Palm Beach Gardens football coach Kevin Fleury was relieved of his duties Tuesday, and players were informed today.

“The fired me,” said Fleury, who was surprised by his dismissal. “They’re going in a different direction. Hopefully they let me keep my teaching job.”

Fleury coached the football team four seasons and teaches physical education at the high school. He did not divulge the reason for his firing.

“You’ll have to ask them,” Fleury said, referring to the school’s administration. “I’m sure they can put the perfect spin on it. I just really want to go forward.”

Prior to this season, Fleury went 31-7 and won the Class 6A state championship in 2005. This year, Palm Beach Gardens went 2-8 and missed the post-season for the first time in Fleury’s tenure.

Athletic director Bill Weed said the decision was made collectively by the administration and had nothing to do with Fleury’s coaching ability or the team’s 2-8 record. Weed said he was not aware of any rift between Fleury and his supervisors and no player issued a complaint against Fleury.

“There is no particular reason,” Weed said. “Some things just weren’t going the way they should.

“There is no scandal we’re hiding. There’s nothing serious here.”

Of course, when someone says “there is no scandal” but refuses to give any explanation for firing a coach with an impressive record, that raises more questions than it answers. Weed acknowledged that point, but refused to provide any further details. Especially when Fleury’s 2-8 record “was not a factor.”

He said firing Fleury had been discussed over “a matter of weeks,” and the decision was made before Thanksgiving. Weed added that Fleury will retain his job as a P.E. teacher.

Fleury sounded frustrated but somewhat upbeat when discussing the situation.

“I feel in my heart that God has a plan for everybody,” he said. “I don’t want to go out crying or moaning. There will be better things for me.”

Weed is in the process of officially posting the job opening and anticipates at least 70 applicants before the Jan. 31 deadline. He expects current assistant coaches Al Shipman and Bill Doyen to emerge as candidates, but is committed to considering a full field of potential replacements.

“I can’t say they’d have a leg up, but they’re known in the community and they know the kids,” Weed said of Shipman and Doyen. “That’s an advantage.”

Palm Beach Gardens principal Dr. Jon Prince said football coach Kevin Fleury allowed the program to steadily decline after winning the 2005 state championship.

“The first year, everything went right,” Prince said. “Every year after that, there have been more and more things that were not up to our standards. It includes win-loss records, finances, player accountability, and relationships with coaches and community members. It’s all-encompassing.

“Sometimes you just have two different visions and sets of expectations. Sometimes those two things don’t align.”

Including winning the first football title in school history, Fleury went 31-7 in his first three seasons at Palm Beach Gardens. The Gators were 2-8 this year and missed the playoffs for the first time in his tenure.

Athletic director Bill Weed told the Post on Wednesday that Fleury’s firing was not related to coaching ability, a complaint from a player, a rift with superiors or a rules violation. That leaves little else in terms of cause, but Prince declined to give specific reasons for Fleury’s dismissal.

Fleury said he was not given “a straight answer” either, but preferred not to elaborate.

When considering Fleury’s silence, keep in mind he remains employed by the school as a physical education teacher. Fleury intends to keep that job, so it is reasonable to assume he is keeping quiet to avoid further complications at work. Prince said Fleury can keep teaching at the school “as long as he wants.”

Prince praised Fleury’s character and his coaching ability. Prince repeatedly brought up the subjects of budgeting and fundraising, but said those were not the sole reasons for dismissal.

The football program’s finances certainly have been hurt by the lack of a home stadium during on-campus construction, which has forced the Gators to play their home games at Dwyer’s Blum Stadium. Even taking the construction into consideration, Prince said Fleury did not meet the administration’s standards in terms of the total program management.

“It’s such a big job,” Prince said. “Kevin spent a lot of time on the Xs and Os, but we felt it was import to nurture the other facets of being a good football coach.”

