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MVP Scholar: Hardley Gilmore IV leads Pahokee in historic Muck Bowl 

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Naji Tobias New Era Prep Staff Writer

PAHOKEE – In a way, we can call this year’s Muck Bowl the Hardley Gilmore IV Show.

Why is that, one may ask?

For starters, the Pahokee senior athlete and Kentucky verbal commit began the Muck Bowl Experience yesterday evening (Nov. 3) against Glades Central with a special academic honor.

With the highest grade point average (GPA) for the Pahokee Blue Devils varsity football team, Gilmore IV was graced with a distinction to remember from the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned this honor with Glades Central Raiders offensive lineman/defensive lineman Santino Minus.

You can view the snapshots below.

After the Muck Bowl pregame ceremony, both teams got focused on the action that thousands of individuals from the Muck and beyond have been waiting for months to see.

Pahokee (5-4) started off slow against Glades Central, facing a quick 7-0 deficit that you can see happening right below.

But almost as quickly as the home team fell behind, it got right back up with a touchdown run from fellow senior athlete and Western Carolina verbal commit Jenorris Wilcher.

You can watch Wilcher’s first of three rushing touchdowns for yourself.

Later in the first quarter, we were blessed to see Gilmore IV’s first of three touchdown catches from senior quarterback Henry Boyd.

This one was a true beauty.

As Pahokee broke the 7-7 tie with Glades Central, the crowd started to sense a positive shift toward the home team’s way. It took a while for that sensing to become reality, however.

Glades Central (2-7) tied the game up at 14-14 early in the second quarter and would hang with Pahokee until the final seconds, when Gilmore IV recorded an interception return for a score with 9.4 seconds left.

With an extra point by kicker Jose Jaimes (7-for-7 for the night), Pahokee would go on to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

For the Muck Bowl Halftime Show, Pahokee legends Anquan Boldin (future NFL Hall of Famer) and Rickey Jackson (Palm Beach County’s first-ever NFL Hall of Famer) were honored by Pahokee High School with special commemorative plaques and roses. Their high school jerseys were officially retired in the process.

To conclude the Muck Bowl Halftime Show, the Pahokee OD Express Marching Band and the Glades Central Marching Band took the field and blessed the crowd with their amazing performances.

The second half was almost all about Pahokee, to say the very least.

Here’s how this was true. 

Gilmore IV would go on to score once in each of the Muck Bowl’s four quarters, while Wilcher added two more rushing touchdowns to his name.

You can watch the second half scoring action right here.


Gilmore IV finished the Muck Bowl with four total touchdowns – three receiving scores and a pick-six. He recorded the best individual effort overall in recent Muck Bowl history and might have even set a Muck Bowl record with his four end zone appearances.

The key word here is might. We will need to confirm this with Muck Bowl historians first.

As Pahokee earned its 55-22 Muck Bowl win over Glades Central – its first three-peat in Muck Bowl history – Gilmore IV would go on to win the Muck Bowl MVP trophy honor from the U.S. Marine Corps.

And to top it off, Gilmore IV was able to share some moments within his older brother and opponent Hardley Gilmore III, a senior linebacker for Glades Central.

Suffice to say, this was a Muck Bowl to forever savor and remember for Gilmore IV and the Pahokee Blue Devils.

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