, Palm Beach Central should end this season as our No. 1 team.

TIEBREAKER VERDICT

While both teams have solid cases to end the season at No. 1, it comes down to two things:

•Strength of schedule

•Common opponent

Guess who wins both with relative ease?

Look right now at our final Top 10 rankings of this season for your answer.

PHOTO CREDITS: Future Draft Style and Christian Proscia