LAKE WORTH – The District 8-8A title drive was on the line Thursday night (Oct. 14).
It was quite obvious that both second-ranked Park Vista and upstart Forest Hill wanted that distinction of being in the driver’s seat for the district title. It was also obvious that both teams were somehow evenly matched.
It was a heavyweight matchup that went down to the game’s final two minutes.
Only one team can come out on top, and it was the more disciplined team that did so.
Enter Forest Hill, which somehow showed more poise as a team than Park Vista did down the stretch.
Down 10-8 at halftime, the Falcons (4-2) used their punishing ground game to wear down the Cobras defense on one drive in particular.
This happened late in the third quarter, when the Falcons used up the vast majority of the field to push through for a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Miche Estime and a two-point conversion run by senior captain Dmitry Peters.
Both the score and two-point conversion gave Forest Hill a 16–10 lead over Park Vista with 1:35 left in the third quarter. It proved to be enough for the Falcons to take down the previously undefeated Cobras (5-1).
“It’s the exhilaration,” Estime said. “It was the energy I was trying to give to these guys. The energy I got from my linemen. I was just trying to do it all for them. That’s what it is.”
Peters on his two-point conversion run:
“I just gotta thank my linemen,” Peters said. “There’s nothing else I can say. They just pointed it in for me. I just followed behind them.”
Park Vista was not in prime position to answer Forest Hill’s score at all in the fourth quarter.
“We just stayed focused,” Peters said. “We were locked in.”
Estime summed it up best.
“The game is up here [mentally],” Estime said. “They playing checkers. We playing chess.”
Forest Hill head coach Jim Basford reflected on his team’s overall effort against Park Vista.
“Our kids just played with heart all night,” Basford said. “They didn’t lay down. They didn’t give up. They just made plays. That’s all I can ask for.”
Forest Hill overcame a 0-2 start to rally for four straight wins in the process.
“Our goal of the district championship was still in place,” Basford said. “I knew we were going to hit a point where we would play a team that battles us to the end. I wanted to see if we were going to lay down or battle back. We definitely battled back. I’m proud of these guys and I’m proud of my coaches. It was a great team effort.”
Forest Hill has one more District 8-8A left on its schedule against Santaluces (1-5) in Week 9. This team wants to finish district play at 4-0 and be the undisputed district champion.
“We’re going to come back Monday with a game plan and be ready to go,” Basford said about preparing for Santaluces. “They have talent. They have some players. We’re not gonna overlook them. We gotta finish what we came here to do. Just win one more. That’s our goal.”
OTHER THURSDAY NIGHT FINAL SCORES: PALM BEACH COUNTY
No. 1 Palm Beach Central 30, Palm Beach Lakes 14
No. 3 Palm Beach Gardens 49, Royal Palm Beach 6
Glades Central 14, No. 7 Dwyer 13
Stranahan 26, No. 10 Boynton Beach 7
Champagnat Catholic 28, Benjamin 23
Glades Day 17, Olympic Heights 13
Somerset Academy 21, Somerset Canyons 3
South Fork 42, Suncoast 0
Jupiter 56, St. Edward’s (Vero Beach) 28
Santaluces 13, John I. Leonard 0
Boca Raton Christian 65, SLAM 14
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
