On Friday, Nov. 2, the Seminole Ridge High School football team traveled to take on host Royal Palm Beach High School and shut out the Wildcats 32-0 to finish the regular season.
Both teams established strong defensive play, forcing punt situations, until the Hawks (6-4, 1-3) struck first on defense. Linebacker Kevin Linardos jumped up to grab a tipped pass from Royal Palm Beach quarterback Peyton Mainolfi, then returned it untouched 57 yards for the game’s first score. The Hawks point-after attempt was unsuccessful, which gave them a 6-0 lead. Royal Palm Beach had a chance early when a bad Seminole Ridge special team snap gave the Wildcats an opportunity to score, but a 36-yard field goal traveled wide.
Seminole Ridge notched a second touchdown in the second quarter when running back Corey Polk ran to the left side on a 15-yard score to lift the Hawks to 13-0. The Wildcats went three-and-out, which gave the Hawks solid field position. Seminole Ridge drove inside the red zone and grabbed a 20-0 lead when fullback Ethan Forman ran it in from three yards out.
The second half did not fare better for Royal Palm Beach. The offensive unit could not put together enough consistent offense to close the margin. With heavy rain moving in, the conditions made it difficult to control the ball. With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Hawk quarterback Kaimyn Castilla threw a 17-yard bubble pass to Nico Pierroni to give Seminole Ridge a 26-0 lead.
The Hawks were able to put up another touchdown in the fourth quarter during the continued heavy rain.
With six minutes remaining, Polk recorded his second touchdown of the game when he ran it in from two yards out to make it 32-0. The Hawks attempted a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful. The Hawk defensive unit shut down the Wildcat offense, keeping them out of the end zone the entire night.
The Hawks rebounded from a district loss to Jupiter to cap the season with a notch in the win column to finish the year 6-4. Royal Palm Beach finished the season 0-10.
Polk is credited with two scores on the night, while Linardos had an interception with a score on defense.
