Story
Pride and history take a hit in Pahokee as its football team struggles, frustrating its fan base
Monday, August 29, 2011
by
Jeff Greer
Blaze Thompson, shown near the end of Pahokee's loss to Glades Central last season, says he's not worried about what others might say about the Blue Devils' recent struggles. (Photo by Thomas Cordy /The Palm Beach Post)
Pahokee's massive water tower, with its blue block letters and long shadow casting over downtown, exudes tradition and strength, both symbolic of this town's greatest pride: its famous high school football team.
But with the town hit hard by economic struggles - unemployment rates have soared north of 40 percent - the people of Pahokee are losing confidence in their favorite escape.
Pahokee High football has fallen on hard times.
The once-dominant program, which won five state championships from 2003 to 2008, has become saddled with great, and perhaps unfair, expectations.
Pahokee slumped its way to a 3-7 record last season, one of the worst in school history. And that was after crashing out of the first round of the 2009 playoffs. A 27-0 thrashing at the hands of Jupiter Christian in Friday's pre-season exhibition exacerbated concerns that this season may be another arduous campaign.
"Oh, yeah," said Blaze Thompson, Pahokee's fifth-year coach, when asked if his players feel the community pressure. "They know what the expectation is. They know what their predecessors have done.
"There are high expectations for this team regardless of whether we're legitimately reduced in talent."
A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE
Thompson, 42, graduated from Pahokee and was an assistant coach for the Blue Devils for 12 years before taking over as head coach in 2007.
He led Pahokee to two consecutive state championships in his first two seasons with his teams boasting players like Janoris Jenkins, Martavious Odoms and Micanor Regis, all who went on to play BCS-level football in college.
In 2009, Pahokee still produced a school-record 10 Division I signees on national signing day despite a 6-5 record and the playoff disappointment. In his four-plus years leading the program, Thompson has sent more than 25 players to Division I programs.
Then came 2010. The Blue Devils struggled in every aspect, ending with a 58-0 drubbing by rival Glades Central in the annual Muck Bowl.
"We got beat - bad - by a lot of teams," said Thompson's dad, Don, who coached Pahokee to its first-ever state title in 1989 and now is as an assistant . "We refused to believe we were that bad. We could never put our finger on it."
Senior receiver Shaquille White and linebacker Clint Everett offered their own theories.
"It was just terrible," White said. "We had players missing practice, arguing on the field with each other. Then we got embarrassed on our field (in the Muck Bowl)."
Everett cut in, "That was the worst."
UNREST GROWS
Thompson had publicly warned before last season that his team had 22 new starters and was inexperienced, but that didn't stop the Pahokee fan base from chirping about Thompson's job status.
Friday night's exhibition loss amplified the grumbling.
Social media messages flew, with fans citing a disconnect between the coaches and the fan base and a misuse of talent. Don Thompson said he'd even heard rumors about a petition that demanded the dismissal of his son.
The angst over the on-the-field struggles has been enhanced by several off-the-field problems that have plagued Pahokee in recent years.
Pahokee was involved in a brawl with Miami-Booker T. Washington at a 7-on-7 event in 2008. On the college level, several Pahokee products, including Jenkins and former Tennessee signee Nu'Keese Richardson, have run into legal trouble and are no longer at the schools to which they matriculated.
All of the buzz surrounding the program has put Thompson, whose personality and sense of humor have made him well-liked among his coaching and teaching peers, in an awkward spot. While many fans acknowledge that they like their coach as a person, they're losing patience with him as a coach.
Pahokee principal Ariel Alejo strongly defended Thompson at halftime of the Jupiter Christian game.
"He's got a full vote of confidence from me," Alejo said, praising the "work behind the scenes" that Thompson does with his players and students alike. "You have success, but then there are also times when you have to reload and start from scratch.
"Academic achievement is our No. 1 priority. Coach Thompson is one of the best math teachers that I've worked with. He excels both inside and outside the classroom.
"Look, this community, they love their football team. They're very passionate about it. Everybody wants to win, but when you are reloading your team, it's a process."
Thompson shrugged off the chatter.
"I can never go into a season worried about exterior pressures," he said.
This fall, he's been locking the gates to Anquan Boldin Stadium for practice, and his father said he's working overtime to bring back Pahokee football.
"I'm optimistic," the younger Thompson said. "Look, I'm not stupid. Obviously last year wasn't to our liking, but we're realists. All we can do is set a goal and try to achieve it."
That goal is to eventually bring back the pride and pedigree that defined Pahokee football, that once made a mightily struggling town remain confident in one thing: its football team.
"My desire for this team to win far outweighs anyone else's desire to win," Blaze said. "I don't have sleepless nights because I'm afraid of what someone might say to me."