Brian Doyen and Al Shipman, both assistants under Fleury, have assumed the lead of the program on an interim basis. Weed expects at least 70 applicants in the search for a new head coach. Doyen and Shipman are likely to be candidates.

To kill one rumor, former Okeechobee coach Chris Branham said he is not interested in the Palm Beach Gardens job. Branham resigned as football coach Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Fleury’s firing shocked several of his peers, who strongly disapproved of the move.

Seminole Ridge coach Matt Dickmann, a former assistant at Jupiter High School, called the situation “absolutely ridiculous.”

“He’s a great coach that anyone would like to have on his staff,” Dickmann said. “As a head coach, anybody can fire you at any chance just because they don’t like something about you. I think it’s unfortunate, but we all know it’s year-to-year and day-to-day.”

Dwyer coach Jack Daniels, one of Fleury’s chief rivals on the field, said Palm Beach Gardens made “a mistake.”

“I don’t know how you win a state championship three years ago and get fired,” Daniels said. “It seems like a bad deal.”

King’s Academy coach Craig Dobson, who coached with Fleury in the Outback Bowl, was disappointed by the news.

“I was surprised because I saw them on film and I didn’t think they had a lot of athletes on the field,” Dobson said of the 2008 Gators. “And they were in a very tough district.”

Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson, who played Palm Beach Gardens regularly, said he called Fleury on Thursday. When he reached him, Fleury was still working on behalf of his former players to get them into college programs.

“That says a lot for him,” Thompson said. “I thought he was a good coach, good guy.”

One of the most obvious names that will surface in Palm Beach Gardens’ search for a new head coach is its former star quarterback, Darren Studstill, but he said he will not be a candidate for the job.

Studstill just wrapped up a very successful first year as head coach at Royal Palm Beach, where he has coached in various capacities over eight seasons. The Wildcats went 11-2, winning their district and reaching the regional finals.

As an alumni and a fan, Studstill is curious to see who will replace fired coach Kevin Fleury on the sidelines, but said Royal Palm Beach is his “home.”

“I love everything about Palm Beach Gardens, but a this time … I’m not interested at all,” he said. “I’m interested to know who gets it, but I’m not interested in it.”

Studstill said the administration at Palm Beach Gardens has not contacted him about the opening, and he does not expect them to do so.

Studstill is one of three nominees for the Lou Groza Coach of the Year, which will be handed out at Tuesday night’s banquet. Dwyer’s Jack Daniels and Glades Central’s Jessie Hester are up for the award as well.

Palm Beach Gardens will go at least two months without a full-time football coach in place, with interviews scheduled to begin the first week of February.

At last count, athletic director Bill Weed said the school received 77 applications for the job. The number was more than he expected, and he will stand by his original Jan. 31 deadline, which means even more candidates might join the field.

Weed did not get into specifics, but said there were not many local applicants.

Palm Beach Gardens fired Kevin Fleury in early December after the Gators finished 2-8. In his previous three seasons, Fleury guided the Gators to a 31-7 mark and won the state championship in his first year.

A source with knowledge of the situation said Fleury was Okeechobee’s top choice to fill its coaching vacancy, but Fleury never expressed strong interest in the job. The Brahmans have narrowed their search to 3-5 candidates and expect to hire a new coach by the end of the month.

Former Palm Beach Gardens quarterback Cody Bonea has transferred to Palm Beach Lakes, both schools confirmed.

Bonea was the Gators’ starting quarterback last season while he was enrolled in a magnet program at Palm Beach Gardens. Palm Beach Lakes is the closest school to his house.

“I always need QBs, so that’s a plus,” Rams coach Alonzo Jefferson said. “We’d love to have him.”

Bonea, who will be a senior next season, primarily ran a wing-T offense at Palm Beach Gardens under former coach Kevin Fleury. Jefferson said the Rams will feature a run-oriented offense as well, but will give Bonea more opportunities to throw than he had in the past.

As of now, Bonea is the leading candidate to replaced Greg Rideau, who will graduate this spring.

