PALM BEACH COUNTY – Speak something into existence and it shall happen.
This is the story of Palm Beach Lakes, a program that goes by the mantra, “Lakes on Top (L.O.T.).” The players, coaches, and support staff live and breath by it in more ways than one, regardless of how any outcome happens.
The L.O.T. way of life has finally paid off for Palm Beach County’s new No. 1 team, as a collection of talent and positive energy has permeated the program in a big way.
To be honest, it’s quite refreshing to see an all-new program rise to the top.
Here’s hoping we see a level of continuous success for Palm Beach County’s only remaining undefeated team.
So how did Lakes really get to No. 1?
Let’s take a look at the Rams five wins this season.
Week 1: Defeated Wellington, 41-15
Week 3: Defeated then-No. 3/now-No. 6 Glades Central, 44-13
Week 4: Defeated Royal Palm Beach, 34-7 (District 12-7A opener)
Week 5: Defeated then-No. 10 Pahokee, 48-0
Week 7: Defeated then-No. 3/now-No. 5 Palm Beach Central, 31-14
In five games, Palm Beach Lakes has outscored its opponents by a score of 198-49. The Rams have scored an astounding 39.6 points per game, while allowing just 9.8 points per game.
Do we need any more reasons to justify Palm Beach Lakes as our new No. 1 team?
There should be no doubt at this juncture.
With that said, let’s get to this week’s team rankings.
TOP 10: WEEK 7
1. Palm Beach Lakes (7A; 5-0) [LW: 2]
2. Delray Beach Atlantic (7A; 3-2) [LW: 1]
3. Palm Beach Gardens (8A; 5-1) [LW: 4]
4. Delray Beach American Heritage (4A; 4-2) [LW: 5]
5. Palm Beach Central (8A; 4-2) [LW: 3]
6. Glades Central (4A; 4-3) [LW: 7]
7. Santaluces (8A; 4-1) [LW: 8]
8. Benjamin (3A; 4-2) [LW: 6]
9. Cardinal Newman (3A; 4-1) [LW: 9]
10. Seminole Ridge (7A; 4-1) [LW: 10]
Teams on outside looking in: Forest Hill (8A; 4-2), Jupiter (8A; 4-2), Park Vista (8A; 4-3), Royal Palm Beach (7A; 3-2), St. Andrew’s (3A; 5-1)
REST OF TOP 10
Former No. 1 Atlantic ceded it’s longtime perch at the throne due to two losses at the midway point of the regular season. Regardless of who the opponent is, there’s no way we can make a credible case for keeping a two-loss team at the top.
We’re a few weeks away from a potential 1-2 game, as Palm Beach Gardens keeps quietly creeping up the rankings. The Gators are now at No. 3 and doing whatever they can to keep winning from now until at least their Week 11 showdown with Palm Beach Lakes.
American Heritage moves up a spot to No. 4 because of its Week 7 win over Coral Glades and Palm Beach Central’s loss to Palm Beach Lakes.
With its 17-point loss to Lakes, Palm Beach Central drops to No. 5. But it could have dropped even further down the rankings if Glades Central (No. 6 this week) didn’t already have three losses.
After Glades Central is Santaluces, a surprise contender for a top five rankings down the road.
With a 4-1 record, the Chiefs are thinking playoffs and nothing less. We’ll see what happens over the next three weeks.
The final three spots belong to Benjamin (No. 8; two-game losing streak), Cardinal Newman (No. 9; two weeks in a row) and Seminole Ridge (No. 10; two weeks in a row).
The 8-10 spots are tenuous at best because of the Week 8 opponents these three teams will be facing in the next several days ahead.
Spoiler alert: There will be at least one Top 10 loser this week. Let’s jump to the Week 8 games for our current top-tier teams.
WEEK 8 SLATE
No. 1 Palm Beach Lakes: Away at No. 10 Seminole Ridge (4-1) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 2 Atlantic: Away at West Boca Raton (0-5) – Thursday, Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m. kickoff
No. 3 Palm Beach Gardens: BYE
No. 4 Delray Beach American Heritage: Away at Bishop Verot (6-0) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 5 Palm Beach Central: Away at Forest Hill (4-2) – Friday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m. kickoff
No. 6 Glades Central: Away at Monsignor Pace (2-5) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. kickoff
No. 7 Santaluces: Home vs. John I. Leonard (2-5) – Friday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m. kickoff
No. 8 Benjamin: Home vs. Gulliver Prep (6-0) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 9 Cardinal Newman: Home vs. Clewiston (3-3) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 10 Seminole Ridge: Home vs. Palm Beach Lakes (5-0) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
OTHER KEY WEEK 8 GAMES
Wellington (2-5) vs. Jupiter (4-2) – Friday, Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m. kickoff
King’s Academy (4-3) vs. Calvary Christian Academy (6-0) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
Royal Palm Beach (4-2) vs. Dwyer (1-4) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
St. Andrews (5-1) at Ransom Everglades (6-0) – Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m. kickoff
NEXT TEAM RANKINGS UPDATE: Monday, Oct. 18
PHOTO CREDIT: Ronaldo Garcia
