Palm Beach County has been known for years to produce a state championship caliber team? Will there be one this season? Plenty of top teams that could have a say on how the state finals look in Orlando come December.
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Below is our Palm Beaches Preseason Top 10 Rankings with 2013 records in parenthesis.
1. Palm Beach Gardens (9-5)
Why: The Gators reached the state semifinals last season after shocking Miramar in the Regional Finals. The Gators are looking to get back to the state semifinals and possibly the finals as they look to have one of the best defenses across the entire South Florida region. The biggest name that stands out is Te’Von Coney, who is a senior linebacker, will be the leader of the Gators defense. The quarterback situation on offense might be a small question mark, but the Gators certainly appear to have a lot of things looking up this season.
2. Dwyer (15-0)
Why: Some would say Dwyer should be No. 1 in the Palm Beaches, but it was tough when looking at the Panthers situation coming off the Class 7A State Championship. The Panthers will be finding a lot of new players to fill holes in at this season, meaning graduation took a big hit on the team. QB Daniel Parr is back for his senior season, but will have to be patient as a lot of the offense will be new starters this season. The defense could be solid, but the Panthers will need both sides of the ball going their way to make their way back to Orlando again.
3. Boynton Beach (9-2)
Why: Rick Swain is entering his final season as the head coach at Boynton Beach before he retires at the end of the school year. The Tigers are going to be a special kind of team that will have nine starters back on defense and is looking to make deep playoff run this season. Senior quarterback Lamar Jackson will be leading the offense and he could have the Tigers in the position to be the best Boynton Beach has ever seen.
4. Royal Palm Beach (8-2)
Why: Royal Palm Beach was just one game off for being the playoffs in a tight three team race that also included Class 7A State Champion Dwyer and West Boca Raton. Are the Wildcats poised for something huge this season? That is a possibility for Willie Bueno’s team as a lot of players returned with a year of experience under their belts. Overall, the district will be a challenge once again, but it would be hard to see the Wildcats miss out on the playoffs this year.
5. American Heritage-Delray Beach (6-3)
Why: The Stallions might have missed the playoffs last season through a loss in the district tiebreaker, but they are playing a with chip on their shoulder this season. The Stallions boost nearly a dozen players that have Division I offers. One of those players is Devin Singletary who rushed for 1,000 yards last season as a sophomore and should have a bigger season this year. Expect the Stallions to be back in the playoffs this season after playing a tough schedule.
6. Glades Central (5-6)
Why: Rick Casko is back for his second stint at Glades Central after the school dismissed Roosevelt Blackmon after three seasons. Casko will be looking to right the ship of one of the most storied programs that is use to winning, deep playoff runs and winning state championships. There will be plenty of talent on the field and the record should improve this season as Casko gets back into the grove being back home.
7. Palm Beach Central (8-4)
Why: The Broncos have a new head coach this year as Tino Ierulli takes over the reins from Rod Harris who was dismissed at the end of the season. The Broncos have to replace several key members of the team including Kc McDermott who is now at Miami. The team will have plenty of talent still and the playoffs should still be in the cards for this team under Ierulli.
8. West Boca Raton (7-4)
Why: This team turned things around last season and reached the playoffs after getting past Royal Palm Beach. The district will be a challenge and a return to the playoffs will be tough, but the Bulls have shown they could have what it takes to do it again. Expect the Bulls to challenge Dwyer and Royal Palm Beach for the two playoff positions in District 7A-13 this season.
9. Pahokee (6-5)
Why: The Blue Devils reached the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season last year and things are starting to point up for the program that has struggled the last few years. A lot of talent is surrounding the program and several of them are already drawing Division I offers. Although the district is down to three teams in District 3A-7, one game lost could keep Pahokee out of the playoffs, but the challenge is certainly there.
10. Seminole Ridge (6-5)
Why: The Hawks didn’t have its best season in the last few years as they took step back and finished as a district runner-up. However, as the team heads into its second season under head coach Scott Barnwell, the talent is looking to be there and that could be enough to put the Hawks in position to challenge Palm Beach Gardens for the district title. One big name to keep an eye on this season will be Jalen Young who can be a force in the secondary for the Hawks.