“He’s the frontrunner,” Jefferson said. “He’s got a good arm and he’s a smart kid.”

The Gators have a new coach in place, Chris Davis, so no one can make assumptions about the starting lineup, but last year’s back-up quarterback Brandon Welch should have the upper hand. John Bosch, the JV quarterback last season, will compete for the job, too.

Kevin Fleury loves his current situation, but the pull of being a head coach is too strong to resist.

Fleury in 2008 as Palm Beach Gardens' head coach. (Steve Mitchell/The Palm Beach Post)

“I started out coaching in 1994 and my goal was to always be a head coach,” Fleury said. “I think it’s putting your name on something. I feel that every school that I’ve been at, as an assistant or as a head coach, I’ve had an influence. I think that as a head coach your influence is more profound.”

Fleury, who coached Palm Beach Gardens to a state championship in 2005 but was fired in 2008, has applied for two open coaching positions: Royal Palm Beach and Vero Beach.

Currently the defensive coordinator at Cardinal Newman, Fleury said he’s very happy coaching with Crusaders head coach Steve Walsh, and that the school’s academics are top-notch. He’s excited to help bring the football program back to prominence.

“It’s a great situation there, and there’s nothing but good things that are going to happen, whether I’m there or not,” Fleury said. “I’m really happy at Newman, and Steve’s a great coach.”

“As I told Steve, it’s the difference between being in a good spot and going to achieve your goals.”

In his first three seasons at Gardens, Fleury posted a 31-7 mark and won the school’s first state title, but put up a 2-8 season in 2008 before he was dismissed.

Former Royal Palm Beach head coach Frank Kunf resigned last month, citing health troubles. The Wildcats went 1-9 last year, advancing to a District 12-5A tiebreaker thanks to a regular-season win over John I. Leonard.

“It reminds me a lot of what Gardens was like,” Fleury said of the Wildcats’ program. “There’s a lot of talent, it just needs to go in the right direction.”

Fleury called the Vero Beach job, which became available after Gary Coggin was fired two weeks ago, a “high-level” coaching position.

“It’s high school football, bar none,” Fleury said. “The stands are full, there’s the band, you have everything you need for coaching, a great stadium. It’s everything you can ask for and more.”

Fleury said he and Walsh have an understanding, and he would love to return as Newman’s defensive coordinator if he isn’t selected for either head coaching position.

“I’m split between my love for Newman in the short period of time I’ve been there, and my ambition. I’ll see what’s out there,” Fleury said. “You do this job as a calling, and where you’re going to make your mark the best.”

With three football state championships on his resume, Willie Bueno is undaunted about taking over a struggling Royal Palm Beach program.

Bueno

On Tuesday, Royal Palm named Bueno its fourth head football coach in five seasons, ending a search that began after Frank Kunf resigned Nov. 15. 

Bueno, a Wellington resident, has a sparkling career record (80-21) and has won three state crowns in eight seasons as a head coach. He said he wants to establish the Wildcats as a powerhouse in their own right.

“I think it could be a great football program,” said Bueno, adding that success in athletics “can transform a school.”

“I saw it happen at Glades Central,” he said. “I think that’s what Royal Palm needs, and I want to be a part of that.”

Stability — and winning — has been scarce at Royal Palm in the past few years.

Kunf was a dismal 1-9 last year and 6-15 in his two seasons. He took over for Darren Studstill, who went 11-2 in his lone year, 2008, but was fired over a money dispute. Prior to that, Eric Patterson led the Wildcats to two district titles and a 31-17 mark in five years.

“We’re going to start acting like a championship football team from Day 1,” Bueno said.

Bueno, 42, had a 33-5 record in three years at Glades Central. He won a state title in 2000, his first year as a head coach. In 2002, he was not retained amid a housecleaning at the school.

