WEST PALM BEACH – Forest Hill will be remembered for years to come in Palm Beach County.
Coming off a breakthrough season in which the Falcons reached the FHSAA Class 7A playoffs for the first time, the rising program won three of the night’s four honors at the 26th Annual Lou Groza Awards Ceremony on Dec. 4.
They won Team of the Year honors over fellow finalists Oxbridge Academy and Palm Beach Central, marking the first time the Falcons earned the biggest team prize in Palm Beach County.
“I feel great for these kids, our coaches, and our staff,” Forest Hill head coach Jude Blessington said. “It’s awesome for the people behind the scenes that cheer for us. It’s great for our families. It’s really cool. Likeminded men get a lot of things done, and they (the players) believed that all season long. They put others above themselves and didn’t care about any recognition or accolades. They’re a bunch of players who just worked on a common goal.”
Forest Hill made it to the Class 7A playoffs by finishing the regular season at 8-1, its best campaign in many years. The upstart program nearly took down West Broward before it fell in a close 31-26 loss in the first round, making its final record at 8-2 for 2017.
It’s a big reason why Blessington won his own individual honor as the Lou Groza Coach of the Year.
“I couldn’t have expected to be here five years ago,” Blessington said. “My principal took a shot at me and could have gone in another direction. With all the problems we had at Forest Hill, she knew how to make a splash and chose to stick with me. I want to say thank you to Dr. (Mary) Stratos and her administrative team. This is completely not an individual award. It’s a team award. Once again, thanks and I appreciate it.”
The third Forest Hill honor went to Christian Rizo, who won the Lou Groza Placekicker of the Year.
“I just want to thank my team, my coaches, and my school for supporting me,” Rizo said. “It was a great season.”
NOTES: The Lou Groza Player of the Year went to Benjamin senior quarterback and Louisville commit Jordan Travis.
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission and ESPN West Palm collaborated to host this year’s Lou Groza Awards Ceremony, which was held at the Kravitz Center in West Palm Beach.
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
