West Boca Raton football's worst path to the state championship

Driving down Glades Road and making your way into the western community around West Boca High School, you might think there is magic in the air.

The rags-to-riches, worst-to-first story surrounding West Boca’s football program is hand-crafted to ignite holiday spirit and galvanize Palm Beach County as the Bulls march toward Florida International University with a state championship on the line.

Osceola (12-2) awaits you there Friday at 12:30 p.m. – setting the stage for a battle for the Class 6A state title between the storied Kowboys program and West Boca’s New Kids on the Block.

How to watch:West Boca Raton football vs. Osceola in the Class 6A state championship game

Make no mistake, West Boca (14-0) isn’t interested in the Cinderella-style fanfare.

Head coach Dylan Potts, his staff and the West Boca players told everyone back in August that this season would be “state championship or bust.”

The sentiment was nice, but who really thought a program that had only gone 1-9 in 2021 could compete for title hardware?

The undefeated Bulls don’t have time for what I told you.

One game before the state hardware, Potts and Co. can practically see how the fruit of three years of hard work is turning the Bulls’ program on its head.

Oh yes, there is magic in the air.

“Our kids have played in a lot of big games in their lives,” Potts said. “This moment is not too big for her. Some of these kids who have only been here with us for three years, all they know is that they’re winning.”

In fact, the Bulls fought their way to wins over Benjamin, Western (FF, OT) and finally Miami Southridge.

The Bulls demonstrated their dominance in four shutout victories and effectively set the bar for Palm Beach County’s best with victories over Atlantic and Palm Beach Central – victories that West Boca secured by a margin.

“I think it starts with surrounding yourself with great people,” Potts said. “I truly believe we have one of the best coaching staffs not only in the state of Florida, but in the entire country. What they bring from a football perspective, but also what they bring from a coaching, mentoring and leadership perspective. That was one of my visions.”

It’s an ideology that has come to life and helped make West Boca a program that student-athletes want to be a part of.

“We envisioned this from day one, having our guys around the kids and creating a culture of excellence,” Potts said. “For us it’s not a hobby to hope that we win from August to November. This is our life at the moment. We give everything for it.”

Potts’ ideology came from his time at Belen Jesuit, the school he left Ohio for to serve as offensive coordinator. Two years later the opportunity presented itself.

“That’s when the job opened up in West Boca, and it was a hidden gold mine for me,” Potts said. “I saw the vision of what it could be.”

The resulting journey made history for the school, which opened in 2004.

Players like Xavier Ford, Damon Allen and Jaydin Broadnax have become household names as key performers in West Boca’s defense.

On the other side of the ball, regardless of whether three-star running back Javian Mallory plays in the state title game, the Bulls have a next-man-up mentality – one that’s easy to implement when rotation players like Jayden Lockhart are also added They real stars.

“They did a great job,” Potts said. “Jayden Lockhart stepped in and became a 1,000-yard rusher this year. He’s done a great job the last few weeks with several 100-yard games. His style wears people down.”

Fourteen wins is great. But at the end of the day, it’s No. 15 that counts.

Whether it’s a shootout or a difficult defensive matter, Potts believes his team can adapt to either style and come out victorious on Friday.

“We are capable of playing both types of games,” he said. “If we have to play a 9-7 game or a 14-11 game, we will play that type of game.”

However, after putting up a total of 31 points in the regional final and state semifinals, the third-year head coach is looking to get a little more out of the offense.

“Execution on early downs and getting ahead of the chains. Something we’ve been preaching this week is, ‘You get two first downs on every drive.’ If we get two first downs on every drive, I think we’re in a good position.”

Regardless of the style of Friday’s state championship, the conditions are there for it to be good.

“Osceola has a rich tradition,” Potts said. “They have a culture and a standard of winning, and you see a storied program do what it did and get back to the state championship.”

But record books and past seasons aren’t enough to deter these battle-hardened Bulls.

“You have a great program like Osceola that has a lot of experience, and then you see a program like us,” Potts said. “Even though this may be our first state championship, our kids have been part of these big moments and these big games their entire lives.”

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West Boca Raton football’s worst path to the state championship

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