He was 47-16 in five seasons at American Heritage and led the Stallions to a state title in 2007. After winning another one in 2009, he left, declining to say whether he had been pushed out.

“I just felt like it was time for me to go,” he said Monday. “I was there five years. I felt like we’d done everything we could do.”

Before he was hired by American Heritage, Bueno was assistant headmaster and an assistant football coach at Glades Day, his alma mater. He did not coach last year. 

“In everything you look at with his career and his resume, he’s been successful, he’s done things the right way, and I feel very confident that he’s the person we want to lead the program,” Royal Palm Beach principal Jesus Armas said.

Armas said Bueno, who was hired from a pool of 40 applicants and will begin teaching social studies at the school this month, would be given full support from the administration.

“We want the football program to be the cornerstone for the school, and we want the school to be a beacon for the community, and he shares that same vision,” he said.

Armas would not discuss applicants for the position, but Cardinal Newman assistant Kevin Fleury put his name in the hat. Ex-Glades Central coach Jessie Hester, who lives in Wellington, would not say whether he had applied for the job. 

Olympic Heights wanted a recognizable figure to be their next head coach. Friday, the school chose Kevin Fleury, who won a 2005 state title at Palm Beach Gardens. 

Fleury

Fleury, who has been Cardinal Newman’s defensive coordinator for three years under Steve Walsh, had expressed strong interest in once again becoming a head coach.

“When I had my exit interview with him, I told him, ‘I know you’re going to have some opportunities,’” Walsh said. “I only thought I was going to have him for one year. I was very fortunate to have him for three.” 

Fleury said he’s excited about turning things around at Olympic Heights, which has seen several talented players leave the school in the past several seasons.

“We’ve got to rebuild this program,” said Fleury, who said his staff will include several experienced coaches, including former Olympic Heights assistant Bob Leibowitz. “We want to keep the kids at their home school.”

After a 3-7 season, Olympic Heights fired first-year coach Travis Johnson, who responded by blasting the school’s administration for a lack of support. The Lions beat three teams — Forest Hill, Palm Beach Lakes and Okeechobee — with a combined 4-26 record.

Mitch Henghold was head coach from 2005 to 2010, going 6-4 and 7-3 in his final two years.

Here it is, the third edition of ‘The Walkthrough,’ our weekly podcast with ESPN 760′s Wells Dusenbury and Alex Petakas.

This week’s talking points range from new coaches and how much they impact programs to Pahokee football turning things around. We also discussed the Class 8A circular firing squad and which team we think will escape that section of the playoffs and reach the regional finals.

Click here to listen.

Every year, the Lou Groza Award is presented to the college kicker of the year. The highlight of the night for local fans is the high school awards ceremony for outstanding Palm Beach County player, kicker, coach and team of the year.

Five semifinalists, selected by ESPN 760, in each category were announced on Monday. High school coaches and media will vote on the finalists, which will be announced Monday, Nov. 12.

The 21st annual Lou Groza Awards will be held Dec. 4 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

High school player of the year
Greg Bryant, American Heritage, RB, Senior
Keith Bryant, Atlantic, DT, Senior
Marcus Davis, American Heritage, ATH, Senior
Lloyd Howard, Palm Beach Central, RB, Senior
Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day, RB, Senior

High school placekicker of the year
Tyler Bugeja, Royal Palm Beach, senior
Greg Joseph, American Heritage, senior
Alec Frear, Park Vista, senior
Giovanni Lugo, Glades Central, sophomore
Cameron Golob, Palm Beach Central, senior

Sam Budnyk high school head coach of the year
Chris Bean, Atlantic
Rod Harris, Palm Beach Central
Matt Dickmann, Seminole Ridge
Kevin Fleury, Olympic Heights
Stacy Sizemore, American Heritage

High school team of the year
American Heritage
Atlantic
Glades Day
Palm Beach Central
Park Vista

Last weekend, Bethune-Cookman picked up two Palm Beach County standouts in Village Academy quarterback Larry Brihm and Palm Beach Gardens wide receiver Frank Brown. Apparently, they were more successful than previously reported.

