The 33rd annual Lou Groza Award Celebration drew a strong crowd on the evening of Monday, Dec. 9. The event, held at the West Palm Beach Marriott, had several award nominees from the western communities.
The event was organized by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The keynote speaker was Dave Shula, the son of longtime Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula. Representing the Lou Groza family was Groza’s son, Judd Groza.
In addition to recognizing and honoring the three collegiate place-kickers who are the national finalists for this year’s Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Orange Bowl, the purpose of the occasion was to recognize Palm Beach County’s top high school football team, player, head coach and kicker. There were three finalists in each high school category.
In the Team of the Year category, presented by ESPN West Palm, the three finalists were the Atlantic High School Eagles, the Cardinal Newman High School Crusaders and the West Boca Raton High School Bulls. The winner was the West Boca Bulls (14-0), who are playing in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 6A state championship final on Friday, Dec. 13 against Kissimmee’s Osceola High School at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.
The three finalists for the Player of the Year award, presented by Darling & Company CPAs, were sophomore middle linebacker Levi Champion from the King’s Academy, junior running back/linebacker Phoenix Donghia of the Benjamin School and senior wide receiver/cornerback Teddy Hoffmann of Atlantic High School. The winner was Hoffman.
The three finalists for the Sam Budnyk Coach of the Year award, presented by a local private charity, were Omar Haugabook of Glades Central High School, Chuck Kenyon of Royal Palm Beach High School and Kevin Thompson of Palm Beach Central High School. The winner was Haugabook.
The three finalists for the High School Place-Kicker of the Year award, presented by Baptist Health, were sophomore Cristian Clavijo of Santaluces High School, senior Ethan Dagostino of Palm Beach Central High School and senior Brogan Woeber of Jupiter High School. The winner was Woeber.
RPBHS Athletic Director Eric Patterson, who was honored as coach of the year in 2006, is proud of the work done by Kenyon to revive the school’s varsity football program.
“Royal Palm Beach High School is incredibly proud of coach Kenyon for being named a coach of the year nominee,” Patterson said. “This prestigious recognition is a testament to his unwavering dedication, resilience and leadership. Over the past three years, coach Kenyon has not only revitalized our football program, but has also been an inspiring example of perseverance, overcoming significant challenges with grace and determination. Under his guidance, our team has achieved remarkable growth, both on and off the field, and he has fostered a culture of excellence and unity that has transformed our community.”
PBCHS Athletic Director Travis Abel had similar sentiments about the work done by Thompson this past fall.
“This football season has been a huge success, and a big part of that success can be attributed to coach Thompson’s outstanding leadership. His dedication, vision and ability to inspire his players have made all the difference for our team,” Abel said. “Coach Thompson has shown time and again that great leadership extends beyond the game itself. His impact reaches far beyond the Xs and Os, and it’s clear that his commitment to developing young athletes, both on and off the field, is shaping the future of our program. We look forward to what lies ahead with him at the helm, and we couldn’t be more proud of all he’s accomplished this season. Our team next year is already shaping up to be a top-notch group.”
As for TKA’s Champion, while he was not honored as player of the year, his statistical production was impressive. He was the No. 2 high school linebacker in Florida for tackles with 176. He also had 37 tackles for a loss, two interceptions, four forced fumbles and two quarterback sacks.
Dagostino’s accomplishments as a kicker and as a punter are also impressive. This past season, Dagostino, a two-time team captain and a three-year letterman, converted 10 out of 12 field goal attempts from inside 50 yards. In his three-year varsity career, Dagostino made 81.3 percent of his field goal attempts — 26 out of 32. He was even more successful on field goal attempts inside 50 yards, going 26 out of 29 (89.6 percent) during his high school career.
As for point-after-touchdown kicks, Dagostino made 45 this past fall, 50 as a junior and 57 as a sophomore. As a punter this past season, Dagostino had 24 punts averaging 44 yards. His longest punt was 59 yards on two occasions, and 19 of his punts finished inside the opponent’s 20-yard-line. This was Dagostino’s second year as a finalist for the high school place-kicker award. As for the future, Dagostino is being recruited by the U.S. Air Force Academy to attend college in Colorado Springs and play football for the Falcons.
The three national finalists for this year’s Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award are Kenneth Almendares (University of Louisiana), Ryan Fitzgerald (Florida State University) and Alex Raynor (University of Kentucky). The national winner was announced on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 12, but was not available at press time.
In other local college football news, National Signing Day was Wednesday, Dec. 4. On that day, many high school football players in Palm Beach County signed national letters of intent to attend college and play football. Some are from schools in the western communities. They include Seminole Ridge High School linebacker Ty Jackson, who signed with the University of Florida; fellow Seminole Ridge teammate Daniel Pierre Louis, who also signed with UF; Palm Beach Central wide receiver Kamare Williams will be a Cardinal at the University of Louisville; and fellow Palm Beach Central teammate Nedrick Boldin will be traveling to New England to play for the Boston College Eagles.
