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Palm Beach County Breakout Player of the Week: Branden Hoch

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Isaac Edelman

West Boca wide receiver Branden Hoch received over 35% of votes to win New Era Prep’s Breakout Player of the Week in Palm Beach County.

In West Boca’s 42-3 win over Port St. Lucie in week four, Hoch recorded three catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

On his performance, Hoch said the following:

“My quarterback (Mason Mallory) threw some good passes and all week we worked hard… coach wanted us to throw the ball this week… we just did our jobs”.

Through four games this season, Hoch has seven receptions for 237 yards and four touchdowns. It’s just a small sample of what’s to come for the junior.

Last year at North Broward Prep (10 games), Hoch had 29 receptions for 350 yards and three touchdowns. Hoch played under quarterback Tyler Shattuck and alongside running back Deandre Desinor; both transferred to American Heritage (Planation), one of the best high school football programs in the entire country. Hoch is on pace to triple that touchdown total this season.

The 6-3, 190 pound receiver is not just a football star; Hoch is a two-sport athlete, excelling on the baseball field, too.

Hoch had 36 plate appearances last year on an extremely-talented North Broward Prep baseball team that has made three consecutive state championships.

During Hoch’s freshman year, the Eagles won the state championship, and during his sophomore year, the Eagles were runner-ups where they lost to Calvary Christian in the championship game.

In addition to baseball, Hoch excels in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA.

When asked to describe himself, Hoch said that “I am a player that can go up and get it (the football)… I can make a play after I catch the ball, and I can block for my teammates”.

West Boca head coach Dylan Potts spoke about Branden’s performance last week.

“We’ve been seeing this from Branden since he’s been with us all summer… throughout 7-on-7’s… throughout camp. We’ve been leaning on Branden. He’s a big body kid. He knows the offense well. He just finds a way to come down with tough catches time in and time out. It makes it easy as a quarterback when you got a guy like that who you can really throw it up to and he is going to come down with it”.

Hoch is honored to be named breakout player of the week in Palm Beach County, but he isn’t satisfied yet; the path to success continues and the grind doesn’t stop.

Hoch continues to improve everyday, especially when working out with West Boca wide receiver coach Jacoby Ford, who was a star at Clemson and for the Oakland Raiders.

Ford, who was a wide receiver coach at Cardinal Newman last year, is one of the fastest players (and best kick returners) in NFL history. At the NFL Combine, Ford ran a 4.28 40-yard dash.

“I try to make sure the kids have a good work ethic”, Ford said. “At the next level, I don’t want them to ever be shocked. I want them to be like… ‘This is exactly how Coach Ford said it would be. He said it’s going to be a grind… it’s going to be tough. There are going to be guys that are just as good as me’. I tell them… I am very honest and very blunt… everyone at the next level is good. It just depends on what you do to make you even better than them. You got to be able to out-work people and trust your technique and know your fundamentals. So when you do get to the next level it’s just going to be like second nature to you”.

Hoch also works out with Andy Jones and David Gilbert, former NFL players, in addition to John Garrish, who helps with speed work.

West Boca has a big district matchup with Boynton Beach this Thursday night. Will Branden Hoch lead the Bulls to their fourth victory of the season?

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