Olympic Heights senior Werley Placide, who played defensive end and outside linebacker for the Lions, also committed to Bethune while on an official visit.

Placide, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound pass rusher who also plays basketball, remained in contact with Bethune throughout his senior year. Illinois State and several smaller programs showed interest, but not like the Wildcats.

“He was a heck of a pass rusher for us,” Olympic Heights coach Kevin Fleury said. “He’s got decent speed. I think he’s going to be a real good player down the road.”

Noteworthy: Fleury, who applied for the open head coaching job at Sebastian River, interviewed on Monday. He said he expects to remain at Olympic Heights.

One of the most obvious names that will surface in Palm Beach Gardens’ search for a new head coach is its former star quarterback, Darren Studstill, but he said he will not be a candidate for the job.

Studstill just wrapped up a very successful first year as head coach at Royal Palm Beach, where he has coached in various capacities over eight seasons. The Wildcats went 11-2, winning their district and reaching the regional finals.

As an alumni and a fan, Studstill is curious to see who will replace fired coach Kevin Fleury on the sidelines, but said Royal Palm Beach is his “home.”

“I love everything about Palm Beach Gardens, but a this time … I’m not interested at all,” he said. “I’m interested to know who gets it, but I’m not interested in it.”

Studstill said the administration at Palm Beach Gardens has not contacted him about the opening, and he does not expect them to do so.

Studstill is one of three nominees for the Lou Groza Coach of the Year, which will be handed out at Tuesday night’s banquet. Dwyer’s Jack Daniels and Glades Central’s Jessie Hester are up for the award as well.

Palm Beach Gardens will go at least two months without a full-time football coach in place, with interviews scheduled to begin the first week of February.

At last count, athletic director Bill Weed said the school received 77 applications for the job. The number was more than he expected, and he will stand by his original Jan. 31 deadline, which means even more candidates might join the field.

Weed did not get into specifics, but said there were not many local applicants.

Palm Beach Gardens fired Kevin Fleury in early December after the Gators finished 2-8. In his previous three seasons, Fleury guided the Gators to a 31-7 mark and won the state championship in his first year.

A source with knowledge of the situation said Fleury was Okeechobee’s top choice to fill its coaching vacancy, but Fleury never expressed strong interest in the job. The Brahmans have narrowed their search to 3-5 candidates and expect to hire a new coach by the end of the month.

Former Palm Beach Gardens quarterback Cody Bonea has transferred to Palm Beach Lakes, both schools confirmed.

Bonea was the Gators’ starting quarterback last season while he was enrolled in a magnet program at Palm Beach Gardens. Palm Beach Lakes is the closest school to his house.

“I always need QBs, so that’s a plus,” Rams coach Alonzo Jefferson said. “We’d love to have him.”

Bonea, who will be a senior next season, primarily ran a wing-T offense at Palm Beach Gardens under former coach Kevin Fleury. Jefferson said the Rams will feature a run-oriented offense as well, but will give Bonea more opportunities to throw than he had in the past.

As of now, Bonea is the leading candidate to replaced Greg Rideau, who will graduate this spring.

“He’s the frontrunner,” Jefferson said. “He’s got a good arm and he’s a smart kid.”

The Gators have a new coach in place, Chris Davis, so no one can make assumptions about the starting lineup, but last year’s back-up quarterback Brandon Welch should have the upper hand. John Bosch, the JV quarterback last season, will compete for the job, too.

Kevin Fleury loves his current situation, but the pull of being a head coach is too strong to resist.

Fleury in 2008 as Palm Beach Gardens' head coach. (Steve Mitchell/The Palm Beach Post)

“I started out coaching in 1994 and my goal was to always be a head coach,” Fleury said. “I think it’s putting your name on something. I feel that every school that I’ve been at, as an assistant or as a head coach, I’ve had an influence. I think that as a head coach your influence is more profound.”