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User Comments:
Great Article commented on August 29, 2011 at 6:58 p.m.: report abuse
Now THAT was a great story. Very nicely done. Great, great stuff.
PK commented on August 29, 2011 at 9:38 p.m.: report abuse
Locking the gate will not work know one look at practice anyway so it
Pablo Pitre Sr. commented on August 29, 2011 at 9:50 p.m.: report abuse
All i have to say is that the players and coaches please keep your heads up, and for the Pahokee fans to stop griping and fully support our team. We have to be patient, this will take time.
PB Football Fan commented on August 29, 2011 at 10:14 p.m.: report abuse
Big fan of Jeff Greer...best article he's written in my opinion.
Glades Man commented on August 29, 2011 at 10:25 p.m.: report abuse
I hope the blue devils can turn things around....
PkPrince commented on August 29, 2011 at 11:11 p.m.: report abuse
It's Just My Opinion I Think The Kids Just Need A Fresh Start and New Outlook From A Coaching Perspective...Coach Blaze,Coach Rick,Coach Johnson...They All Should Just Pack Up and Go They Won Multiple Titles and Perhaps Their Time Has Passed Now! I Think There Should Be A New Staff Put In Place...With New Ideas and Approach To The Game!!! Ur Right These Are Not The Championship Years Caliber Of Players We Have Now and Maybe That's Why We Need New Leadership In The Program! I Like The Young Assistants They Have There That Have Played For The Devils In The Past,Played College Football and Have Some Minor NFL Experience! Maybe Pair Those Guys With A New Qualified HC That Would Welcome The Input Of The Aforementioned Young Assistant Coaches...Which Can Maybe That Jump Start We Need To Head Back In the Right Direction With Pahokee Football.
KALIRED commented on August 29, 2011 at 11:22 p.m.: report abuse
NEW COACHING STAFF...that will fix it
Muck Everywhere! commented on August 30, 2011 at 12:12 a.m.: report abuse
Pahokee Keep your head Up! Just remember how you was and let that give you the strength to Rebuild yourself back where you once was....
gman commented on August 30, 2011 at 4:17 a.m.: report abuse
He may be a good math teacher, but it's obvious the English teacher is on vacation at the south end of the lake.
Asia Raider commented on August 30, 2011 at 6:03 a.m.: report abuse
To Gman: The south side of the lake would be South Bay, Lake Harbor and Clewiston you Idiot! With South Bay being the southern most city. You might want to brush up on you Geography be come on a sports blog to get clowned about education.
CatDad commented on August 30, 2011 at 6:55 a.m.: report abuse
Outlook is grim. Looked at schedule. They shud get beat soundly by 5 or 6 teams including this week by my RPB Wildcats. We got lot of weapons and can put points up as we shown and PoTowns O look disorganized and easy to stop. Regular season is here.
NativeSun commented on August 30, 2011 at 8:32 a.m.: report abuse
Another great article Jeff....Keep up the good work.
Tibby Dragu commented on August 30, 2011 at 9:43 a.m.: report abuse
Great article. It shows how difficult it is to be consistently good in this league. It is very difficult, but it is not that hard.
Textex33@gmail.com commented on August 30, 2011 at 10:24 a.m.: report abuse
This coach has been existing on elite talent for past success.
When his talent is equal to the competition, he will get smoked. Pahokee has better talent than Jupiter Christian, for instance. Thus, the Jupiter coach is 5 touchdowns better than Thompson. Powers could have taken the Pahokee boys and beaten JC, had the two coaches switched sidelines for a week.
Don Thompson Sr. was a wonderful coach and person, junior is neither.
Declining enrollment due to joblessness is a very poor excuse. The FHSAA takes into account enrollment figures, so if Pahokee has less students, they will be assigned to a smaller class. Is Thompson suggesting that the remaining students lack speed and toughness?
No, Pahokee should never lose 58-0 to anyone at anytime. That loss was to a poor coach that was fired last season. So the winning coach in a 58-0 route gets fired, and the loser keeps his job?
Textex33@gmail.com commented on August 30, 2011 at 10:25 a.m.: report abuse
This coach has been existing on elite talent for past success.
When his talent is equal to the competition, he will get smoked. Pahokee has better talent than Jupiter Christian, for instance. Thus, the Jupiter coach is 5 touchdowns better than Thompson. Powers could have taken the Pahokee boys and beaten JC, had the two coaches switched sidelines for a week.
Don Thompson Sr. was a wonderful coach and person, junior is neither.
Declining enrollment due to joblessness is a very poor excuse. The FHSAA takes into account enrollment figures, so if Pahokee has less students, they will be assigned to a smaller class. Is Thompson suggesting that the remaining students lack speed and toughness?
