Five of the Post’s top 10 teams remained unbeaten following Week 5 action.
Corey Cola and No. 9 Park Vista upset No. 5 Atlantic Friday night to improve to 5-0. The Cobras are tied with No. 4 Boca Raton for first place in District 10-8A. (Photo by Bruce Bennett)
Here are the headlines from Week 5 action around Palm Beach County.
* Dwyer rallies to beat crosstown rival Palm Beach Gardens (Game story) (Photos)
* Park Vista upsets Atlantic to stay perfect (Game story) (Photos)
* Boca Raton rolls to shutout win over Santaluces (Game story)
In other games around the area, No. 2 Oxbridge ran away from district rival Saint John Paul II Academy Thursday (Photos) … Pahokee shut out Clewiston to move to 5-0 … State-ranked Vero Beach beat Palm Beach Lakes … Glades Central defeated Palm Beach Central for its second straight win … Fort Pierce Central ran away from Wellington … for more scores, check out our roundup.
For additional coverage, check out our PBgametime site, which you also can access on your phones at m.pbgametime.com.
How did the Post Top 10 do?
1. Dwyer (4-0): Beat Palm Beach Gardens 12-7
2. Oxbridge Academy (5-0): Beat Saint John Paul II Academy 68-6
3. Pahokee (5-0): Beat Clewiston 28-0
4. Boca Raton (4-0): Beat Santaluces 37-0
5. Atlantic (2-2): Lost to Park Vista 23-20
6. Glades Central (3-2): Beat Palm Beach Central 38-28
7. Palm Beach Lakes (3-2): Lost to Vero Beach 28-14
8. Wellington (3-2): Lost to Fort Pierce Central 63-24
9. Park Vista (5-0): Beat Atlantic 23-20
10. Palm Beach Gardens (2-3): Lost to Dwyer 12-7
Four ranked teams lost this week, with No. 5 Atlantic, No. 7 Palm Beach Lakes, No. 8 Wellington and No. 10 Palm Beach Gardens all falling. How far will they drop? Will previously ranked American Heritage moved back into the top 10? How about unbeaten Olympic Heights? Check back Monday for our Week 6 Look Ahead to see how the rankings will change.
4 takeaways
1. Dwyer bests Palm Beach Gardens … again. Unlike previous years, though, this one was close. The Panthers won their seventh straight game in the series dating to 2008, but needed a pair of fourth-quarter scores to do it. Oyeh Lurry-Davis’ 90-yard touchdown reception with 4:58 remaining was the game-winner for Dwyer, which had outscored the Gators 222-16 during its previous six wins. Palm Beach Gardens held the Panthers’ offense in check for most of the night – a rare occurrence this season. Dwyer had won its previous three games by a combined 114-3, and scored at least 34 points in all of them. Still, Davis and the Panthers had enough left late in the game to rally past their longtime rival.
2. Park Vista stays perfect. The Cobras moved to 5-0 Friday with a 23-20 upset of Atlantic. The win was Park Vista’s first against the Eagles during the regular season, and it was a big one. The Cobras moved to 2-0 in District 10-8A, and are tied with unbeaten Boca Raton for first place. The teams play Oct. 7 at Boca Raton, and that contest should be a good one. Quarterback John Smith (113 rushing yards, two TDs) and running back Corey Cola (77 rushing yards, 1 TD) carried the Cobras offensively against Atlantic, while Jordan Jackson’s goal-line interception in the third quarter was a key play defensively for Park Vista. The Cobras proved their resiliency against the Eagles, rallying from a halftime deficit to beat Atlantic. “We’ve been close several times, and always faltered in the end,” Park Vista coach Brian Dodds said of playing the Eagles. “But tonight we found a way to win.”
3. Watch out for Boca Raton. Bobcats coach Eric Davis and his staff have the Bobcats on a roll through the season’s first month. Led offensively by senior quarterback Micah Leon and sophomore running back Shelley Singletary, Boca Raton has averaged nearly 32 points in its four wins, while allowing just 10.5. The Bobcats were tested just once, in a 30-28 come-from-behind win against Palm Beach Gardens in Week 2. Things will get tougher, though, for Boca Raton. Unbeaten and third-ranked Pahokee comes to town next week, while the Bobcats also will have to play district rivals Park Vista (Oct. 7) and Atlantic (Oct. 28), plus a November game against Wellington to close the regular season. The Bobcats made the playoffs last season as the district runner-up, and are well on their way to matching – or surpassing – that accomplishment in 2016.
4. An impressive start for King’s Academy. The Lions compete in the independent Southeastern Football Conference, so they don’t garner nearly as much attention as FHSAA teams do. But perhaps they should. King’s Academy recorded its third consecutive shutout Friday and fifth straight win with a 35-0 victory against Miami Country Day. The Lions are averaging 37 points per game, and have allowed a total of just 12 points all season. Not one of their five games has been close, though Glades Day could test the Lions this week. Second-year coach Keith Allen has King’s far ahead of its pace from last season, when the Lions finished 4-6. A league championship could be well within reach this year.
How did Jodie do?
Record: 14-5
Best pick: I picked King’s Academy to shut out Miami Country Day, and the Lions did just that. I had the score 39-0, and the final was 35-0.
How did Adam do?
Record: 15-4
Best pick: Adam picked Lake Worth to beat Spanish River for its second win, and the Trojans backed him up. The final was 20-6.
