Story
No. 7 Palm Beach Gardens 31, Wellington 15: Gators secure playoff berth
Friday, November 02, 2012
by
Zach Buckley
Palm Beach Gardens entered Wolverine Stadium on Friday night needing a win to secure a District 9-8A runner-up finish and the playoff spot that comes with it.
The Gators (6-2, 2-1) left with a 31-15 win over Wellington (3-5, 0-3) and a postseason matchup with Palm Beach Central on Nov. 16 added to their schedule.
Senior running back Jermaine Carn paced Gardens' offense with 126 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and sophomore Tommy Monday added 81 yards and two TDs on 12 attempts for the No. 7 Gators.
After the teams traded punts to open the game, Carn capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
On the Gators' fourth possession, Monday met a host of Wolverines defenders at the Wellington 3-yard line but, with some help from his linemen, muscled his way into the end zone. A 39-yard field goal from Steven Olson as time expired in the second quarter gave Palm Beach Gardens a 17-0 halftime advantage.
The Gators' defense held the Wolverines to 62 total yards on five first-half possessions, but Wellington senior running back Horace Odams found a seam along the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half.
Gardens responded with just its second three-and-out of the game, giving Wellington a chance to make it a one-score deficit.
But Gators senior linebacker Dakwon De Polo saved some of his biggest plays for when his team needed them most. He tackled Wellington running back Dannick Duffus for a loss on the second play of the Wolverines' drive, and his third-down sack of quarterback Cole Smallridge forced Wellington to punt.
"(De Polo's) a really good player," Gardens coach Rob Freeman said. "He's played in about half our games due to injury, but he's one of the dominant players in the area when he's playing."
Monday capped off a five-play, 48-yard drive on the Gators' ensuing possession with a 5-yard touchdown run to stretch their lead to 24-7.
Senior fullback Noah Harris' 1-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left in the game gave Freeman a win that he wasn't thrilled about -- but a win nonetheless.
"I've done this long enough to know that you've got to be happy with the victories because sometimes they're hard to come by," Freeman said.
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User Comments:
Chris Evans commented on November 3, 2012 at 10:20 a.m.: report abuse
Freeman is the best coach in the state! His team can make a run at the championship! Good luck freeman!
parent commented on November 4, 2012 at 7:57 a.m.: report abuse
so hopeful we were seeing a turn around at wellington. turns out that all new coaching staff really were a bunch of kids themselves and not the leadership needed to rebuild a once solid program. no one can say there is not enough talent to at least post a winning season with the schedule given. we will transfer.
parent too commented on November 4, 2012 at 9 a.m.: report abuse
Ditto
big leap commented on November 4, 2012 at 5:04 p.m.: report abuse
Wellington took a nice leap forward this year.
parent commented on November 4, 2012 at 9:04 p.m.: report abuse
appreciate the optimism big leap but ive been to every game. we were better two years ago which means we are not rebuilding anything. new coach seems to be more and more about himself.
@parent commented on November 5, 2012 at 9:02 a.m.: report abuse
I went to those games two years ago as well. Wellington had some D1 linemen that year and played in a lower division. I see tougher play this year from every player even when they are giving up 50 pounds to the guy they are lining up against. Last year Wellington was just dominated in every way. This year Wellington has been beat soundly by some good teams but always found it in them to put together a good quarter or two when in the past they would have been just going through the motions waiting for the bus ride home.
I am a parent of a player as well. I like what I am seeing. Not every team in the county can have a winning record in one year but if your team does not have a winning record they better have a winning attitude and from what I have seem Wellington does. No one wakes up one summer morning and discovers they are state contenders, they work hard throughout the year and build towards it.
High schools do not get a reshuffle every year like WCFL, unless they are private, they have to build on what they have.
Vasilica commented on November 26, 2012 at 6:45 p.m.: report abuse
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