Fleury, who coached Palm Beach Gardens to a state championship in 2005 but was fired in 2008, has applied for two open coaching positions: Royal Palm Beach and Vero Beach.

Currently the defensive coordinator at Cardinal Newman, Fleury said he’s very happy coaching with Crusaders head coach Steve Walsh, and that the school’s academics are top-notch. He’s excited to help bring the football program back to prominence.

“It’s a great situation there, and there’s nothing but good things that are going to happen, whether I’m there or not,” Fleury said. “I’m really happy at Newman, and Steve’s a great coach.”

“As I told Steve, it’s the difference between being in a good spot and going to achieve your goals.”

In his first three seasons at Gardens, Fleury posted a 31-7 mark and won the school’s first state title, but put up a 2-8 season in 2008 before he was dismissed.

Former Royal Palm Beach head coach Frank Kunf resigned last month, citing health troubles. The Wildcats went 1-9 last year, advancing to a District 12-5A tiebreaker thanks to a regular-season win over John I. Leonard.

“It reminds me a lot of what Gardens was like,” Fleury said of the Wildcats’ program. “There’s a lot of talent, it just needs to go in the right direction.”

Fleury called the Vero Beach job, which became available after Gary Coggin was fired two weeks ago, a “high-level” coaching position.

“It’s high school football, bar none,” Fleury said. “The stands are full, there’s the band, you have everything you need for coaching, a great stadium. It’s everything you can ask for and more.”

Fleury said he and Walsh have an understanding, and he would love to return as Newman’s defensive coordinator if he isn’t selected for either head coaching position.

“I’m split between my love for Newman in the short period of time I’ve been there, and my ambition. I’ll see what’s out there,” Fleury said. “You do this job as a calling, and where you’re going to make your mark the best.”

With three football state championships on his resume, Willie Bueno is undaunted about taking over a struggling Royal Palm Beach program.

Bueno

On Tuesday, Royal Palm named Bueno its fourth head football coach in five seasons, ending a search that began after Frank Kunf resigned Nov. 15. 

Bueno, a Wellington resident, has a sparkling career record (80-21) and has won three state crowns in eight seasons as a head coach. He said he wants to establish the Wildcats as a powerhouse in their own right.

“I think it could be a great football program,” said Bueno, adding that success in athletics “can transform a school.”

“I saw it happen at Glades Central,” he said. “I think that’s what Royal Palm needs, and I want to be a part of that.”

Stability — and winning — has been scarce at Royal Palm in the past few years.

Kunf was a dismal 1-9 last year and 6-15 in his two seasons. He took over for Darren Studstill, who went 11-2 in his lone year, 2008, but was fired over a money dispute. Prior to that, Eric Patterson led the Wildcats to two district titles and a 31-17 mark in five years.

“We’re going to start acting like a championship football team from Day 1,” Bueno said.

Bueno, 42, had a 33-5 record in three years at Glades Central. He won a state title in 2000, his first year as a head coach. In 2002, he was not retained amid a housecleaning at the school.

He was 47-16 in five seasons at American Heritage and led the Stallions to a state title in 2007. After winning another one in 2009, he left, declining to say whether he had been pushed out.

“I just felt like it was time for me to go,” he said Monday. “I was there five years. I felt like we’d done everything we could do.”

Before he was hired by American Heritage, Bueno was assistant headmaster and an assistant football coach at Glades Day, his alma mater. He did not coach last year. 

“In everything you look at with his career and his resume, he’s been successful, he’s done things the right way, and I feel very confident that he’s the person we want to lead the program,” Royal Palm Beach principal Jesus Armas said.

Armas said Bueno, who was hired from a pool of 40 applicants and will begin teaching social studies at the school this month, would be given full support from the administration.

“We want the football program to be the cornerstone for the school, and we want the school to be a beacon for the community, and he shares that same vision,” he said.

