Team: Dwyer Panthers
Sunshine State 25 Preseason Ranking: No. 19
Head Coach: Jack Daniels
2014 Record: 7-3
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Look Back On 2014
Dwyer is a rare team that is getting ranked in the Top 25, that did not reach the playoffs last year after dropping a key district game against West Boca Raton that some said was a finished with controversy. As such, Dwyer was unable to defend its Class 7A state championship from 2013.r
Players To Watch
QB Toddy Centeio, Sr.; WR Isiah Johnson, Sr.; WR Wesley Oldham, Sr.; QB Zach Wilson, Sr.; QB Eli Matthews, Jr.; DB Brandon Daniels, Sr.; LB Kevin Fields, Sr.
The Outlook
The Dwyer Panthers will be very hungry team looking to get revenge on anyone who stopped them in 2014. For a team missing the playoffs the season before, the attitude of the team can be totally different going into the new season.
Dwyer will have to find a big fill in for the QB position and could have that in Toddy Centeio who put on a big performance in 29-28 loss to Vero Beach in the spring. Centeio threw three touchdown passes and ran for one during the game.
Isiah Johnson and Wesley Oldham will be the two primary targets for the receiving unit and that will help the Panthers offensively as they have fill in the shoes that Cornelius Smith left behind after transferring to American Heritage-Delray during the summer.
On the defense, several key players including Brandon Daniels and Kevin Fields will be leaders for the Panthers and will have to show leadership for a team that will need to see a few more play makers rise as the team should be the favorite in their district this year.
The District
District 7A-13 shrinks in size for the 2015 season as Atlantic and Lake Worth move up to Class 8A for the next four seasons. As such the only true competitors to Dwyer winning the district will be West Boca Raton and Royal Palm Beach at this point. Forest Hill has improved, but might not be at the level just yet of giving Dwyer a solid challenge. Overall, we see Dwyer’s absence from the playoffs last year to be a fluke on the map as they rebound and will likely lay claim to a district championship this year.
Three Games To Watch
Friday 10/16 at Royal Palm Beach – This could be a trap game for Dwyer as they go up against last year’s district champion. Although Dwyer did beat them last year, the Panthers must certainly win this game this year to keep themselves from being in the same situation again to where they could be sitting outside the playoffs.
Friday 10/23 vs. West Boca Raton – Dwyer has this game circled on the calendar for a good reason – they want to get a bit of revenge on the Bulls after losing a game that had some controversy after how it went about last season. For Dwyer, this game will be at home, so we shouldn’t hear about the stories from last year cropping up at this year’s tilt.
Friday 11/6 vs. Atlantic (Delray) – Although this game is no longer a district game, this game still has a rivalry feel to it as they teams have consistently pushed each other up against the wall the last few years in games that made or break playoff positing. Both teams are likely to be playoff bound teams when this game is played, but we could see some of the future stars for each team make a big showing here to give the starters a week off for the start of the playoffs the following week.
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Previous Sunshine State 25 Countdown Stories
No. 20: Wakulla
No. 21: Naples
No. 22: Lake Gibson
No. 23: North Marion
No. 24: Palm Bay Heritage
No. 25: Bishop Moore
