COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 76 Jupiter Christian Eagles — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

A championship-tested quarterback, a disruptive defensive front and two heavyweight home dates give the Eagles another legitimate path through the SSAA postseason.

Jupiter Christian has the quarterback, the pass rush and the recent championship pedigree. What the Eagles no longer have is the luxury of handing the ball to the same workhorse 20-plus times and assuming the offense will stay on schedule. The 2026 season is less about proving Jupiter Christian belongs near the top of the SSAA and more about discovering how quickly the next version of the Eagles can become complete.

JUPITER CHRISTIAN EAGLES

Head Coach: Baz Alfred, ninth year District: SSAA 11-Man-South 2024 Record: 10-3 2025 Record: 12-1 2025 Final FPRI Rating: 74.33 2025 Final State Rank: No. 32 2026 Preseason Rating: 65.59 2026 Preseason Rank: No. 76 2026 Class Rank: No. 1 2025 Playoff / FIT Finish: SSAA 11-Man State Champion

The 2025 Eagles were built to pressure opponents from both directions. Dorian Fauntleroy threw for 2,399 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for another 549 yards and 10 scores, and Randolph Wilkerson Jr. punished defenses for 1,581 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns. Jupiter Christian finished with 4,917 total yards, 76 touchdowns, 38 sacks and 16 interceptions. That kind of balance is difficult to reproduce. The good news is that several of the pieces responsible for the passing game and pass rush are back.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

Category Value Average Opponent Rating 36.25 Opponent 2025 Record 46-63 Opponent 2025 Win Percentage .422 Hardest Opponent NSU University School (Fort Lauderdale) District Games 0

The average suggests a friendly schedule. The top of it does not. Jupiter Christian gets plenty of manageable weeks, but three opponents carry ratings of 59.50 or better, giving the Eagles enough resistance to find out whether this roster is championship-ready or merely championship-experienced.

2026 FULL SCHEDULE

Week Date Time Opponent 2025 Record 2026 Rank (Overall | Class) Preseason Rating 0 8/14 6:30 PM @ Somerset Canyons (Boynton Beach) 5-6 No. 282 | No. 15 (SSAA Atlantic) 37.43 1 8/21 7:00 PM @ Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens) 3-8 No. 211 | No. 24 (1A) 45.86 2 8/28 7:00 PM @ Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) 0-10 No. 470 | No. 69 12.38 3 9/4 6:30 PM Calvary Christian (Clearwater) 8-4 No. 89 | No. 11 (2A) 62.30 4 9/11 6:30 PM Glades Day (Belle Glade) 4-9 No. 427 | No. 24 (SSAA 11-Man) 18.99 5 9/18 7:00 PM @ St. John Paul II (Boca Raton) 3-6 No. 328 | No. 14 (IND B) 32.66 6 9/25 7:00 PM Tradition Prep (Port St. Lucie) 3-7 No. 433 | No. 25 (SSAA 11-Man) 18.25 7 10/2 6:30 PM NSU University School (Fort Lauderdale) 8-4 No. 77 | No. 2 (SSAA 11-Man) 65.54 8 10/9 6:30 PM Saint Andrew's (Boca Raton) 9-2 No. 111 | No. 14 (2A) 59.50 9 10/16 6:30 PM Clewiston 3-7 No. 495 | No. 35 (SSAA Atlantic) 9.58 10 10/23 — BYE — — —

*District game

Three consecutive road games open the season, but the schedule’s real teeth are at home. Calvary Christian arrives Sept. 4, and NSU University School and Saint Andrew's come back-to-back in October. For a team trying to replace major offensive production, that sequencing is useful. Jupiter Christian gets time to build before the schedule demands answers.

KEY LOSSES

Everything starts with Wilkerson. His 255 carries accounted for nearly two-thirds of Jupiter Christian’s rushing attempts, and his 1,581 yards and 30 rushing touchdowns gave the offense an identity whenever a game needed simplifying. There is no returning back with remotely comparable varsity production. Replacing that volume is the roster’s biggest offensive job.

