WELLINGTON – When the Pahokee Blue Devils opened up their season with a 40-12 loss to Cardinal Newman, some doubts lingered about their team this year.
That doubt might have continued into the first half of Pahokee’s second game against Benjamin, where the Buccaneers held a 24-6 lead over the Blue Devils.
Following third-ranked Pahokee’s 34-14 victory over top-ranked Palm Beach Central, though, there isn’t any more doubt about who the Blue Devils are.
“A lot of people looked at the score from Cardinal Newman,” Pahokee head coach Emmanuel Hendrix said. “Cardinal Newman don’t want to see us right now. I promise you, they don’t want to see us right now.”
Hendrix may have a point because it seems like Pahokee is catching its stride at the right time and in the right places.
On Friday, the Pahokee defense was the part that caught its stride, holding Palm Beach Central scoreless in the second half.
“Our defense is nasty and fast,” Hendrix said. “Anybody we play is going to have problems going against our defense, especially that, now we fixed the run fits, everybody knows what they’re doing. I got a loaded team.”
Their defense was headlined by four total turnovers, including interceptions returned for touchdowns by DeeJay Holmes and James Jackson in the final two minutes to put the game away. Torian Henley and Jacorris Freeman also recovered fumbles earlier in the game.
“I got some creatures on defense,” Hendrix said. “We might be undersized but when I tell you they fly around, it’s going to be hard to outspeed us.”
In a way, Pahokee’s strong defensive performance could not come at a better time as its offense struggled to consistently create big-time players, especially in the first half.
Heading into halftime, Palm Beach Central (3-1) held onto a 14-8 lead, following a long pass from quarterback Ahmad Haston to wide receiver Luby Maurice Jr. with just nine seconds remaining on the clock.
At that point, it was clear that Pahokee needed a spark offensively.
Enter running back Jashon Benjamin.
The Rutgers commit was all over the place offensively for Pahokee, finishing the game with multiple explosive runs, including a run of 74 yards, which helped set up a third-quarter run by O’Tavious Allen for a touchdown to tie the game up at 14.
Benjamin’s most important run came in the fourth quarter, though, when he pierced through the Palm Beach Central defensive line for a 65-yard run which gave Pahokee a 22-14 lead.
“I said, ‘give me the ball coach, I’ll get you one,’” Benjamin said. “Next play, I score. Had to put the team on my back all game. I got these boys for life.”
For everyone in the Pahokee program, this game was more proof that Benjamin is the best running back in Palm Beach County.
“He’s a phenom, he’s been that ever since little league,” Hendrix said. “He missed four games last year, had double-digit touchdowns.”
Benjamin’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise, though.
Heading into the game, the Blue Devils (3-1) knew they would be able to establish the run.
“They get pick-sixes for a reason but they ain’t stop nobody from running the ball,” Hendrix said, saying that even when Palm Beach Central stacked the box, Pahokee was able to see success running the football.
Pahokee will look to continue this momentum next week with an away game against Palm Beach Gardens (3-1) on Sept. 23.
