PAHOKEE — With the game on the line, Pahokee coach Carlos Lammons put the ball in the hands of a middle schooler.
Quarterback Braylon Peterson, an eighth-grader for all of two weeks, directed a 91-yard drive in the fourth quarter and ended it with a 5-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Sam Harrigan to give the Blue Devils a dramatic 26-21 victory over Dr. Joaquin Garcia on Aug. 21.
Showing the poise of a senior, Peterson was 5-for-6 for 44 yards on the drive, including a crucial fourth-down completion to wide receiver Jacaris Jones.
"Those moments are what young quarterbacks probably dream of," Lammons said. "I'm super proud of him. I think it was a huge thing for his confidence."
The Bulldogs, who rallied from a 20-0 deficit to take a one-point
lead after three quarters, appeared to have the game in hand when punter Adrian Labrador fielded a high snap and got off a 48-yard kick that was downed at the Blue Devils' 9-yard line.
Pahokee's offense had bogged down after scoring three first-quarter touchdowns. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Blue Devils punted three times and turned the ball over on downs twice.
Enter Peterson, the new kid on the block. He's able to play varsity football only because Pahokee is a middle/senior high school with grades 6 through 12. Traditional high schools like Dr. Joaquin Garcia are grades 9 through 12.
"It feels amazing to have a great quarterback like Braylon," said Harrigan, a senior who caught the winning TD on a slant pattern. "When it looked like we were going down, we've got Braylon in the huddle hyping us up, telling us to keep our head up, that the game isn't over."
Peterson didn't start the game. Uzarus Boswell, a versatile senior who can play several positions, took a shotgun snap on the Blue Devils' first offensive play and ran 40 yards for a touchdown. Boswell scored on a 2-yard run to cap their second possession, boosting the lead to 14-0.
Peterson took over on the third series and connected with Jones on a 55-yard pass to set up a 2-yard scoring run by Mari Singleton with 19 seconds left in the first quarter.
Just when it appeared the Bulldogs were going to be run out of Anquan Boldin Stadium, however, they snapped to life.
Junior quarterback Andreas Lajko threw second-quarter touchdown passes of 15 yards to Giorgio Altenor and 7 yards to Zion Vilma to close the deficit to 20-14 at halftime. The second score was set up by a bad snap on a Pahokee punt attempt that set up Dr. Joaquin Garcia on the 10-yard line.
Garcia's momentum carried over to the third quarter. A fourth-down gamble by the Blue Devils resulted in a sack at the 50, and Jere'Miah Celian scored on a 3-yard run to push the Bulldogs in front, stunning the home crowd.
"We got a little bit ahead of ourselves and we made the game a little harder than it should have been," Lammons said. "Every touchdown they scored, we pretty much gave it to them. It's things we can fix, fortunately, and we will fix them."
Lammons said the game provided a good season-opening test for his team, which moves to Class 1A this season after spending a decade in the now-defunct Rural class. Dr. Joaquin Garcia moves up to Class 6A.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Lammons said. "I think a season opener should be a thriller, get guys focused. When your team is super talented, sometimes they can get lackadaisical, and that showed up tonight."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Eighth-grade QB rallies Pahokee football over Garcia in season opener
