What we learned about Palm Beach Gardens football in Week 1 overtime win

DELRAY BEACH — An overtime thriller ended with Palm Beach Gardens football clinching a 39-38 win over Atlantic to open the season last Friday.

Quarterback Brand Campbell’s connections with Class of 2022 teammate Keyon Stephens sealed the win for the Gators, but it looked like Atlantic’s home field advantage, special teams – and a 15-point lead – would spell victory for the Eagles as late as the fourth quarter.

Here are three takeaways from Gardens victorious performance:

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Standout defense stunts Eagle advances

The scoreboard may suggest Gardens' defense didn't do its job. However, the numbers put up by key Gator defenders like Caleb Chamberlin, Niko Piatt, Khristian Scruggs and Michael Wright III tell just how many more scoring opportunities the Eagles missed, especially with more than 250 yards in penalties.

Not to say the Gators didn't have their own issues with dirty laundry.

"We can't afford to lose these yards," Chamberlin said, calling it "uncharacteristic" of the Gators and vowing to get it fixed before facing Vero Beach next Monday. "Atlantic has a ton of talent and a great offense, but we have to be smarter and fly to the ball."

Alas, the Gators' fronts for loss and stops on downs kept Atlantic's punter busy. Gardens' Scruggs – a junior linebacker scheduled for a breakout season after playing just five games last fall – highlighted the first half with near-lockout coverage of Atlantic's Tavius Horne Jr. , Martay McClendon and quarterback Lincoln Graf.

With Tyrique Hollis' blocked punt return for a touchdown at the horn unexpectedly sending Atlantic into the locker room with the lead at the half, Gardens' defense struggled to contain the Eagles' momentum, trading the lead for the better of the third quarter.

Luckily, by the end of the fourth with overtime looming, linebacker Piatt on SEC prospect Jayden Parrish and safety Wright cutting into Graf's last ditch efforts for a passing score compiled a performance that kept the win within reach for Gardens.

Piatt's stats against Gardens totaled at 14.5 tackles – four for loss – five quarterback hurries and three sacks. Wright tallied eight tackles – one for loss – and three pass breakups.

A mainstay for the Gators from quarter to quarter, Chamberlin said Gardens didn't really have to make adjustments in its approach to handling Atlantic's run-pass option scheme.

Gardens head coach Tyrone Higgins had prepared a game plan that would take down the Eagles. The Gators just needed to start executing what was being asked of them.

Mentality changes the game

What Gardens did have to adjust was its mindset on both sides of the ball.

Campbell admitted the Gators "didn't really get anything going" on offense in the first half. A two-score lead late in the game would crumble most programs. For Campbell and the Gators, it was a catalyst.

"Our coaches just kept saying it's not over. Keep playing," Campbell said. "Us as coaches and players kept preaching that and we came back and won."

Campbell threw a touchdown in the second quarter, another in the third, connected with Stephens for a two-point conversion after a rushing score from Johnnari Rumph, scrambled across the goal line himself to punch in the game-tying score and finished in overtime with the winning throw to Stephens.

Knowing that Graf and Atlantic would score when overtime began, Campbell warned the Gators not to be surprised when it happened.

"We had the play to do it. We pulled it off and we got it," Campbell said.

The senior went 19-for-32, passing for 220 yards against one interception and averaged about seven yards-per-carry on the run for 41 yards.

‘Mr. Everything’ shows importance of special teams

Gardens had the play to get the win. More importantly, Gardens had the player to get the win.

Had the Gators' Landon Carr not blocked an extra point on a Parrish touchdown in the second quarter, senior athlete Malcolm Tucker's game-sealing PAT could've meant the beginning of a second overtime.

As Tucker lined up to kick, he hyped up the crowd in the stands, which were loudly cheering "Defense! Defense!"

"I love bringing energy and cockiness into the game," Tucker said. "I wanted them to get more louder so when I made it they would be silent."

"Once I seen the ball go through, I turned around and seen the whole team running at me so I ran the other way," he laughed.

Tucker's game-saving efforts started before the second half, when he gave the Gators what would become a critical edge with a field goal. Still, he'll tell you that the "hardest roles" of the night were assigned to center Austin Gross and holder Gavin Newby.

"For anyone who doesn’t understand, special teams is the most important part of the football game," Tucker said. "You can’t start a football game without a kickoff."

Although he frequents the field as a receiving target for Campbell or serving the secondary, Tucker established himself as Gardens' secret weapon last fall completing 26 of 30 extra point attempts and three clutch field goals – long of 43.

"He's a kicker now, man," Campbell said. "He can play anything. He's 'Mr. Everything' for a reason and he finished it off for us."

When Tucker added kicking onto the skills section of his resume in 2021, his nickname was initially "Mr. Do It All, but “Mr. Everything” had a better ring to to it.

"Everyday the team reminds me of why I have that name and to dominate in every position I'm at on the field, so I definitely could not have done it without them," Tucker said.

"When you have a coach like Coach Higgins – the best coach in the world – not only does he help us to become great football players, but he helps us to become great, strong men who can take on adversity," Tucker said. "We knew we couldn’t throw in the towel while there was still time on the clock, so defense did their job and offense did as well. Then special teams finished the job."

A true, hard-fought team win.

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at esmarr@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens football: What we learned in Week 1 overtime thriller