WELLINGTON – It was a battle of two reigning district champions last night (Sept. 27).
One defending title winner came out on top, while the other one came up short.
Palm Beach Central (3-1 before kickoff; Class 4M-District 10 champion in 2023) and Jupiter (4-0 before kickoff; Class 4M-District 9 champion in 2023) went toe-to-toe with each other for much of the Class 7A-District 12 opener. This was to be expected, given the pedigree of the past two Lou Groza Coach of the Year winners (Palm Beach Central head coach Kevin Thompson – 2022; Jupiter head coach Jason Kradman – 2023).
Do not be fooled by Palm Beach Central’s 26-10 home win over Jupiter. Although it was a 16-point margin of victory for the Broncos (4-1; 1-0 in 12-7A), the Warriors (4-1; 0-1 in 12-7A) were very much in this game until the final minutes.
We will show you how this game was closer than the final score indicated.
On the game’s first drive, Palm Beach Central junior quarterback Chance Routson (three touchdown passes in this game) threw a long one to senior wide receiver and Arkansas verbal commit Kamaree Williams to the end zone at the 9:00 mark.
Watch how it happened right below.
With Palm Beach Central taking a 7-0 lead, Jupiter was not fazed by this in any way, shape, or form. On both sides of the ball, the well-coached team was patient until they had a scoring opportunity of their own to capitalize on.
It would happen at the very beginning of the second quarter, when Jupiter junior quarterback Andrew Embick found senior running back Chris Vanhorn for a long touchdown pass at the 11:49 mark.
Watch for yourself how it went down.
After the game was tied up at 7-7, it was a second-quarter showdown featuring two of the best kickers in Palm Beach County – seniors Ethan Dagostino (Palm Beach Central) and Brogan Woeber (Jupiter).
Let us show you how each kicker made it possible for the halftime score to be tied at 10-10.
Going into the third quarter, this game had a feel of it going either way. But here in this case, the level of player experience won out in favor of Palm Beach Central.
There were three scores that took place. Two of them were in the third quarter and the other one sealed the game late in the fourth quarter.
Watch how Palm Beach Central pulled away in the second half.
After the game ended, we were able to get some commentary from several Palm Beach Central players. Take a look below and closely listen to the postgame interviews for yourself.
With the win, Palm Beach Central is now in the driver’s seat in the District 12-7A title race. It now only needs to beat Palm Beach Lakes (1-3; 0-1 in 12-7A) in Week 8 (Thursday, Oct. 10; 5 p.m. kickoff) and Wellington (2-3; 1-0 in 12-7A) for the Wellington Cup in Week 10 (Friday, Oct. 25; 6:30 p.m. kickoff).
NEXT GAME FOR PALM BEACH CENTRAL: Week 7 at home vs. Palm Beach Gardens – Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
NEXT GAME FOR JUPITER: Week 7 on the road at Suncoast (2-3) – Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
VIDEO CREDIT: Future Draft Style
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