Armas would not discuss applicants for the position, but Cardinal Newman assistant Kevin Fleury put his name in the hat. Ex-Glades Central coach Jessie Hester, who lives in Wellington, would not say whether he had applied for the job. 

Olympic Heights wanted a recognizable figure to be their next head coach. Friday, the school chose Kevin Fleury, who won a 2005 state title at Palm Beach Gardens. 

Fleury

Fleury, who has been Cardinal Newman’s defensive coordinator for three years under Steve Walsh, had expressed strong interest in once again becoming a head coach.

“When I had my exit interview with him, I told him, ‘I know you’re going to have some opportunities,’” Walsh said. “I only thought I was going to have him for one year. I was very fortunate to have him for three.” 

Fleury said he’s excited about turning things around at Olympic Heights, which has seen several talented players leave the school in the past several seasons.

“We’ve got to rebuild this program,” said Fleury, who said his staff will include several experienced coaches, including former Olympic Heights assistant Bob Leibowitz. “We want to keep the kids at their home school.”

After a 3-7 season, Olympic Heights fired first-year coach Travis Johnson, who responded by blasting the school’s administration for a lack of support. The Lions beat three teams — Forest Hill, Palm Beach Lakes and Okeechobee — with a combined 4-26 record.

Mitch Henghold was head coach from 2005 to 2010, going 6-4 and 7-3 in his final two years.

Here it is, the third edition of ‘The Walkthrough,’ our weekly podcast with ESPN 760′s Wells Dusenbury and Alex Petakas.

This week’s talking points range from new coaches and how much they impact programs to Pahokee football turning things around. We also discussed the Class 8A circular firing squad and which team we think will escape that section of the playoffs and reach the regional finals.

Click here to listen.

Every year, the Lou Groza Award is presented to the college kicker of the year. The highlight of the night for local fans is the high school awards ceremony for outstanding Palm Beach County player, kicker, coach and team of the year.

Five semifinalists, selected by ESPN 760, in each category were announced on Monday. High school coaches and media will vote on the finalists, which will be announced Monday, Nov. 12.

The 21st annual Lou Groza Awards will be held Dec. 4 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

High school player of the year
Greg Bryant, American Heritage, RB, Senior
Keith Bryant, Atlantic, DT, Senior
Marcus Davis, American Heritage, ATH, Senior
Lloyd Howard, Palm Beach Central, RB, Senior
Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day, RB, Senior

High school placekicker of the year
Tyler Bugeja, Royal Palm Beach, senior
Greg Joseph, American Heritage, senior
Alec Frear, Park Vista, senior
Giovanni Lugo, Glades Central, sophomore
Cameron Golob, Palm Beach Central, senior

Sam Budnyk high school head coach of the year
Chris Bean, Atlantic
Rod Harris, Palm Beach Central
Matt Dickmann, Seminole Ridge
Kevin Fleury, Olympic Heights
Stacy Sizemore, American Heritage

High school team of the year
American Heritage
Atlantic
Glades Day
Palm Beach Central
Park Vista

Last weekend, Bethune-Cookman picked up two Palm Beach County standouts in Village Academy quarterback Larry Brihm and Palm Beach Gardens wide receiver Frank Brown. Apparently, they were more successful than previously reported.

Olympic Heights senior Werley Placide, who played defensive end and outside linebacker for the Lions, also committed to Bethune while on an official visit.

Placide, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound pass rusher who also plays basketball, remained in contact with Bethune throughout his senior year. Illinois State and several smaller programs showed interest, but not like the Wildcats.

“He was a heck of a pass rusher for us,” Olympic Heights coach Kevin Fleury said. “He’s got decent speed. I think he’s going to be a real good player down the road.”

Noteworthy: Fleury, who applied for the open head coaching job at Sebastian River, interviewed on Monday. He said he expects to remain at Olympic Heights.