WEST PALM BEACH – Jyron Hughley has been playing on the high school football level for almost six full seasons.
Nothing ignites his passion for the game more than being doubted by anyone who does not fully believe in him.
Up until Week 9 against West Boca Raton, we had not been able to witness a signature performance from the Cardinal Newman senior quarterback and West Virginia verbal commit.
Yes, our clear-cut No. 1 Muckstepper has had many great games over the past few seasons. But there was something entirely different about his game against then-top ranked West Boca Raton on the night of Friday, Oct. 17.
WEEK 9 ACTION
In all honesty, Hughley’s stock rose way up with one drive that took only one play to help seal Cardinal Newman’s eventual 26-20 overtime win at home over West Boca Raton.
With 6:07 left in the third quarter, Cardinal Newman (No. 2; 7-2 record) was up 13-6 over West Boca Raton (No. 3; 7-2 record) and starting at its own 20-yard line. On first-and-10 from the 20, anything could happen.
What happened was a touchdown run for the ages by Hughley. It was an 80-yarder that truly captivated everyone in more ways than one at Cardinal Newman.
This is something you just have to watch for yourself.
To be brutally honest, this seminal moment was enough for Hughley to capture our Muckstepper of Week 9 honor.
Here are Hughley’s full statistics in Week 9 against West Boca Raton:
PASSING
•5-for-8, 34 yards
RUSHING
•13 carries, 127 yards, 1 touchdown; 80-yard touchdown run
TOTALS
•161 total yards; 1 total touchdown
Watch Hughley’s joint postgame interview with fellow senior teammate and running back Phoenix Donghia (James Madison verbal commit; 10 carries, 92 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns; 102 total yards; game-winning touchdown run in overtime).
To sum this game up, Hughley helped lead Cardinal Newman to what turned out to be the best win of the season in Palm Beach County.
WEEK 10 ENCORE
Week 9 was a great one for Hughley.
But Week 10 was even better.
Here’s how Cardinal Newman’s 28-0 road win over Bishop Verot went down on Monday night (Oct. 27) in Fort Myers.
Two trips to Florida’s West Coast resulted in only one half of play total.
The first trip ended with the power being turned out during the first half as Cardinal Newman had a 14-0 lead over Bishop Verot. It happened this past Friday night (Oct. 24). The second trip was three days later and they only had eight plays to work with.
The relatively frustrating experience actually resulted in Hughley’s best overall performance of his high school football career.
Here are Hughley’s stats against Bishop Verot:
PASSING
•5-for-6, 159 yards, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions; 163.2 passer rating (season best)
RUSHING
•6 carries, 103 yards, 1 touchdown; 17.2 yards per carry (season best)
TOTALS
•262 total yards, 3 total touchdowns
With this amazing stat line, Hughley earned our Muckstepper of Week 10 honor.
NOTE: Hughley is our Muckstepper of Week 9 and Week 10. He is the first player from the Muck to win this honor two weeks in a row.
“It feels good,” the 6-foot-2, 185-pound quarterback said. “I’m waking the city up for sure. They are going to know who I am soon.”
WEEK 11 ANTICIPATION
As we move on from Week 10 and look ahead to Week 11, it will be Senior Night for Hughley and his fellow 2026 teammates on Friday, Oct. 31.
The next and final regular season opponent is state powerhouse Buchholz (8-1), a team that prevailed in a 14-7 victory last season over Cardinal Newman.
Hughley wants payback for last year’s seven-point loss. He knows what is at stake.
For one thing, he has a legitimate chance at being ranked as the No. 1 overall player in Palm Beach County.
In addition to that, Hughley has a legitimate chance to be nominated for and actually win the Lou Groza Award for High School Player of the Year.
“I’m baking,” he said. “This is the last regular season game. I need that Lou award.”
In all honesty, the last day of October cannot come soon enough for our top Muckstepper. And what’s next is honestly anyone guess.
Stay tuned.
PHOTO CREDITS: Andrew Rowell
Muck City Media Enterprises 
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