No, Pahokee should never lose 58-0 to anyone at anytime. That loss was to a poor coach that was fired last season. So the winning coach in a 58-0 route gets fired, and the loser keeps his job?
Muck Boy 4life commented on August 30, 2011 at 11:44 a.m.: report abuse
First, great article!...It's hard not to like Blaze. He is a great guy. However, this team needs some fresh blood and new ideas. The "golden days" are gone. You can no longer let Anquan take over the game...or throw a toss sweep to the deuce (Antoine Smith) and watch him run 99 yds...or go 5 wide on inferior DB's and score at will...now you have to coach!
If Pahokee had a "real" program, then we would not have to experience what's going on now. Pahokee never had a real program, they just had talented players who would win...even if Brittany Spears was the head coach. That whole Joe Marx to Leroy Foster era was a joke! ...And sometimes it's not really the Head Coach, it's the assistants. Get a new staff, different scheme, and watch the results. Pahokee will NOT win again until changes are made.
Alaskan Raider commented on August 30, 2011 at 2:59 p.m.: report abuse
I don’t know how good of a coach Blaze is, but I’m so tired of us running good coaches out of the Muck. If he’s a good or bad coach let the administration make the call. I’m glad to see the principal sticking with his coach. I’d rather have a good math teacher over the best football coach at the high school level. You can’t hide talent. So if the team is losing every game or winning state championship’s the special players will be fine. I will tell you this, since most of the posters seem to think it the coach’s fault. Having the most talented players can win games but coaching wins championships. In my opinion it’s just that their rebuilding. Pahokee will be fine. As for discipline problems you can’t totally blame the coaching. Teaching VALUES start at HOME….
MUCK PRODUCT commented on August 30, 2011 at 3:47 p.m.: report abuse
Who cares if Pahokee is winning or losing. If the players are achieving acedemic success that is the main goal... because If they can not qualify for college acedemically, what good is football glory???? Where was the petition when The Coach won the state championships? You have to take the good with the bad that is what true supporters do.....
Tom Sullivan commented on August 30, 2011 at 6:34 p.m.: report abuse
Rumor has that Eddie Buckner, who coached at Pahokee with Antoine Russell, may be coming back.
Coaching problems? commented on August 30, 2011 at 7:37 p.m.: report abuse
I never believed Blaze and co. were good coaches to begin with. If anyone has ever played against the Blue Devils or schemed against them, they only run about 10 plays offensively:
shotgun bubble screens, shotgun seams, shotgun option pitch, i formation dive left or right, i formation max protect hitches, i formation max protect deep outs, i formation max protect fly routes, i formation toss sweep.....yeah thats pretty much all of it.
defensively they stack the box and play press outside with one safety over the top. against GC they play different defenses to coup with the speed.
my point is, this coaching staff got away with a lot during those 4 years of Odoms, Jenkins, Sheppard, Richardson, Regis, Miller, and company b/c they were sooooo talented.
without those guys, this staff produces exactly how this year's blue devil team is performing.
argue all you want PK fans, it's quite simply the truth
Coaching problems? commented on August 30, 2011 at 7:37 p.m.: report abuse
I never believed Blaze and co. were good coaches to begin with. If anyone has ever played against the Blue Devils or schemed against them, they only run about 10 plays offensively:
shotgun bubble screens, shotgun seams, shotgun option pitch, i formation dive left or right, i formation max protect hitches, i formation max protect deep outs, i formation max protect fly routes, i formation toss sweep.....yeah thats pretty much all of it.
defensively they stack the box and play press outside with one safety over the top. against GC they play different defenses to coup with the speed.
my point is, this coaching staff got away with a lot during those 4 years of Odoms, Jenkins, Sheppard, Richardson, Regis, Miller, and company b/c they were sooooo talented.
without those guys, this staff produces exactly how this year's blue devil team is performing.
argue all you want PK fans, it's quite simply the truth
Daddy Bear commented on August 30, 2011 at 9:52 p.m.: report abuse
Maybe my daddy will defend me when times get tough too.
Pobrecito....poor baby. Daddy will make it alright : )
Hard worker commented on August 31, 2011 at 9:27 a.m.: report abuse
This sounds all to familliar , a coach inherting a good program then for getting the foundation in which it was biult ( PBG Gators). Alot of time we get caught up with winning and losing and we for get that foodball helps build young men and perpare young men for life. So to put someone in the possion of power with out that as first priority is dump no matter how much he wins.
Pahokee will always have Talent! if the do have a coaching change make sure the guy doesnt just want to win a championship. he want to teach , model and help them grow as men
STANDING OVATION!!! commented on August 31, 2011 at 1:54 p.m.: report abuse
I'm giving a standing ovation to the comment from MUCK PRODUCT. EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION FIRST AND FOREMOST!!!
