Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Crosstown rivals meet
Dwyer an underdog vs. PB Gardens
For a program that’s dominated its cross-town rival the past 10 years, Dwyer finds itself in the odd position of being the underdog as it gets set to renew its rivalry with Palm Beach Gardens.
The Panthers have won seven straight in the series – with the Gators last winning in 2007 – but face a tough task tonight. Palm Beach Gardens nearly nipped Dwyer last year, but the Panthers scored on a 90-yard touchdown pass with less than five minutes left to pull off a come-frombehind 12-7 victory.
Joe Pinkos, who’s developed a computer formula for predicting Florida high school football games, has Palm Beach Gardens as an 11-point favorite.
After graduating 37 seniors and losing a handful of key transfers from last year’s 10-1 squad, the Panthers (1-1) have been upand-down with its youthful roster. Dwyer did notch a 22-15 overtime win over Park Vista in Week 1, but then dropped a tough 21-12 contest to Atlantic the following week.
Unlike Dwyer, the Gators (2-0) haven’t been challenged early on, cruising in their first two games by dispatching John I. Leonard and Royal Palm Beach by a combined margin of 96-7.
Miami safety commit Gurvan Hall and Louisville defensive end commit Jarrett Jackson, along cornerback De’Quan Walker – who transferred from Dwyer in the offseason – have anchored the Gators’ stout defense. Palm Beach Gardens has plenty of playmakers offensively as well with receivers Deonte Cooley and Armani Hayes and running back Kevon Purnell. New starting quarterback Chris Sancilio has filled in nicely so far for Eli Mathews, who’s now at Keiser University.
Despite new faces across the board and losing star safety Cameron Jonas to a knee injury in training camp, Dwyer has been resilient so far. Trevor Omans has provided a stabilizing force at quarterback and Cedrick Tucker has been strong at running back for the Panthers.