South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Haston, Maurice shine as Broncos pull away
WELLINGTON — Palm Beach Central senior quarterback Ahmad Haston passed for 265 yards and five touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Luby Maurice Jr. scored three times as the host Broncos pulled away in the second half for a 35-14 victory against Palm Beach Gardens on Friday night.
Senior wide receiver Javorian Wimberly had 127 receiving yards and a score, Maurice totaled 60 receiving yards in addition to his touchdowns and sophomore Nedrick Boldin had a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown catch late in the first half.
“I am so proud of this win,” Haston said. “The defense was flying around, and the offense and special teams [were too]. When we do that, nobody in the county around here can compete with us.”
Palm Beach Central (7-1) led 14-7 at halftime before a game-changing play late in the third quarter. Haston rolled out to the right from his own end zone and fired a deep pass to Wimberly, who made the catch and broke free as he raced down the right sideline for a 98-yard touchdown to make it 21-7.
“It really helped the team out and I had to do what I had to do,” Wimberly said.
Haston fired a 26-yard touchdown pass to Maurice over the middle of the field to increase the lead to 28-7 with 22 seconds left in the third. Haston also connected for a 12-yard scoring pass to Maurice in the fourth quarter.
Palm Beach Central head coach Kevin Thompson praised defensive coordinator Quintin Smith for the strong performance by the Broncos defense. Thompson noted Wimberly and Maurice have both stepped up late in the season.
“We love them because they make the defense so much better,” Thompson said. “Imagine going to practice every day against those dudes.”
The teams were scoreless at the end of the first quarter. Palm Beach Central marched downfield and missed a long fieldgoal attempt during the quarter.
Palm Beach Gardens senior quarterback Brand Campbell converted a fourth-down run to extend the ensuing drive at the Broncos’ 32-yard line. The Gators offense came up empty after a lost fumble on a handoff exchange at the Broncos’ 23 late in the first quarter.
The Broncos offense capitalized after the turnover. Haston fired a 16-yard scoring pass to Maurice in the left corner of the end zone to make it 7-0 with 8 minutes, 56 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Gators offense had another scoring chance on their next drive, but they missed a 46-yard field goal attempt.
The Gators defense responded to force a three-and-out, and the special teams unit blocked a punt as Palm Beach Gardens took over at the 3. On the first play after the turnover, junior running back Landon Carr took the direct snap and rushed up the middle for a 3-yard score to tie the game with 4:25 left.
The Broncos offense answered back as Haston connected with Boldin on a fourthdown pass for a 28-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 with 40 seconds left in the first half.
The Broncos had a recovery on the ensuing kickoff at the Gators’ 22. Junior Keyon Stephens stepped up on defense and recorded an interception to hold off the Broncos from another potential score prior to halftime.
Stephens fired a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Renford George late in the fourth.
Palm Beach Gardens (5-3) will look to bounce back and capture the District 9-4M championship with a victory against Jupiter next Friday.
Palm Beach Central is on a four-game win streak and it will host Wellington next Friday in the District 10-4M championship game.
“Traditionally, it’s always been a great game,” Thompson said. “Our former coach [Scottie Littles] will be here.
“He has been super helpful in just making sure the transition has been [as] smooth as possible.”