@STANDING OVATION commented on August 31, 2011 at 3:47 p.m.: report abuse
Unfortunately this is a SPORTS story, not an ACADEMIC one. You need to go to the EDUCATION part of the website and posts your comment.
Devil commented on August 31, 2011 at 11:48 p.m.: report abuse
I'm currently a member of this football team. Everyone is entitled to their on opinion but the truth is none of you guys actually know the hard work that we put on the practice field. The coaches are excellent. We have a saying at practice " we all we got " this such saying means only us truly believe in pahokee football we have no more community once we rise back to the top. I'm very positive these opinions will change in a heartbeat.
Blue Devil For Life commented on September 6, 2011 at 9:18 a.m.: report abuse
It is my belief that what our football team is lacking is that "Devil Pride" & CONFIDENCE! That pride was taken when certain individuals began to disparage the players and set an unenthusiastic atmosphere within the program. What has happened to our young men is that No one believes in them anymore and they’re being ridiculed by everyone for their inadequacies. These young men go out & give it their all in practice daily, but for unknown reasons are no longer taking that same heart onto the field on FRIDAY NIGHTS. This is because of that lack of MORAL SUPPORT! There once was a time when you could send the BLUE DEVILS to Afghanistan and the fans would pack it up and meet them there. Now they’ll hear, “What’s the use? They’ll lose anyways.” This has to stop!!! We can sit around and play the blame game all we want, but if we’re realistic about it is the fact that the boys don’t have anything to look forward to anymore.
I CHARGE ALL OF MY DEVILS FANS TO STAND UP, REUNITE & SHOW OUR BABIES/ OUR PRODUCTS THAT WE STILL BELIEVE IN THEM AND WILL BE THERE UNTIL THE END; REGARDLESS OF THE FINAL RESULTS WE’RE GOING TO STAND BESIDE YOU ALL!!!!
PkPrince commented on September 12, 2011 at 10:45 a.m.: report abuse
I Have All The Confidence In The Players This Year...I Go To All The Home Games But,I Admit Not The Away Games As Much Now! It's Just The Lack Of Confidence In The Head Coaching and Lead Assistants That I Have! I Understand The Process Of Being At Top For A Few Years and Falling Back To The Rear Of The Pack...Only To Climb Back To The Top! But,It's Time For A Change At The Top...These Kids Need More Teaching and Coaching Than Hollerin' and Screamin'!!! Also,More Motivation In The Classroom As Student Athletes!!! I Can Tolerate Losing A Games To Teams That Are Just Better Than Us and We Put Up A Good Hard Competative Fight...Than To Loose Games...Cause,The Leaders At Hand Send Out An Unprepared and Unmotivated Team!!! But,Hey I'm Just One Person With An Opinion! I'll Be Out There Friday Night In Full Support Of The Team Against The Tough Atlantic Eagles!
True Blue C/O 83 commented on September 14, 2011 at 1:14 a.m.: report abuse
I ask the question, What is coaching football all about? What are we actually trying to accomplish? Are we there to Motivate, Encourage, Be A Mentor , Build Pride and Confidence, Be a Disciplinary, Teach Morality and Sportmanship, Never Give Up etc... I love my home town just like everybody else and I have sleepless nights when we lose. Sometimes losing can be used as a way of building character and properly addressed could be helpful in molding and shaping a young persons life, male or female.
Coaches, I have honestly tried to be very supportive of what you do. I understand that it takes a special person to give so much of your time and self to coach and counsel student athlet's but you are responsible for a lot of the negative rhetoric that is circulating across the nation. I use to wonder why ? We were winning State Titles but there would be a lot of disgruntled parents, so I started attending more games and practices and started to notice the starters would be playing almost the entire game even though it's a blow out. What about the player that work hard in practice? He deserves more playing time and needed experience. Eventually it got so bad you close the practice to the community and the parents. Rule number one, do not alienate yourself from the people who supports you. Once again you created a lot of this animosity. People were making sacrifices because they love there home town, you have lost that. This is not an attack. We love our home town and would like to see this mess straiten up immediatly.
ATLEagles commented on September 16, 2011 at 7:36 a.m.: report abuse
ATL bout to whoop the S#@% out of PAHOKEE!!!
BABYSWAGG54 commented on September 23, 2011 at 11:31 a.m.: report abuse
PAHOKEE IS GOIN TO WIN TODAY AT BEN....GO PK THE SCORE IS GOING TO BE 20 TO -0
PBCF fan commented on September 28, 2011 at 9:52 a.m.: report abuse
This whole things sounds like Atlantic. Oh wait, Atlantic has never won a state championship and yet their fans still hire the coaches, call the plays, and create pressure not even a top program feels.
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