The Palm Beach Central High School varsity football team is ready to play some post-season football, and it all starts Friday, Nov. 15 when the Broncos (9-1), the top seed in the third quadrant of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 6A playoff series, host Fort Pierce Central High School (5-5). The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m.
With a victory, Palm Beach Central will host the winner of the Lake Nona-Vero Beach game on Friday, Nov. 22. The goal is to reach the FHSAA’s Class 6A state championship game, which will be held in mid-December at the South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.
Palm Beach Central head football coach Kevin Thompson said his coaches and players are thrilled to be playing postseason football.
“We’re really excited for the opportunity to play in the playoffs again, which is the ‘second’ season,” Thompson said. “Fort Pierce Central is a very good team. You can see where they have earned the right to be in the playoffs. We’re excited for the opportunity to try to continue the legacy from last year and our team from the year before.”
Palm Beach Central, which is riding an eight-game winning streak, concluded the regular season with a pair of strong road wins. On Friday, Nov. 1, the Broncos traveled to Palm Beach Gardens, where they thumped William T. Dwyer High School, 38-14. On Friday, Nov. 15, the Broncos dominated Palm Beach Lakes High School, 54-6.
Royal Palm Beach High School — The regular-season performance by the RPBHS varsity football team is the biggest surprise of the regular season in Palm Beach County. This fall, the Wildcats, under the guidance of head coach Chuck Kenyon, had an impressive 7-3 record. Royal Palm Beach’s football fortunes began to improve when Kenyon became the head coach in 2022.
“From inheriting a program that had one win the year before I took the job to now qualifying for the playoffs is a testament to the hard work and determination the players and assistant coaches have shown,” Kenyon said. “I am so proud of everyone involved. This is a team achievement.”
With the regular season complete, Royal Palm Beach has been practicing for its first playoff game in many years. On Friday, Nov. 15, Royal Palm Beach will be traveling to Wesley Chapel to face Wiregrass Ranch High School (9-1) for an FHSAA Class 6A playoff game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. For the Wildcats to reach the Class 6A state championship game at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami in mid-December, they must win four postseason games in the coming weeks.
The King’s Academy — TKA’s varsity football team had a brilliant 7-0 start to the regular season, but the Lions stumbled down the stretch, losing three straight games to conclude the regular season with a 7-3 record.
Fortunately, the Lions have earned a bid as the No. 5 seed in the third quadrant of the FHSAA’s Class 2A playoff series. Their opening playoff game is Friday, Nov. 15 in Fort Lauderdale against the Calvary Christian Academy Eagles (7-3). For TKA to reach the Class 2A state championship in Miami, they must also win four postseason games in the coming weeks.
According to TKA head coach Dan Burack, his team is rested and ready to tackle the postseason.
“We’ve been good. We’re seven points away from being 10-0,” Burack said. “So, understanding that we have to clean up a few items has been good for teaching growth and keeping faith in God’s plan.”
TKA will be led by senior quarterback Joe Dailey, who has completed 110 of 198 passes for 1,645 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has only thrown three interceptions. Dailey has also run for 450 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Seminole Ridge High School — Seminole Ridge’s varsity football team is to be commended for its staying power. After losing nine straight games, the Hawks responded like champions in their final regular season game when they defeated visiting Wellington, 27-7, on Friday, Nov. 1.
The Hawks played like a team with a 9-0 record instead of a winless 0-9 squad. Running back Willie Young III led the attack by rushing for 128 yards on 11 carries. He had two rushing touchdowns. Dylan Reid and Christopher Augustin also scored rushing touchdowns. Seminole Ridge finished the regular season with a 1-9 record.
Seminole Ridge head coach Chad Chieffalo was proud of his team’s willingness to keep playing hard, despite one loss after another during the regular season.
“All in all, we had probably our best week of practice that week of the Wellington game,” Chieffalo said. “The kids were just desperate for a win. Wellington just happened to be our opponent that week. I hope to build on that little bit of momentum we got at the end of the season and carry it into the off season.”
Chieffalo is cautiously optimistic about the 2025 season. “We’re actually going to be returning about 18 kids who started or had significant playing time on all three phases of the game,” he noted.
Wellington High School — The varsity football team from WHS had a season marked by one winning streak and two losing streaks. The Wolverines opened the season by losing three out of their first four games. That was followed by three straight wins, which improved the Wolverines’ record to 4-3. Then, the Wolverines lost three games in a row to conclude the season with a 4-6 record.
According to WHS head coach Matt Pryor, the regular season did not go as expected.
“It was a tough season for us,” he said. “We had very high expectations for our season, and we fell short of that. The high was definitely beating then-undefeated
Dr. Joaquín García High School in a close tough-fought battle. The low point of the season was [losing] the last three games. Getting beat by Palm Beach Central for the Wellington Cup definitely put a sour taste in our mouth for the remainder of the season. It was hard to get our momentum back.”
Pryor feels there’s hope that Wellington’s football fortunes will improve soon.
“Next season, we have a lot to look forward to,” he said. “We are bringing back a ton of young talent on defense. We will be losing the majority of our offensive line and our No. 1 wide receiver, but everyone else is an underclassman. We just have to make sure we have a great off season and keep our core group together.”
