WHO: Glades Central (7-4A) at Fort Pierce Central (8A-8)
WHEN: Friday, May 24th
WHERE: Lawnwood Stadium, Fort Pierce
WHY: This is a game where you have two teams that made deep playoff runs last season that are coming to see what they got to work with heading in to the 2013 season.
For visiting Glades Central, who are coming off a run to the regional finals after starting last season 0-4, are looking to keep pace on the track that head coach Roosevelt Blackmon has sought out for them. While a lot of people were on edge about the Raiders and their slow start, they are now looking to head back towards the top of the crop of teams in Palm Beach County and South Florida. However, a new foe will now stand in the way of the challenge to make it back to the state finals for the first time since 2010 as University School will join their district this year. For Blackmon, he must find a suitable replacement for Will Likely who has graduated, but does have other talent rising through the ranks that should help make the team a force again in South Florida high school football. If their schedule is any indication in confidence of what they expect to be like, get ready for a fun year in Belle Glade.
For host Fort Pierce Central, they are going to be fresh off the wounds of a beating they took in the 7A-Region III finals last season against Manatee and will need to find ways to move past it quickly. For the Cobras, they will need to replace a lot of senior talent that has graduated, but rising senior quarterback Sam Vaughn will be back to lead the offense while the defense posses a few promising standouts that could make a big name for themselves this season. However, in the end the challenge might just be to get a rematch with Manatee in November as both teams have moved to Class 8A for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. This game will show us if the Cobras can replace talent quickly and make a run for the playoffs again.