Cayden Alula takes another enormous chunk with him. He caught 68 passes for 913 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding 88 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and two sacks on defense. That is not one vacancy. That is several.

Bryan King contributed 63 tackles, while Ben Weda produced 35 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks. Elliott Wilkins added 29 tackles and three tackles for loss from the interior. Jupiter Christian still has dangerous defenders, but the supporting cast around its returning stars has changed.

The Eagles did not lose their backbone. They did lose a lot of muscle around it.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player Position Class 2025 Production Dorian Fauntleroy QB Senior 2,399 passing yards, 29 passing TDs; 549 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs Luke Beach WR/CB Senior 40 receptions, 919 yards and 13 receiving TDs; 36 tackles and three INTs Duke Rimes OLB/T Senior 64 tackles, 21 TFL and 13 sacks Pierce Fletcher OLB/DE Senior 61 tackles, 10 TFL and 10 sacks Luther Eusey RB/OLB Sophomore 41 tackles, five TFL, three sacks and two INTs; 15 rushing yards Ryder Zuniga WR/FS Junior 16 receptions, 282 yards and four TDs; two INTs and 86 return yards Antwain Johnson WR/SS Senior 29 tackles, one INT and three pass breakups in eight games Ethan Thomas WR/CB Senior 29 receptions, 240 yards and three TDs Colton Weston OLB/MLB Sophomore 10 tackles and one TFL; three receptions for 40 yards and one TD Christian Knotts DE/G Senior Appeared in limited varsity action; recorded one tackle

Fauntleroy gives Jupiter Christian the most important commodity in high school football: certainty at quarterback. Beach is already a proven explosive target, while Rimes and Fletcher form a pass-rush tandem few opponents will enjoy blocking. The intrigue is behind them. Eusey has flashed defensively and owns some varsity carries, but the featured running-back role remains something Jupiter Christian must settle rather than something it can simply assign.

1ST DOWN — THE GAUNTLET

The hardest two-week stretch is obvious: NSU University School on Oct. 2 followed by Saint Andrew's on Oct. 9.

That is a 65.54-rated opponent followed immediately by a 59.50-rated team that went 9-2 last season. Jupiter Christian gets both at home, which matters, but there is nowhere to hide schematically. Those games will demand an offense that can function without leaning entirely on Fauntleroy and a defense capable of creating negative plays before opposing offenses find rhythm.

Calvary Christian is the earlier warning shot. At 62.30, it gives Jupiter Christian a heavyweight test in Week 3 and should reveal whether the Eagles have found enough of a running game to prevent defenses from treating every important snap as Fauntleroy-or-bust.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT

Opponent Week/Location 2025 Record 2026 Rank (Overall | Class) Preseason Rating 2025 Finish NSU University School (Fort Lauderdale) Week 7/Home 8-4 No. 77 | No. 2 (SSAA 11-Man) 65.54 SSAA 11-Man State Semifinalist Calvary Christian (Clearwater) Week 3/Home 8-4 No. 89 | No. 11 (2A) 62.30 2A Regional Semifinalist

The backfield question becomes especially important here. Jupiter Christian does not have a proven replacement for Wilkerson, so the burden will fall on the emerging running-back rotation to create enough efficiency that Fauntleroy is not facing predictable passing downs. Eusey is one returning option with varsity carries, but the job must be earned.

On the other side, Rimes and Fletcher are the equalizer. They combined for 23 sacks and 31 tackles for loss last season. When Jupiter Christian plays an opponent capable of matching its athleticism, those two can change the math by ending drives early.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Eagles can survive offensive transition if Rimes and Fletcher keep wrecking possessions, but someone in the backfield has to give Fauntleroy a dependable second answer.

2ND DOWN — STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The schedule is unusually accommodating to roster development.

Jupiter Christian opens with three road games, but Somerset Canyons, Benjamin and Dwyer carry ratings of 37.43, 45.86 and 12.38. That stretch should give the Eagles enough competitive resistance to evaluate the offensive line, sort through the running-back rotation and expand roles for receivers such as Thomas and Zuniga without immediately facing the strongest teams on the schedule.

