The Palm Beach Central High School football program will look to continue its success into spring and the fall season with a new head coach to direct the Broncos.
Scottie Littles has taken over the program after longtime coach Tino Ierulli stepped down to take a new position at Shiloh High School in Georgia. Last season, Ierulli spearheaded the Broncos to a district championship and regional final appearance.
Littles believes that the program will be able to sustain that momentum with his direction.
“Tino did a great job building the culture,” Littles said. “Our plan is to come in with the same expectation. We’ve got a great bunch of talented kids; they’ve done a great job rallying around the new staff. Right now, we’re building relationships. We’re not only trying to take this spring to implement what we are doing, but to build relationships.”
Littles comes from Kings Fork High School in Suffolk, Va. He brings a 28-15 record, along with district and regional titles as a Bulldog. He also brings excitement and seeks to build something special at Palm Beach Central.
The Broncos were senior-loaded last season and will have to fill some gaps left from graduation. Five-star Florida State commit Akeem Dent has moved on as a Seminole.
Offensive lineman Renato Brown, corner back Jesus Santiago, running back C.J. Stewart and quarterback Michael Moreland are just some of the big names from last season who helped make an impact in the Broncos’ success. Returning players looking to carry the torch include receiver and University of Miami commit Bryan Robinson. “There’s chemistry with the offense,” Robinson said. “We ran up-tempo last year, but this year it will be faster. Me and R.J. play for Florida Fire, so we’ll do some seven-on-sevens during the summer.”
Robinson was referring to the Broncos’ starting quarterback Anarjahe Doureit, or R.J. for short, who played behind Moreland last season. He is six-foot-two, 206 pounds, and has all the attributes to operate the offense. “R.J. and I connected a couple of times for touchdowns last season,” Robinson noted.
Conroy Cunningham returns as the inside linebacker. “As a team, our goal is to go to the state championship,” Cunningham said. “I think we just have to be consistent, and I think that we’ve proved the last few seasons that it wasn’t a fluke. I’m confident in our defense. I feel like we can keep the tradition going.”
At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he will be a force for the Bronco defense.
Cedric Williamson will likely be a two-way starter for the Broncos. At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, he will be difficult to contend with on both sides of the ball. Williamson will play safety, cornerback and some slot receiver for the Broncos.
“We have to bring that same intensity that we had before,” Williamson said. “It’s the same expectations with the new guys coming up. If we bring that same energy, we’ll be alright.”
Williamson also believes that the relationship with the new coaches has gained steam. “Since day one, I’ve had a good relationship with coach Littles, but it’s going to take some time for everybody with a coaching change,” he said. “Once we get that out of the way, we’re going to be an even better team.”
The Broncos will have space to fill in the trenches with Brandon Hudgins, Quindaris Burgess and Janil Brown all graduating, but the talent pool is deep in the Bronco camp.
Palm Beach Central will travel to Port St. Lucie Centennial for a spring game on Friday, May 17. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
