While most local high school football games scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22 and Friday, Sept. 23 were played with limited interruptions, all games scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29 and Friday, Sept. 30 were cancelled, postponed or rescheduled, due to the impact of Hurricane Ian.
To date, the top high school football teams in the western communities are Seminole Ridge High School, Palm Beach Central High School and the King’s Academy — each with one loss on the season.
On Friday, Sept. 23, the Seminole Ridge Hawks took their 4-0 record on the road to Riviera Beach to play Inlet Grove High School, which was led by running back Sebastien Christian, who was a key part of Seminole Ridge’s offense last fall. After four quarters of play, Christian and his new Inlet Grove teammates defeated Seminole Ridge, 25-10. The Hawks (4-1) play next on Friday, Oct. 7, when they host Boynton Beach High School. The Hawks will play their first all-important district game of the season on Thursday, Oct. 13 against Atlantic High School in Delray Beach.
The Broncos from Palm Beach Central High School had a bye on Friday, Sept. 23, and their game on Friday, Sept. 30 against John I. Leonard High School was postponed until Monday, Oct. 3. The game on Oct. 3 against Leonard was a key district game for the Broncos, and their first game since losing 35-14 to Pahokee back on Sept. 16.
After the two-week-plus layoff, the Broncos came out strong and defeated the visiting Lancers, 58-20. On Friday, Oct. 7, Palm Beach Central (4-1) will host the Bobcats from Boca Raton High School, and on Thursday, Oct. 13, the Broncos will be looking for their second district victory of the season when they take on Forest Hill High School.
The King’s Academy Lions, under the direction of head coach Ben McEnroe, are riding a three-game winning streak, after defeating North Broward Prep, 28-6, on Friday, Sept. 23. TKA (4-1) had a bye during the week of Hurricane Ian. The Lions will look to continue their winning ways when they visit Pope John Paul II on Friday, Oct. 7, before hosting Suncoast High School on Friday, Oct. 14.
The Wellington High School Wolverines, meanwhile, are trending in the right direction. The Wolverines evened their season’s record at 2-2 on Friday, Sept. 16, when they defeated Royal Palm Beach High School, 39-12. One of the many bright spots in that game for Wellington was the play of backup sophomore running back Owen Brown, who ran for 107 yards against the Wildcats.
“We rested our starting running back Garrens Catul, and Owen had a great game for us,” WHS head football coach Danny Mendoza said.
After a bye week, Wellington was scheduled to host Forest Hill for its first district game of the season on Friday, Sept. 30, which was postponed to Monday, Oct. 3. Going into the game against Forest Hill, Mendoza was confident that his team would play better football. The Wolverines did just that, as they prevailed, 36-7.
Overall, Mendoza was pleased with the play of his team.
“I liked that we played together and kept each other going,” Mendoza said. “We are coming together as a team, but still have work to do.”
The Wolverines (3-2) will be looking for their third-straight victory and fourth overall win this season when they travel to Indian River County to play powerhouse Vero Beach High School (6-0) on Friday, Oct. 7 in a non-district game.
For Wellington to defeat Vero Beach, it will require a complete game by its offense, defense and special teams.
“It’s going to take a full team effort and consistency with limited mistakes,” Mendoza said.
On Friday, Oct. 14, the Wolverines will return to Wellington for a homecoming game against John I. Leonard, which will be another key district encounter.
The Berean Christian School football team is no longer winless. After the Bulldogs opened their season with five consecutive losses, they responded with a 14-10 victory on the road against Miami Country Day School on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Berean head football coach Mario Jackson was delighted with the play of his young squad, which has continued to work hard in practices and games, despite the tough start to the season.
The Bulldogs (1-5) will be looking for their second win of the season when they return to Miami-Dade County to play Archbishop Carroll High School on Friday, Oct. 14. On Thursday, Oct. 20, Berean hosts Pompano Beach High School.
The Royal Palm Beach High School Wildcats were seeking their first victory of the season when they hosted undefeated Santaluces High School (4-0) on Friday, Sept. 23, but that game was postponed by lightning and has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Royal Palm Beach’s next game was played on Monday, Oct. 3, when the Wildcats played at Jupiter High School. It was the first district game for the Wildcats. While the Wildcats played better than they have in recent games, the Warriors from Jupiter played slightly better, winning by a single point, 14-13.
According to Royal Palm Beach head football coach Chuck Kenyon, the game hinged on three plays.
“We had a scoop and score called back, their first touchdown looked like it wasn’t in, and we threw a pick six,” Kenyon said.
The Wildcats (0-5) will continue their pursuit of their first victory on Friday, Oct. 7 when they visit Lake Worth High School. On Thursday, Oct. 13, Royal Palm Beach will play at Palm Beach Gardens High School.
