The Seminole Ridge High School football team hosted unbeaten Palm Beach Lakes High School in a crucial district battle on Friday, Oct. 11, falling to the Rams 23-3. It was the 20 third-quarter points scored by Palm Beach Lakes that lifted them past a 3-3 halftime tie.
Seminole Ridge battled defensively to stall the Rams’ explosive offense and blocked a punt in the first quarter to put the Hawks’ offense on the Rams’ 38-yard line. Running back Ethan Forman powered to the Palm Beach Lakes 10-yard line to set the Hawks up for a possible score. A stubborn Rams defense held the Hawks from crossing the goal line and forced a 27-yard field goal that gave Seminole Ridge a 3-0 advantage.
Palm Beach Lakes was able to respond with a solid drive into Hawks real estate but met an equally tough defense to force the Rams to settle for a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. The Hawks got a break when a punt hit a Palm Beach Lakes player in the leg. Seminole Ridge was able to recover the ball, which set their offense up inside the Rams’ 30-yard line to start the second quarter. The Hawks drove up the middle for yardage but coughed up the ball two plays later.
Palm Beach Lakes began to move the chains when running back Antonio Outler broke through the middle for a 45-yard gain, but the run was negated by the Seminole Ridge defense stripping the ball to take over possession. Both teams struggled offensively for the balance of a first half that ended tied 3-3. The Hawks did have some moments on offense with running backs Isreal Rosiles and Forman making some big plays in the first half, but they were unable to garner points to reclaim the lead.
The Rams’ third quarter would be the deciding factor in the game, combined with a strong defense that kept the Hawks out of the Palm Beach Lakes end zone. The Rams took their opening possession of the second half and scored in six plays with a two-yard touchdown run by Outler to take a 10-3 lead with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter.
The Hawks could not get the ball rolling on offense and were forced to punt. Palm Beach Lakes took five plays for Outler to cap a drive for his second score of the night on a short touchdown run to lift the Rams to 17-3.
The Seminole Ridge offense went to work deep in Rams’ territory after a big kick return but came up empty. Palm Beach Lakes launched a 65-yard touchdown pass with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter to take a 23-3 lead.
Neither team was able to put additional points on the board in the fourth quarter, and the Rams secured the 23-3 win. With the defeat, Seminole Ridge fell to 4-2; 2-1 in the district. The Hawks have one more district game against William T. Dwyer High School later in the season but are on the road to face Pahokee on Friday, Oct. 18 for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