Then Calvary changes the equation.

After that test, Jupiter Christian gets another three-game stretch against Glades Day, St. John Paul II and Tradition Prep before NSU and Saint Andrew's arrive. There is very little excuse for reaching October without knowing exactly what the offense is.

Fauntleroy’s development question is different from the usual quarterback conversation. He is not trying to prove he can play. He already did that with 2,948 total yards and 39 combined touchdowns. His next step is learning how to operate an offense without Wilkerson and Alula absorbing so much of the weekly workload.

September is for construction. October is for inspection.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The schedule gives Fauntleroy and the reshaped offense ample time to find their new rhythm; if Jupiter Christian is still searching for an identity by the NSU game, that will be a roster problem rather than a scheduling problem.

3RD DOWN — THE PROVING GROUND

Benjamin is the first useful measuring stick. The Buccaneers went 3-8, but their 45.86 preseason rating sits comfortably above the other two opponents in Jupiter Christian’s opening road swing. The Eagles should learn something there about how well their rebuilt rushing attack travels.

Saint Andrew's is a different kind of test. A 9-2 team with a 59.50 preseason rating comes to Jupiter Christian one week after the NSU game. That is where maturity shows up. Playing well against the schedule’s highest-rated opponent is one thing. Resetting emotionally and doing it again seven days later is another.

Beach, Thomas and Zuniga will matter in both settings. Beach already proved he can change a game vertically with 919 receiving yards at 23 yards per catch. Thomas gives Fauntleroy a possession option, and Zuniga has shown big-play value as a receiver, defender and returner. Defensively, Eusey and Weston will be asked to turn flashes into consistent production as the schedule gets stronger.

These are the games that reveal depth. Stars win highlights. Depth survives consecutive Fridays.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Benjamin will test whether Jupiter Christian is organized early; Saint Andrew's will test whether Beach, Zuniga, Eusey and the rest of the supporting cast can hold their level when the schedule stops giving them recovery time.

4TH DOWN — PLAYOFF PICTURE

Jupiter Christian plays in SSAA 11-Man, so there is no district championship or automatic district berth to chase. The postseason route runs through CCI positioning, with overall record, strength of schedule and MaxPreps data among the factors that shape qualification and seeding.

That makes this schedule more interesting than its .422 opponent winning percentage initially suggests.

The Eagles should have multiple opportunities to protect their record against lower-rated opposition, while Calvary Christian, NSU University School and Saint Andrew's give them high-end games capable of strengthening the overall résumé. The equation is straightforward even if the CCI formula itself is not: avoid damaging losses and make the strongest games count.

Fauntleroy is built for that kind of postseason race because quarterback volatility should be low. Rimes and Fletcher give Jupiter Christian a defensive weapon that travels regardless of opponent. Beach gives the offense an explosive answer when drives stall.

The determining factor will be the next layer. If Eusey, Zuniga, Thomas, Weston and the reshaped offensive front become dependable, Jupiter Christian has enough established star power to remain near the front of the SSAA 11-Man picture.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Jupiter Christian does not need to chase style points. It needs to protect its record, capitalize on the schedule’s strongest opportunities and enter the CCI race with Fauntleroy, Beach, Rimes and Fletcher still defining games.

SEASON OUTLOOK

Difficulty Rating: 6/10

A 9-1 regular season is realistic, with 8-2 a reasonable floor if the running game takes longer to stabilize and the NSU-Calvary-Saint Andrew's tier produces multiple losses. Jupiter Christian has enough proven talent at quarterback, receiver and pass rusher to remain an SSAA contender, but replacing 1,581 rushing yards, 30 rushing touchdowns and Alula’s two-way production will determine whether the Eagles merely return to the postseason or look capable of another deep run.

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 76 Jupiter Christian Eagles — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

A championship-tested quarterback, a disruptive defensive front and two heavyweight home dates give the Eagles another legitimate path through the SSAA postseason.

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COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 76 Jupiter Christian Eagles — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

A championship-tested quarterback, a disruptive defensive front and two heavyweight home dates give the Eagles another legitimate path through the SSAA postseason.

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