Seminole Ridge pulls past Wellington for win
Wolverines have no answer for Hawks’ running game.
WELLINGTON — The tone was set early in Friday’s Wellington-Seminole Ridge game, when Wolverines coach Tom Abel gambled on the game’s first possession.
Wellington elected to go for it on fourth-and-5 at its own 35, but Ben Schmickle’s pass fell incomplete, giving Seminole Ridge the ball with good field position.
The Hawks immediately made the Wolverines pay when freshman running back Corey Polk raced 25 yards for the first score in what would become a 37-27 Hawks victory.
Wellington (3-3, 1-1 in District 9-8A) took a 10-8 lead on Schmickle’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jymetre Hester.
A successful onside kick followed, leading to a 51-yard Schmickle TD pass to sophomore Mark-Anthony Richards, putting the Wolverines up 17-8.
“Coach Abel is a friend,” said Hawks coach James Parson, “and he’s going to take those kinds of shots. I’m surprised he didn’t kick onside every time.”
Seminole Ridge (3-2, 1-1 in 9-8A) lacked much of a passing attack, but Wellington had no answer for its running game. Senior Kristian Gonzalez’s 56-yard TD run gave the Hawks the lead at 23-17 in the second quarter, and senior quarterback Michael Adeyanju caught the Wolverines by surprise with his 75-yard TD pass to junior Jeremiah Brown put Ridge up 30-17 at halftime.
Robinson’s 38-yard field goal cut Ridge’s lead to 30-20 with 5:05 left in the third quarter
1 7 - y a r d p a s s f r o m Schmickle to receiver D J Dobkins cut Ridge’s lead to 30-27 at the end of the third quarter.
But Wellington couldn’t contain Gonzalez (21 rushes, 179 yards, t wo TDs). Hi s 41-yard run up the middle midway through the fourth quarter put the ball near Wellington’s 20, and his 3-yard gain on a fourthand-2 led to his 1-yard TD run to seal Ridge’s victory. No. 1 Dwyer defeated No. 10 Olympic Heights 48-0 No. 2 Oxbridge defeated American Heritage 38-0 Thursday No. 3 Pahokee defeated No. 4 Boca Raton 17-14 No. 5 Park Vista defeated John I. Leonard 35-0 No. 6 Glades Central defeated Pembroke Pines-Somerset Academy 55-0 No. 7 Atlantic defeated Spanish River 33-0 No. 8 Palm Beach Lakes lost to Royal Palm Beach 7-6 No. 9 Palm Beach Gardens defeated Jupiter 41-9 Suncoast 22, Port St. Lucie 6 Seminole Ridge 37, Wellington 27 Palm Beach Central 27, West Boca Raton 18 Lake Worth 35, Santaluces 0 Cardinal Newman 50, Saint John Paul II Academy 14 Jupiter Christian 8, Boca Raton Christian 7 King’s Academy 37, Glades Day 21 Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest 28, St. Andrew’s 8 Boynton Beach 44, Oakland Park-Northeast 6 Haines City-Landmark Christian at Somerset Canyons (late) Hialeah-Champagnat Catholic 8, Village Academy 6 Vero Beach-St. Edward’s 35, Berean Christian 26 (Thursday)