WELLINGTON — Palm Beach Central trailed 17-0 entering the fourth quarter against Benjamin before the host Broncos delivered a spirited comeback to remain unbeaten in a battle of two top programs in Palm Beach County.
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Butler threw a go-ahead 10-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Preston Parker Jr. with 47 seconds left to lift the Broncos to a thrilling 27-24 victory on Friday night.
Palm Beach Central (6-0) earned its second win this year where the Broncos trailed by at least 13 points in the second half. Palm Beach Central had trailed 19-6 at halftime against Pahokee and rallied for a 33-30 victory in overtime.
“We had a preseason exam against Atlantic and we failed that test,” Palm Beach Central coach Kevin Thompson said. “This is our midterm and we passed our midterm and now that gives us a boost to let the guys know that no matter what is happening and if we are down, we will find a way to win games. I told our guys we have been here before. We needed to go find a way to win the game. It feels really great.”
Butler, who threw two interceptions in the first half, had two touchdown passes and a two-point conversion run in the fourth-quarter rebound. Thompson credited offensive coordinator Rod Godfrey for his work with the sophomore signal-caller since the preseason.
“Caleb is going to find a way to win,” Thompson said. “He was calm and under pressure, he found our athletes to make plays.”
“We knew that we were not going down without a fight,” Butler said. “We did not play well in the first half and the third quarter. We started to play our game and we showed we can fight and we are that team. When we are down, I need to step up as a leader. We had no doubt we could get it done at the end and drive down the field and score. We have the best receivers in the county and my offensive line and running backs also made me look good.”
Butler had a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Kamare Williams in the right corner of the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 17-6. Williams finished the contest with 10 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.
“We came out flat and we picked up the momentum and it’s all about how we finish,” Williams said. “My coach said he needed a playmaker and they were able to go to me and I made plays.”
Senior running Leon Williams rushed for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 17-12 with 8:24 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Palm Beach Central recovered a bouncing ball that was untouched at the Benjamin 29. Junior Nedrick Boldin rushed for a 9-yard score and Butler added a two-point conversion run as the Broncos jumped ahead 20-17 with 5:54 remaining.
However, Benjamin senior Jacob Cosby-Mosley returned the ensuing kickoff 65-yards down the left sideline to the Broncos 30. On third-and-goal, junior quarterback Jayden Vega tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to sophomore Adam Balogoun-Ali to give the Bucs a 24-20 advantage with 2:43 left.
Palm Beach Central senior Britton Homes Jr. returned the kickoff to the Broncos 47. Butler marched the Broncos downfield as junior wide receiver Waden Charles had two catches for 23 yards on their final drive. Butler scrambled to his right and fired a 10-yard touchdown pass to Parker Jr. with 47 seconds remaining.
“It was a good feeling,” Parker Jr. said. “I feel like I am an underdog and I just feed into it. We have been down before. I play hard and it’s my job.”
Benjamin lost two fumbles inside the Palm Beach Central 10-yard line during the third quarter. The Bucs lost three fumbles in the loss and they failed to recover the ball in their own territory during a kickoff in the fourth quarter.
“It happens to everybody at some point, especially when you have a field that is wet,” Benjamin coach Eric Kresser said. “I am not surprised and I wish it did not happen. We just have to learn from it. On our kickoff return, we have to catch the ball. I am not upset because our guys played their hearts out. We have 40 kids on our team and everyone is playing both ways. It just came down to giving the ball away three times.”
Benjamin senior running back Chauncey Bowens, a Georgia commit, rushed for 82 yards and added two catches for 19 yards. Bowens scored an 8-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Sophomore running back Phoenix Donghia rushed for 105 yards and had two receptions for 20 yards.