KING’S ACADEMY STILL HAS PLENTY OF UNSUNG TALENT
WEST PALM BEACH — King’s Academy is not your typical football powerhouse.
It isn’t the most physically imposing team in the county, and the pool of talent the coaches have to choose from isn’t as expansive as some of their counterparts. But that hasn’t stopped the school from building a winning program.
“We’ve told our players we are 0-26 pregame,” coach Keith Allen said. “When we walk on the field and the other team walks on the field, and everybody looks for which team is going to win based on looks, we never get picked.”
Allen, a former college coach at San Jose State, has introduced a culture and work ethic he hopes will get the most out of the players in the program, and that is evident at practice. Outside of the specific work at different positions, everything else is done as a team, from water breaks to sprints.
“The biggest thing about football is toughness, but it’s also about buying in and believing in each other, and that’s something that we’ve done a really good job with for these kids,” Allen said.
The work ethic and efficiency, coupled with an altered mind-set for the program, has led to results on the field for the Lions.
King’s Academy ripped off a win streak that spanned multiple seasons and crossed the 20-game mark before a loss to Benjamin snapped the streak late last season.
“When we first got here, the kids predetermined what their record was going to be based on who they were playing, and we’ve kind of broken that mind-set so our kids think we can compete with anybody,” Allen said.
King’s has flown mostly under the radar, as have the players responsible for the impressive run.
“We don’t have a whole bunch of FBS guys; we don’t have anybody with a true offer in hand. But as a team, we find a way to win,” Allen said. “I’ve got about five kids who will end up somewhere, be it FBS, FCS or Division II.”
Cory Croteau, Jeremiah Scroggins, Brandon Prichard and Nicholas Van Reeth are all strong candidates to get college offers this season.
Meeks to play for Dwyer: Former Oxbridge Academy running back James Meeks appears to have found a school for the 2018 season.
Meeks has enrolled at Dwyer, according to a report from ESPN West Palm. He will join a senior-laden running-back corps that includes Robert Armes, Reginald Gadson and Cedric Tucker.
Meeks originally enrolled at Palm Beach Central with the intention of playing for the Broncos, but he was removed from the school last Thursday at his mother’s request. Meeks had participated in summer workouts at Central before the decision was made to switch schools.
Meeks is expected to be joined at Dwyer by former Oxbridge teammate, and fellow FAU commit, Gio Richardson. The quarterback still must go through the enrollment process before officially joining Dwyer.