Team of Week 10: Palm Beach Central

WELLINGTON – It was a close one from start to finish.

In other words, this year’s Wellington Cup rivalry series between Palm Beach Central and Wellington could have gone either way.

Translation: Both teams played well enough to win our Game of Week 10 this past Friday night (Oct. 29).

The Wellington Cup was defined by key moments that would make the difference here for our Team of Week 10.

We had two fourth-quarter sequences that gave Palm Beach Central (8-0; 5-0 in District 7-8A) a hard-fought 17-14 road win over Wellington (6-3; 3-2 in 7-8A). Let us highlight them now.

•At the 6:54 mark of the final frame, Palm Beach Central senior kicker/punter Juan Dominguez broke a 14-14 tie by way of his short field goal that split the uprights perfectly.

“I might be just a kicker,” Dominguez said. “But I would do anything to contribute to the team. We fight for every inch, so everything counts in a game like this.”

•After Dominguez’s field goal, Wellington methodically marched toward the goal line. But the home team was five yards short of their desired destination, as Palm Beach Central junior defensive lineman Aden Haston provided the game-winning stop on fourth-and-1 with 1:41 left.

This essentially happened after the referees reversed a call that initially ruled as a first-and-goal for Wellington from the Palm Beach Central 4-yard line.

“It came down to the wire,” Aden Haston said. “We fought as a team. We had a lot of ups and downs, but we came up big at the team. I put my team on my back. I had my brothers’ back to make that big fourth down stop to seal the game.”

One key Wellington Cup moment – aside from the two most impactful ones – turned out to be a scoring pass in the second half from Palm Beach Central junior quarterback Ahmad Haston, who connected with senior wide receiver Aidan Whitehall on a 9-yarder with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

This preceded sophomore kicker Fabian Salazar’s successful extra point, as Palm Beach Central came back from a 14-7 halftime deficit to tie the game up with Wellington.

“I found Drew Brees (Whitehall’s given nickname by Ahmad Haston) in the end zone on a rollout when he found grass,” Ahmad Haston said.

Whitehall on his touchdown catch:

“Ahmad said it best,” Whitehall said. “He rolled out and threw a dime. There’s not much else to say.”

Palm Beach Central’s other score in the game happened at the 2:05 of the first quarter, when Ahmad Haston found senior running back Markel King for a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Along with Salazar’s extra point, the undisputed No. 1-ranked team in Palm Beach County took a 7-0 lead at that early part of the game.

“It just shows that he fights off every inch,” Ahmad Haston said of King. “He broke off those tackles and just went in for the score.”

Palm Beach Central fought off a valiant effort from Wellington, which tied the game at 7-7 right after King’s touchdown catch and Dominguez’s extra point.

Wellington senior Reece Larson ran off an 88-yard kickoff return for a score. And with an extra point by senior kicker Chandler Austin, both teams were even.

And then with less than 10 seconds left in the second quarter, Wellington quarterback Ryan Anthony found wide receiver Bryant Walker for an 11-yard touchdown catch. Austin’s second extra point gave Wellington the halftime lead over Palm Beach Central.

Ahmad Haston recapped how Palm Beach Central won the outright District 7-8A title with a 5-0 district record and more.

“We knew what time it was,” Ahmad Haston said. “We didn’t just come out here for the Wellington Cup. It was bigger than that. We were playing for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and we were fighting for the district title. We just wanted to show everyone that we’re not a fluke and we’re undefeated for a reason.”