PALM BEACH COUNTY – As the shortened regular season gets closer to its climax point, there exists at least three tier levels when it comes to how good our teams are right now.
Let’s get right to it.
TIER 1: One team only
•Glades Central (3-0): The Raiders remain at No. 1 as they are far and away the best team in Palm Beach County. There is a very wide gap between them and every other program, as evidenced by their three-game scoring margin of 125-6.
Led by head coach Rashad Jackson, the Muck’s premier program blew out Pahokee in the Muck Bowl last night (Nov. 14), 38-0. The Raiders scored four of their five touchdowns on the ground to mow down the Blue Devils.
TIER 2: Two teams right behind Glades Central
•Dwyer (3-0): The Panthers stay at No. 2 primarily to the play of senior quarterback Trevon Taylor, who had five touchdown passes in three quarters to take down Palm Beach Lakes in a 43-0 win yesterday (Nov. 14).
Taylor has elevated everyone around him, as MVP of Week 2 and junior athlete Xavier Scott caught two touchdowns from him, including one that put the game on a running back in the third quarter.
In three games played, Dwyer has outscored its opponents by a score of 96-40.
•Atlantic (Delray Beach) (1-1): Don’t let the Eagles current record fool you.
Their loss came against TRU Prep Academy in Week 2, which turned out to be a 33-10 defeat. TRU Prep Academy has been chosen by ESPN to play in the GEICO High School Bowl Series at IMG Academy on Friday, Nov. 20.
With that said, Atlantic came back in Week 3 to blow out a decent Boca Raton team by a score of 47-12.
TIER 3: All other teams in this week’s Top 10
Check below to see all the teams that made it.
WEEK 3: PALM BEACH TOP 10
1. Glades Central (3-0) [Last week: 1]
2. Dwyer (3-0) [Last week: 2]
3. Atlantic (Delray Beach) (1-1) [Last week: 3]
4. Park Vista (3-0) [Last week: No. 7]
5. Jupiter (3-0) [Last week: 10]
6. Pahokee (1-2) [Last week: 4]
7. Forest Hill (1-1) [Last week: 5]
8. Palm Beach Gardens (1-2) [Last week: 6]
9. Seminole Ridge (1-1) [Last week: Not Ranked]
10. Boca Raton (2-1) [Last week: 8]
Dropped from rankings: Former No. 9 Royal Palm Beach (1-2)
Close to 10: Boynton Beach (2-1), Royal Palm Beach (1-2), Somerset Academy Canyons (1-1), Suncoast (2-1), Wellington (1-2)
ABOUT TIER 3: Let’s start with Seminole Ridge.
After a rough start to their season, the Hawks shocked everyone but themselves by taking down the previously-ranked Wildcats in a 38-0 triumph. Their Week 3 went to a running clock in the second half, which tells us everything we need to know about them.
It is the precise reason why Seminole Ridge took Royal Palm Beach’s spot to debut this season at No. 9.
Meanwhile, Jupiter seems to be on its way to a 4-0 regular season due to wins over John I. Leonard, Suncoast, and Palm Beach Gardens. Led by their potent running back, the Warriors took down ranked teams over the past two weeks (50-14 win over the then-No. 10 Chargers in Week 2; 35-28 win over the then-No. 6 Gators in Week 3).
The next and final regular season game for Jupiter will be on Friday (Nov. 20; 6 p.m. kickoff) against Lake Worth, a team that has not played a game at this point.
Finally, we have Park Vista, a team that has had good wins over Santaluces (25-7 victory in Week
1), Seminole Ridge (35-0 victory in Week 2), and Forest Hill (21-14 victory in Week 3).
The final game of the regular season in Palm Beach County will feature Park Vista and Glades Central, both of which are 3-0 at this time. It will take place on Saturday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. at Wellington High School.
At stake: A 4-0 regular season finish going into next month’s Tri-County playoffs.
TIER 4: Every team just outside this week’s Top 10
TIER 5: Every other public school team in Palm Beach County
WEEK 4 GAMES: Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21 at Boca Raton High School, Jupiter High School, and Wellington High School
