BELLE GLADE – The rebuild continues with three things in particular order:
Faith.
Family.
Football.
Glades Central second-year head coach Omar Haugabook led his team on Friday night (Nov. 14) to a convincing 23-6 home playoff win over King’s Academy in the Class 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal round. This marked his first playoff win as a head coach and Glades Central’s first playoff win since 2021.
No. 3 seed Glades Central (10-1) scored in all three phases of the game: defense, offense, and special teams. And interestingly, each phase shined in different quarters of this playoff tilt.
At the 6:30 mark of the first quarter, Raiders senior athlete Gary Mann scooped up a lost Lions fumble and took the pigskin right to the end zone for the game’s first score at 6-0.
Raiders junior kicker Javier Flores connected on an extra point to make it 7-0 in favor of the home team.
Glades Central’s 7-0 lead would hold serve all the way to halftime and beyond. Credit goes to No. 6 seed King’s Academy (5-6 final record) for using its toughness and grit to keeping the game close throughout the beginning of the second half.
We got two offensive scores from Glades Central in the third quarter. Both were passing touchdowns from senior quarterback Taj Barnes.
We will show you below how Barnes helped extend Glades Central’s lead from 7-0 in the beginning of the third quarter to 20-0 at the end of the third.
The last Glades Central score was on special teams. It came by way of a 37-yard field goal made by junior kicker Javier Flores at the 10:07 mark of the fourth quarter.
King’s Academy kept this game from being a shutout with an inspiring offensive drive late in the final frame. The road team mustered a 25-yard touchdown pass in coverage from sophomore quarterback London Rensburg to junior wide receiver Jack Miller.
King’s Academy would cut Glades Central’s lead to 23-6 at the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter. It would go on to the game’s final score.
After the game, both Haugabook and King’s Academy head coach Daniel Burack rounded both teams up in a postgame huddle for words of encouragement and a powerful prayer moment.
Haugabook and selected Glades Central players recapped Friday night’s playoff game in their own way.
With the win, Glades Central will advance to the Class 2A-Region 3 semifinal round.
NEXT GAME FOR GLADES CENTRAL: Away at No. 2 seed Lakewood (10-1) on Friday, Nov. 21; Kickoff time TBA
VIDEO CREDITS: The King’s Academy Lions
Muck City Media Enterprises 
Leave a comment