PALM BEACH GARDENS – No player in Palm Beach County has grown faster this season than Tyler Aronson.
This was evident in last week’s Class 3A play-in game, when the freshman quarterback led Benjamin (2-3) to a 20-13 home win over Westminster Christian (3-2) on Friday, Nov. 6. He got it done by displaying a level of poise and command of his team’s offense when needed.
Tied at 6-6 with 4:13 left in the third quarter, Aronson connected on his biggest throw to date, a 57-touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Darrell Sweeting. It looked like a screen play that the receiver caught and took to the house.
With the score and extra point that followed, Benjamin took a 13-6 lead and never looked back.
“It feels good,” Aronson said of Benjamin’s play-in victory. “But I want to keep going. I want us to achieve our goal of winning a state championship.”
With Aronson’s stellar play, he was chosen as our MVP of Week 9.
“It’s a great pleasure,” Aronson said. “I want to thank my coaches and teammates because without them, none of this would be possible.”
It was truly a team effort in this one, as the Buccaneers defense recovered a timely lost fumble from the opposition and made several key third-down and fourth-down stops along the way.
“We came out slow on both sides of the ball,” Aronson said. “But in the second half, we cleaned everything up. We ended the game off good and came away with the victory.”
Aronson shared a portion of what occurred during his team’s halftime break.
“We knew we had to just clean everything up and come out harder because our season is on the line,” Aronson said. “We just need to play to best of our ability.”
Aronson credited the offensive line for how the game turned out.
“They played very good,” Aronson said. “They did their assignments well and just led the game.”
Senior running back and linebacker Khani Johns was impressed with what he saw from Aronson last week and throughout the season.
“The kid has heart, a lot of it. He’s cold for his age, and he’s only going to get better,” our Week 9 pick for Honorable Mention – Offense said of the freshman quarterback. “He’s taking the leadership role more seriously now as that’s his job as the quarterback. He’s learning fast. I can’t wait to watch him grow into something special and dangerous.”
Next for Benjamin: 3A-Region 4 quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 13 (3:30 p.m. kickoff) against Edison (Miami) (2-1) at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami
