WEST PALM BEACH – In exactly two weeks, the best of the best will be announced at the 28th Annual Lou Groza Awards Ceremony.

Just like in past years, there will be four Palm Beach County high school football categories with three nominees each. And just like in past years, there could be some surprises along the way.

The Lou Groza Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday, Dec. 9 (6:30 p.m. start) at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. It will be hosted by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission and ESPN West Palm.

Let’s dive right into this year’s nominees.

LOU GROZA AWARD FINALISTS

Placekicker of the Year: K/P Bernie Cueto (King’s Academy), K/P Tron Rhodes (Berean Christian), K/P Morgan Suarez (Wellington)

Player of the Year: DT Henry Bryant (Atlantic), RB Chris D’Or (Cardinal Newman), QB Johnathan Mosley (Jupiter)

Coach of the Year: Brian Coe (Santaluces), Al Shipman (Palm Beach Lakes), Brandon Walker (Boca Raton)

Team of the Year: American Heritage (Delray Beach), Benjamin, Palm Beach Lakes

PLACEKICKER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

We have two seniors and a junior who received nods for Placekicker of the Year.

The odds-on favorite to win this award is Wellington senior kicker/punter Morgan Suarez, who finished the season with these statistics: 10-for-10 in field goals attempted inside of 50 yards (long of 50), 18 touchbacks (70+ yard average), perfect on point after attempts, and three onside kick recoveries in 10 games played.

Suarez was nominated for the Lou Groza Placekicker Award last year. But he was beaten out by former Benjamin kicker and surprise winner Lowell Carr, who graduated from high school in May and is now playing college football at Colby College, a Division III school in Waterville, Maine.

What we’re saying is this: Suarez should win this award. But don’t be surprised if Cueto or Rhodes walks away with the hardware.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

This year’s Lou Groza Player of the Year is basically a series of coin flips, if that’s even possible.

It’s easy to make a viable case for each of the nominees, as all three have led their respective teams to winning seasons. But if there’s one who should win this award, it’s D’Or in spades.

Where do we begin?

He’s not called the House of D’Or for no reason. Palm Beach County’s most clutch player and our MVP of Week 6 finished his senior season with 1,500 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

With offers right now from FAU and two Division II colleges (three total), D’Or had several breathtaking performances this fall. But his best one was arguably against Team of the Year nominee American Heritage in Week 10, when he torched the Stallions defense for three rushing scores and capped Newman’s 35-21 win with an interception caught on defense.

Even though D’Or was undoubtedly the most exciting player to watch in Palm Beach County, Mosley had inarguably the best single-game performance of the year. In his final high school football game for Jupiter, Mosley had a whopping 554 total yards (419 passing, 135 rushing) and accounted for a total of nine touchdowns (five passing, four rushing) to lead his team to a 61-47 home win over South Fork in Week 11.

For Mosley’s record-breaking performance, he was easily selected by voters as our MVP of Week 11.

And what can we say about our No. 1 overall player in Palm Beach County?

Bryant doesn’t need stats to solidify his rightful status as the best overall player right now in Palm Beach County. He was undoubtedly the anchor to Atlantic’s stout defense this season in more ways than one.

The Louisville verbal commit is a proven team leader who is great at elevating everyone around him with his high level of tenacity, focus, and character.

Bottom line: You can’t go wrong with any of these three nominees. Any choice would be the right one.

COACH OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

A plausible case can made for any of our three head coaches. Each of them have led their teams to the FHSAA playoffs this season, and each of them have been able to galvanize their players and cultivate their respective programs in their own ways.

Coe is what one could easily call a leader’s leader. He took a relatively nameless roster of players and got them to believe that they could make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Case in point: In the winner-take-all game for the District 11-8A title, the Santaluces head coach energized his players to dig deep and make timely plays in a program-defining 22-15 win over Park Vista. He led his team to a 7-2 regular season record, which was an improvement from last year’s 6-4 finish.

For Coe’s efforts, it would not be a surprise if he wins Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.

As for Shipman, he led Palm Beach Lakes to its first undefeated season and indisputable No. 1 team ranking in recent memory. He got it done by building what has been a true family culture at Lakes.

The Rams players and coaches love Shipman for where his heart is at. They see that the Palm Beach Lakes alum really cares about them individually and collectively.

When everyone is on the same page, amazing results could happen. What happened this year at Palm Beach Lakes is something that should be emulated by other teams: a true family of players, a true family of coaches, a true family of support staff, and a true leader that will literally go to war for one another on anything.

Meanwhile, Walker’s nomination is nothing short of astonishing.

The Boca Raton head coach overcame the loss of several key players, including the transfer of senior quarterback and Tulane verbal commit Michael Pratt to Deerfield Beach. He gave fellow senior quarterback Andy Caverly a chance to prove himself, and he was rewarded greatly for staying true to himself.

What could have easily been a disastrous season turned into a memorable one that resulted in an 8-2 regular season record and Class 8A playoff berth. This happened because Walker not only believed in Caverly; he believed in everyone else who stayed loyal to the Bobcats program.

If there’s one thing that Walker has taught us all, it’s this: Address a difficult situation and embrace it head-on for great results in more ways than one.

With that said, if anyone should win this award, it’s Walker because of all that he had to overcome. But as said before, any of them is more than worthy of hosting the Coach of the Year trophy in two weeks.

TEAM OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

Between American Heritage, Benjamin, and Palm Beach Lakes, this one is easy.

All three teams made the FHSAA playoffs, but Palm Beach Lakes should be the clear winner here. Any other result would be a surprise, even though a plausible case can be made for each nominee.

For all the aforementioned reasons why Shipman is a Coach of the Year nominee, the same applies here. Palm Beach Lakes (9-0 regular season record) was our Team of the Week four times this season (Weeks 3, 5, 9, and 11) by proving to be the best team on the field with the best collection of talent in Palm Beach County.

Both American Heritage and Benjamin have proven to be very good in their own rights. The two private schools brought out the best in each other when they faced off against each other in Week 6, which turned out to be a 20-13 road win for American Heritage.

Both teams have represented Palm Beach County well in more ways than one.

Bottom line: This is a team award custom made for Palm Beach Lakes to win this year. We’ll see what happens.

PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde and Ryan Lavon