ROYAL PALM BEACH – It feels good to be Ketron Hadley right now.

In leading Royal Palm Beach on its way back to relevancy, the senior athlete made his presence felt on offense, defense, and special teams in Week 2. Hadley’s team scored a 16-13 road win over Suncoast in a comeback effort on Thursday night (Aug. 29).

Here are the stats that Hadley put up in Week 2:

Offense: 8 rec., 103 yds., game-winning 12-yard touchdown catch with less than 15 seconds left

Defense: 6 tackles, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble

Special teams: 1 punt block return for a touchdown

Down 13-9 with 45 seconds left in the game, Wildcats junior quarterback Peyton Mainolfi fired off a perfectly thrown pass down the middle to Hadley, who got the ball to Suncoast’s 12-yard line. And on the very next play with about 15 seconds left, Mainolfi dropped back to pass and read the field to find Hadley right near the end zone.

Once Hadley caught Mainolfi’s pass in the right corner, he stretched his arm out to ensure he crossed past the end zone line.

That’s essentially how the game was won, and that’s essentially how Hadley earned our double honor: Breakthrough Player of Week 2 and MVP of Week 2.

Mainolfi spoke on the trust level he has with Hadley in game situations like this.

“We communicate well on the field,” Mainolfi said. “We are on the same page on each play.”

Hadley offered his take on how the game-winning sequence happened.

“Two plays before, I told them inside the huddle, ‘Y’all boys, this game is going to fall in God’s hands. We just gotta do our part,’” Hadley recalled. “I told all the receivers to just breath and execute. We moved the chains with a running clock with 15 seconds left in the game. Our coach called a smart play to get our players open, and when the play started I saw the safety overload my inside. The play was originally set for me to go inside, but me and Peyton knew I could beat the backer to the outside.”

Hadley broke out and placed himself in position to score right there.

“All my adrenaline rushed through my body,” Hadley said. “I saw the ball coming in slow motion and I knew I was going to catch it. I dove into the end zone, knowing my coaches and my teammates had faith in me to make the big play. It all came down to executing and having faith in each other. That (those two things) led to us winning on that last drive.”

Mainolfi expressed his happiness for Hadley’s breakthrough and MVP moment.

“I feel great for him,” Mainolfi said. “He really deserves it from how he played. Tron is a great teammate and leader, and he always goes 110 percent on each rep he has.”

Hadley’s other touchdown was set up earlier in the game by Wildcats junior athlete Jamall Tarver, who blocked the Chargers punt that our two-time Week 2 honoree scored on. Tarver had perfect timing on the punt block, which came at the Chargers 7-yard line and was directly followed by Hadley’s recovery and run to the end zone.

“Tron is a hard worker,” Tarver said. “So it comes with that we play well in this game. A lot of people doubt us, but we let our actions show. Tron is going to be great at the next level.”

Hadley played a complete game in Week 2, so much so that he found a way for one of his six tackles to happen on the game’s final play at the buzzer.

Hadley on the two Week 2 honors:

“It feels good knowing my talents are not getting overlooked,” Hadley said. “I know the other players are all good at what they do, so it had to be hard with the votes. But I’m grateful for God giving me the opportunity to be able to showcase my ability and for it to be seen. I wasn’t really expecting to win MVP of the week, but I knew the votes would be close. I just got to come harder each week and keep producing at a high level.”

In the MVP of Week 2 voting, Hadley edged out Palm Beach Central senior quarterback Anarjahe Douriet, who completed 13 of 19 passes for 308 yards and six touchdowns in a 47-18 blowout win over Dwyer. Hadley beat Douriet in the fan voting by three percentage points (34-31 percent).

In the Breakthrough Player of Week 2 voting, Hadley had a comfortable win over Forest Hill 2020 two-way standout Keyshawn Cunningham (game-winning interception in 20-13 victory over Seminole Ridge) and Palm Beach Central senior wide receiver Kai’Shawn Curry (touchdown catch against Dwyer). Hadley had 35 percent of the vote, which Cummingham and Curry tied for runner-up status with 26 percent of the vote.

“It is a honor to get the most votes, so I owe it to the people mostly for thinking I deserved it,” Hadley said.

PHOTO CREDITS: Gene Nardi