WELLINGTON – Rule No. 1: Do not give Palm Beach Central extra motivation.

It seems like an obvious piece of advice. But as Palm Beach Central opened up the week ahead of its 35-14 victory over Palm Beach Gardens, it saw a little more motivation come from the opponents.

In a social media post, someone referred to Palm Beach Central as the “Unicorns” instead of their normal mascot, the Broncos.

The social media post quickly made its way into Palm Beach Central’s locker room and became a piece of motivation for the Broncos.

“We were super excited,” Palm Beach Central head coach Kevin Thompson said. “It’s motivation.”

Palm Beach Central fully embraced being called the “Unicorns” too.

A toy unicorn donned the sidelines during the game. The PA announcer referred to them as the “unicorns”; and following the game, players took pictures with the unicorn.

For this week only, they weren’t the Broncos. They were the Unicorns.

“At first, it was kinda crazy seeing it because it was like, really a unicorn?” senior wide receiver Luby Maurice Jr. said. “Then they brought the little [unicorn] out … and it started to become funny. … We just flowed with the pink and purple unicorns, like the My Little Pony stuff.”

When it came to the actual game, Maurice was among the key contributors to Palm Beach Central’s potent offense.

Maurice finished the night with three receiving touchdowns, including an 11-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter which opened up the scoring for Palm Beach Central.

The performance from Maurice showcased what so many have been seeing this season: real chemistry between senior quarterback Ahmad Haston and his wide receiver.

“It’s like a routine for us,” Haston said about his chemistry with Maurice. “We work hard during the offseason, working on things like this. Throwing the up ball, throwing the fade, adjusting [and] breaking off routes. So coming out here and doing it is a great thing to see.”

Despite the strong start to his senior season, Maurice is still underrecruited. While Thompson has mentioned that teams have expressed interest, teams have yet to pull the trigger on the wide receiver.

“He’s going to get expensive,” Thompson said. “Today’s price is not going to be tomorrow’s price. Somebody better come get him right now.”

Haston finished the night with five passing touchdowns, connecting with sophomore wide receiver Nedrick Boldin, as well as senior Javorian Wimberly on a 98-yard touchdown, proving that Palm Beach Central has a deep wide receiver room that makes it difficult to defend.

“You can only double for so long,” Thompson said. “You can double Luby and Luby has a slow game but you can’t double Luby, [Tony], and Nedrick at the same time. So having receivers and then receivers coming.”

On the other side of the ball, Palm Beach Central’s defense has continued to enjoy a successful season.

Against Palm Beach Gardens, its defense was a catalyst for making sure that Palm Beach Central enjoyed a comfortable win.

Not only did Palm Beach Gardens tend to avoid throwing the football – likely because defensive back Justin Bostic has a way of turning interceptions into touchdowns – but they also struggled to find some consistency on the ground.

For Thompson, the defensive credit begins with defensive coordinator Quintin Smith, who is in his first season with Palm Beach Central.

“I don’t know how long I’m going to hold onto him for, but make sure you write his name down. Put it in the paper because that guy is good,” Thompson said of Smith. “[Smith] spends a lot of time breaking down film and doing exactly what he needs to do to get everything right.”

Thompson also credited Smith with keeping the same defensive system in place, allowing the players on defense to enjoy some familiarity with what they were running.

“For him to humble himself and say, ‘We’re going to run it because the kids know it and I’ll add whatever I need to add later,’” Thompson said. “So, I’m proud of that.”

Next week, Palm Beach Central (7-1) will host Wellington (5-3), or as Thompson called them, “the blue team” in the Wellington Cup, a game that is sure to be rowdy.

“The blue school is going to be a great game,” Thompson said. “Traditionally, it’s always been a great game. It’s my first initiation and baptism to the blue school.”

As for the extra motivation part, that will only come if Wellington gives them some.

“We’re just waiting for somebody to slip up. Like the blue school to say something,” Thompson said. “And it’s right on the poster.”