BOCA RATON – West Boca Raton is high school football’s version of HBO’s White Lotus.
A lot of the cast changes every year, but the identity and basic formula is exactly the same.
Take the Bulls' dominant 24-7 win over Cardinal Newman on Thursday, Sept. 10 for example. West Boca beat Cardinal Newman with a version of the same game plan it used to win back-to-back state titles.
A suffocating defense that creates turnovers and a solid offense that moves the ball effectively.
“Every year, it’s somebody different that’s coming up, stepping up and doing their job,” said senior defensive tackle Jamar Thompson, a Georgia Tech commit. “All that’s come together, we’re all just winning and doing our assignments.”
You could argue that every good high school
program has an identity, but West Boca somehow looks and plays like a carbon copy every year.
“It’s not just this level of football but all levels of football. You look at teams that run the football and play defense, you’re always going to have a chance,” West Boca coach Dylan Potts said. “We believe that we have an elite defense, I think it’s one of the top defenses in the country.
“As long as we have that defense out there, we’re going to be in every football game.”
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At one point late in the first half, Cardinal Newman (3-1, No. 4 Class 2A) had as many fumbles (three) as first downs. Two of the Crusaders first downs were the result of penalties by West Boca (3-0, No. 2 Class 5A).
The Bulls finished the first half leading 10-0 with three takeaways. West Boca quarterback Trey Moran scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to extend the lead to 17 points.
At this point, that’s just about an insurmountable deficit for a West Boca opponent.
Including the one Cardinal Newman touchdown – a long run up the middle by running back Janarro Sumpter in the third quarter – the Bulls have allowed two touchdowns in three games.
One touchdown was scored by American Heritage, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A and the 2025 Class 4A state champion. Newman is the No. 4 team in Class 2A and won the Class 1A state title a year ago.
West Boca’s script isn’t just working against some opponents; it’s thriving against some of the state’s best.
And perhaps the craziest thing is, West Boca didn’t plan a perfect game against Cardinal Newman.
There were too many penalties, including two touchdowns that were taken off the board. A first-and-goal from the 4-yard line in the first quarter somehow turned into 4th-and-goal from the 25-yard line. One of the first things Potts said to his team after the game was that they left a lot of points on the field.
But somehow that works in Potts’ favor, too. The Bulls still have things to fix, areas to improve. But he has enjoyed what he’s seen so far.
“They’re physical and they’re not going to quit,” Potts said. “You have to know what your identity is and we’re not going to shy away. We have no problem playing a 24-7 game every game.
“Get a lead, bleed out the clock. That’s the same thing we did Week 1 against Heritage. That was the same approach tonight. At halftime, 10-0. We knew if we got one more score it was going to be hard to come back. … If we can get a 14-, 17-point lead every game, it’s going to be hard for a team to score 17 unanswered against this defense.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Why West Boca Raton football may have one of the nation's top defenses
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