As week three of the high school football season gets underway, the teams from Royal Palm Beach High School and the King’s Academy are off to a perfect start.
TKA’s varsity football team had a resounding 49-7 victory against Park Vista High School on Aug. 16 in a kickoff classic matchup before opening the regular season with two more victories — a 13-0 win over Saint Andrew’s School on Aug. 23 and a 28-21 victory over Fort Pierce Westwood on Aug. 30.
In the win against Saint Andrew’s, TKA quarterback Joe Dailey threw for 143 yards and a touchdown, as he completed 10 of 17 passes. The Lions’ top rusher was Tristan Stewart, who ran for 67 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, James Powell led the team with five tackles and five assisted tackles. In the game against Fort Pierce Westwood, TKA rallied with 14 points in the fourth quarter to prevail.
Overall, TKA head coach Dan Burack is pleased with his team’s commitment to excellence. “So far, our team has shown a relentless effort in games. They never give up on any play,” Burack said. “In practice, we are still working on improving our fundamentals, specifically blocking and tackling.”
The Lions’ pursuit of their next win will take place Friday, Sept. 6 when they travel to Miami-Dade County to play the winless Raiders from Gulliver Prep (0-2). Kickoff will be at 4 p.m. On Sept. 12, the Lions will host Somerset Prep from North Lauderdale.
RPBHS Wildcats — The varsity football team from Royal Palm Beach High School is off to its best start in years. Just like TKA, the Wildcats won their kickoff classic game decisively, 52-7, against Olympic Heights High School on Aug. 16. Then they won their first two regular season games — a 28-27 win at Port St. Lucie High School on Aug. 23 and a 59-19 triumph at home against John I. Leonard High School on Aug. 30.
In the win against John I. Leonard, RPBHS head coach Chuck Kenyon was especially pleased with the play of two freshman, Demetrius Gibson and Al Carter. Gibson caught five passes for 116 yards. Two of those receptions were for touchdowns. Carter scored a touchdown on a 50-yard jet sweep.
Another RPBHS player who did exceptionally well against John I. Leonard was sophomore Demetrice Rolle. Rolle returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. After a John I. Leonard player returned Royal Palm Beach’s ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, Rolle returned the very next kickoff by Leonard for more than 80 yards for a second Royal Palm Beach touchdown. In both cases, Rolle ran to daylight and kept going.
“On the first touchdown, I broke to the left where there was blocking, and on the second touchdown, I ran to the right because I saw an opening of daylight,” Rolle recalled.
“In my 26 years of coaching high school football, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Kenyon said. “The score was 13-7 in favor of us at the 11:13 mark of the first quarter. Simply unbelievable.”
The Wildcats will pursue more victories on Friday, Sept. 6 at Suncoast High School and Thursday, Sept. 12 at home against William T. Dwyer High School.
WHS Wolverines — The varsity football team from Wellington High School is 1-1 after its first two games of the regular season. In their regular season opener at home on Aug. 22 against Port St. Lucie’s Centennial High School, the Wolverines forced five turnovers, yet still lost, 26-12. Coach Ross Pryor’s Wolverines leveled their record on Aug. 29 with a resounding 31-0 shutout win against Lake Worth High School.
To date, Pryor is delighted with the overall performance of his defense. “Our defense is playing lights out,” he said. “We are coaching 11 hats to the ball on every defensive snap.”
Three players who had standout performances against Lake Worth were junior running back J.T. Thomas, who ran for 115 yards and a touchdown; senior wide receiver Trey Allen, who caught three passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns; and junior defensive lineman Nicholas Lane, who had two quarterback sacks.
The Wolverines will be looking to add a victory to their win column when they play at Park Vista High School on Sept. 6. The Wolverines have a bye during the fourth week of the regular season.
Other Football Action — The Broncos from Palm Beach Central High School are 1-1 after their first two games. They opened with an impressive 21-14 road win at Pahokee High School on Aug. 23, and then dropped their home opener against West Boca Raton High School, 28-7, on Aug. 30. Palm Beach Central will visit undefeated Spanish River High School on Friday, Sept. 6 and then host Santaluces High School on Friday, Sept. 13.
The Hawks from Seminole Ridge High School could easily be 2-0, but instead are 0-2. The two close losses were a 34-31 overtime defeat against Glades Central High School on Aug. 23, followed by a 27-23 loss to Spanish River High School on Aug. 30. The Hawks will be looking to right their record with victories against Pahokee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5 and West Boca Raton High School on Friday, Sept. 13.
The Berean Christian School Bulldogs opened their season on Aug. 23 with a loss by forfeit against Palm Beach Christian Prep. The official score was 2-0. On Aug. 30, the Bulldogs lost 54-7 to Somerset Academy Key from Deerfield Beach. On Friday, Sept. 6, Berean hosts Central Florida Christian Academy from Orlando. On Friday, Sept. 13, Berean travels to Miami Country Day School.
