Palm Beach Gardens football bolsters dark horse status with Wellington playoff rout
PALM BEACH GARDENS — Look no further than head coach Tyrone Higgins' Gators for a playoff dark horse in FHSAA Class 4M.
A second-quarter onslaught lifted Palm Beach Gardens football to a 30-13 blowout win over Wellington in the first round of the Class 4M playoffs on Monday.
Veteran quarterback Brand Campbell led the third-seeded Gators to 23 unanswered points before halftime, breaking open a 7-7 tie into a comfortable lead Gardens never relinquished.
Campbell finished 11-of-15 for 209 yards with two passing touchdowns, chipping in 18 rushing yards and a touchdown as well.
Defensively, Palm Beach Gardens (8-3) tormented Wellington star quarterback Ryan Anthony into three turnovers.
"We're maximizing our offense and defense," Higgins said. "At the beginning of the season it was rough just trying to get all of our new packages in but now it's tough to prepare for us on offense, defense and even special teams.
"The kids have bought into what we're doing and now they're executing. We're where we need to be at this point in the season."
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Brand Campbell keeps finding Devin Simmons
Senior pass-catcher Devin Simmons is blossoming in the closing stretch of the 2022 season.
On the Gators' opening drive Monday, Campbell scrambled out of the pocket and found Simmons on a checkdown pass, which the veteran housed 45 yards for a touchdown.
Later, with Gardens leading 17-7, Campbell rolled out of the pocket on third-and-long and heaved a pass toward Simmons, who rose up over Wellington defenders for a backbreaking 37-yard touchdown at the goal line.
Simmons finished with five catches for 104 yards, his second 100-yard receiving game in his last three outings.
At 6-foot-3, Simmons supplements fellow pass-catcher Keyon Stephens, a 5-10 junior who has also been a preferred target for Campbell this season.
"(Simmons) has been my safety valve the last three games," Campbell said. "He and Keyon are the dynamic duo at receiver. I'm going to keep feeding them the ball."
Ryan Anthony valiant in defeat
Wellington's senior quarterback went out on his shield Monday night in Palm Beach Gardens.
Anthony finished 12-of-25 for 169 yards with a passing touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed 12 times for 79 yards and lost a fumble.
Despite the turnovers, Anthony never quit, tossing a fourth-quarter touchdown to Vincent Soriero that would've kept the Wolverines within two possessions had Wellington opted for an extra point instead of a failed two-point conversion.
Anthony closes the year as Wellington's leading passer and rusher, a status emphasized by his brave repeated attempts to hit holes and receivers that simply weren't available against Gardens.
"I've known Ryan since the peewee days," Wellington interim head coach Jose Sime said. "He's always been tough-nosed but I think that's a reflection of our coach, [Danny] Mendoza. He'll leave it all on the field but unfortunately today just wasn't his day.
"He's a competitor and I wish we had 64 guys like him. We have a good bunch and this senior group is special to my heart."
Mendoza didn't finish Monday's contest after a mid-game ejection.
The Wolverines close the season 6-5 and will graduate more than two dozen seniors from this year's roster.
"These seniors, I've known these kids for a long time," Sime said. "Unfortunately the ball didn't bounce our way tonight. I couldn't ask for anything else. I'd do this 10 out of 10 times with this group."
A rare unknown awaits Gators
Region 3-4M is chock full of familiar foes for Palm Beach Gardens — except No. 2 seed Monarch.
The Knights (9-2) beat Boca Raton 56-21 on Monday, setting up a road trip to Broward County for the Gators in the second round on Saturday.
"I've never played Monarch. I actually just heard of them this year," Campbell said. "They played a good game with Atlantic and I've heard they're very talented with a good quarterback over there.
"We'll celebrate this win tonight and then come back tomorrow to watch film and get ready."
Top-seeded Palm Beach Central (10-1) will host fourth-seed Stoneman Douglas (8-3) in the opposite region semifinal.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens football: Brand Campbell leads Gators to playoff win
