PAHOKEE – See you in Tallahassee.
It is the phrase that every person associated with the Pahokee Blue Devils football program has breathed into existence since the moment D.J. Boldin accepted the head coach position in January.
It’s all this collective thinks about. It’s all of why our Team of Week 14 is the last one standing in Palm Beach County.
To close out this decade, nothing would feel better than the Pahokee Blue Devils winning the Class 1A state title next weekend (Saturday, Dec. 7; 7 p.m. kickoff time) at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee. It would be a fitting end to the 2010’s for high school football in Palm Beach County.
But first things first: Pahokee has to take its journey to the state title one game at a time.
PAHOKEE SURVIVES CHIEFLAND
As Chiefland (No. 5 seed in 1A – Region 4; 8-5 final record) came all the way back from a 26-13 halftime deficit to take a 27-26 lead at the end of the third quarter, fans at Anquan Boldin Stadium wondered if their team was even going to pull out this expected playoff win.
After all, Pahokee (then-No. 2 seed in 1A-Region 4; now 1A-Region 4 champs; 6-5) has been through a lot this year. It suffered with injuries from Syracuse commit and senior defensive end/linebacker Latarie Kinsler, senior defensive back Euvoski Cummingham (torn ACL; out for the season), and several other key players at different points of this journey. The Blue Devils were shorthanded for almost the entire regular season, which can help to explain their stunning 1-5 start.
But they have senior athlete Jermaine Roberson, who has emerged as one of Palm Beach County’s most clutch players. Roberson came through for Pahokee, as he went on to run the ball in for a game-winning 5-yard score on a quarterback sneak with 11:21 left in the game.
At this point, Pahokee was up 32-27 over Chiefland. It would end up being the final score at the final buzzer, as Kinsler made sure of it by tallying one of his three sacks on Chiefland senior athlete Ty Corbin.
“A lot of adversity and a lot of excitement,” Boldin said of our Team of Week 14. “But they found a way to push through and get the win.”
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
In all honesty, the Chiefland win has Pahokee believing they can – and most certainly will – win the state title. But the Blue Devils must first get past the heavily favored Madison County Cowboys on Black Friday (Nov. 29; 7:30 p.m. kickoff).
It’s going to be a long six-hour-long bus ride from Pahokee to Madison County. The team will be leaving Anquan Boldin Stadium for Madison County in North Florida on Thanksgiving Day.
This will be a time for the Blue Devils to bond with each other like no other. They will most certainly have the right energy and belief system in place for the duration of their experience together.
“Pahokee will win state by playing Pahokee football, staying focused on the main goal and bringing out the greatness inside of us as a team,” Cunningham said. “We will win state by doing our assignments and trusting the coaching staff to put us in the best position to make plays.”
Pahokee knows it will go into the 1A state semifinals as a huge 28-point underdog to Madison County (10-2; 1A-Region 3 champion). After all, Madison County is a very highly regarded team, as the Cowboys are currently the nation’s No. 14-ranked small schools program, according to MaxPreps.com.
But make no mistake about it: Pahokee’s absolute mission is to make every single doubter into a believer once the final buzzer sounds on Friday night.
To take down a small school juggernaut like two-time defending 1A state champion Madison County (2017 and 2018 winner), Pahokee knows the importance of game prep and respect for the opponent in question.
“To beat Madison we have to limit our mistakes on both offense and defense,” Cunningham said. “I seen a disciplined football team that makes very few mistakes, so we must force Madison to make mistakes. Honestly I still don’t think they are one of the best teams we’ve seen this year. They are 100 percent beatable.”
Cunningham didn’t stop there.
“We have to stick to the game plan that we’ve been practicing all week and put it to work Friday night,” Euvoski Cunningham said. “And yes, of course the win starts the moment we get on the bus. We’re not traveling six hours to get beat.”
Standing out for Madison County is senior running back Visonta Allen, who is about 5-foot-7 but plays much bigger than his size would indicate. He’s arguably the heart and soul of the Cowboys collective.
“Visonta Allen is a pretty good athlete who plays running back for Madison,” Cunningham said. “He’s definitely someone who has an huge impact on their team. But there’s nothing else to say. We go to war 7:00 Friday night against Madison. Be there or hear about it.”
Boldin spoke with Ryan DiPentima of the Palm Beach Post about the journey to a state title this year. For him, this is the moment he’s been waiting for.
“This is God’s plan,” Boldin said to DiPentima earlier this week. “I knew the plan from the beginning, and I never strayed away from it regardless of all the outside noise, all the outside doubt. At the end of the year, they all will come calling and apologizing, not only to me, but to our kids.”
Cunningham predicted one thing that we’ll all do in December. He said this way back in the spring.
“See you in Tallahassee,” Cunningham said matter-of-factly.
PHOTO CREDITS: Ronaldo Garcia
