WEST PALM BEACH – It is a noble thing when someone decides to serve our country and risk himself in the process.
We all need to give a special salute to Tron Rhodes, who has enlisted in the U.S. Marines with pride. The Berean Christian senior kicker/punter will be moving on from the gridiron, where he excelled this past season as one of Palm Beach County’s very best at his position.
While in the process of securing himself for a tour with the Marines, Rhodes was working to emerge as one of Berean Christian’s most impactful players. The Bulldogs specialist finished the season with 25 PAT’s (point after touchdowns) as a kicker and 28.17 yards per punt (four-second hang time) as a punter.
The consistency shown by Rhodes was enough to garner a nomination for the Lou Groza Placekicker of the Year, which is one of Palm Beach County’s most notable high school football honors. Rhodes was joined by King’s Academy junior kicker Bernie Cueto and Wellington senior kicker Morgan Suarez as the nominees.
Though it was Suarez who ultimately earned the kicker award, Rhodes was grateful just for the recognition itself.
“When I heard I was selected, I was happy. But when I heard I was in the top three, I was extremely excited,” the 6-foot, 130-pound kicker said. “It also made me proud to have people want to kick at our school because of me.”
Rhodes briefly reflected on his experience at Berean Christian, which notably ended in this past year’s Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoff semifinals.
“I enjoyed it, and it was nice to see me constantly improve,” Rhodes said.
Berean Christian Bulldogs head coach Mario Jackson raved about the level of production that Rhodes brought in on special teams.
“Tron’s senior season is one to remember,” Jackson said. “He’s the first Lou Groza Award nominee and finalist in Berean Christian School history. Tron played a key role in our offense, having additional opportunities because of pooch and onside kicks we were able to recover.”
Rhodes expresses his gratitude to Jackson for the opportunity he had at Berean Christian.
“He was the one that came up to me and asked me to kick for the team,” Rhodes said of Jackson. “He constantly made me push myself and become better as both a person and player.”
Now that he’s moving on to the next phase of his life, Rhodes is excited about what lies ahead. The Lou Groza Award nominee will be departing for the Marines to Paris Island, S.C. on July 27.
“My plan is to become an aviation mechanic in the Marine Corps,” Rhodes said. “My dad is a Marine, and I realized that it had a lot of great benefits, along with the fact that people told me I couldn’t do it. I plan on joining and then keep training to get better. I’ll possibly go into college for kicking down the road.”
