Palm Beach Lakes 13, Wellington 0: Rams win mistake-filled game

Saturday, October 03, 2009
by Mike Manno

WELLINGTON � In a game that featured heavy rain and many mistakes, Palm Beach Lakes came out with a 13-0 win over Wellington.

The skies opened up about an hour before game time and did not let up until midway through the second half. Slippery conditions led to short drives which resulted in fumbles and both teams keeping the ball on the ground.

The two teams had a combined 20 fumbles.

"I told the kids that the team doesn't let the weather affect them," Wellington coach Chris Romano said.

Palm Beach Lakes (4-1, No. 6 The Post Top 10) opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. After Wellington coughed up the ball on its own 5-yard line, Jaun O'Farill took it in for the score on fourth down. The missed extra point kept it at 6-0.

The Wolverines (2-3) fumbled the ball away on their next two possessions.

Palm Beach Lakes, however, could not take advantage. The Rams were forced to punt and also missed a 47-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter.

Another scoring chance eluded the Rams when Morris Moore recovered a fumble at the Wellington 25-yard line. But the Rams failed on a fourth-and-3 and turned the ball over on downs.

After a Wellington punt, Palm Beach Lakes had an eight-play drive stall when it again failed to convert on fourth down at the Wolverines' 38-yard line.

With the Rams leading 6-0 in the third quarter, a scary moment occurred for Wellington. Sophomore running back Grant Smallridge was hit hard by Matt Thomas after catching a short pass.

Smallridge would lay on the field for 20 minutes as the paramedics came to his aid. He was put on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital.

"From the medical reports I got, Grant is doing well", Romano said. "He was moving on the field and from what I heard he is doing well."

When play resumed, the Rams got a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Deon Charles to make it 13-0 with 6:55 left in the third quarter.