BELLE GLADE — The most anticipated Muck Bowl in years lived up to expectations – and then some.
Ar’maud Stinfort scored on the first play of overtime and then Glades Central’s defense stopped Pahokee on fourth down from inside the 2-yard line, giving the Raiders a 23-16 victory over the Blue Devils on Friday night in a dramatic renewal of Palm Beach County’s fiercest rivalry.
The Raiders (9-0) won the Muck Bowl trophy for the first time since 2020. The Blue Devils (5-3) had won three consecutive blowouts in the series, which matches neighboring schools near the banks of Lake Okeechobee.
“Our trophy’s back,” Stinfort said. “All glory to God.”
Both first-year coaches, Glades Central’s Omar Haugabook and Pahokee’s Carlos Lammons Jr., are back at the schools where they played on state championship teams. The Raiders and Blue Devils have combined for 12 state titles, but none since 2008.
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While the teams are not quite back to that level yet, this was the best Muck Bowl matchup in recent memory, and the atmosphere reflected it. A half hour before the game, cars were lined up all the way out to State Road 80 and fans stood three deep waiting to get in. By the end of the first quarter, the stadium was overflowing.
“That’s one for the ages, man,” Haugabook said. “This game is going to be remembered for a very long time.”
Here are three takeaways from the non-district game:
Duel of the workhorses
Stinfort and Pahokee’s Rashon Brown both took a beating while leading their respective offenses.
Stinfort carried 23 times for 91 hard-earned yards, giving him exactly 1,000 for the season. When the game went into overtime, with alternating possessions from the 10-yard line, there was little doubt about the Raiders’ strategy.
“I wanted the ball,” said Stinfort, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound junior. “I was asking for it, and the coaches believed in me.”
On the first play, Stinfort slashed off right tackle and burst into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
He also has been a valuable receiver out of the backfield. In the third quarter, Stinfort took a swing pass from Taj Barnes and ran 27 yards for a score to give the Raiders a seemingly safe 16-0 lead.
Brown, an uncommitted senior who has drawn interest from Division I schools, rushed for a game-high 95 yards on 18 carries. On the overtime possession, he carried twice for 7 yards but then hobbled off the field with an injury, leaving the Blue Devils without their top weapon for the final two plays.
Defense recharges
Glades Central’s defense was dominant for much of the game, forcing two turnovers and scoring the only first-half points on a safety. But the Raiders let up a bit in the second half, allowing the Blue Devils to rally with two scoring runs by quarterback Zay Mitchell and a 27-yard field goal by Jose Jaimes.
“We probably got a little comfortable,” defensive end Jordy Pierre said. “We had to lock back in, stay focused.”
Haugabook said he put the defense in a difficult position with a “bonehead” call midway through the fourth quarter. Leading 16-9, the Raiders faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 24, and Haugabook decided to go for it. But Barnes was stuffed on a quarterback sneak and the Blue Devils tied the score five plays later.
“That was a rookie coach mistake,” Haugabook said. “I was trying to think about if we go for it and we get it, we’re going to be able to run some clock. But not getting it was even worse. That was a bad call on me and I have to get better at that moving forward … should have punted the ball.”
It all came down to the final play of overtime, with Pahokee facing a fourth down from inside the 2. Running back Larry Warren took a shotgun snap and ran into a wall of Glades Central defenders, touching off a wild on-field celebration.
“Our mindset was do your job and don’t quit,” Pierre said. “It’s the last play of the game. Just go all out, leave it all on the field.”
Unfinished business
Unlike most years, the Muck Bowl was not the regular-season finale for either team. The Raiders and Blue Devils both have to make up games that were postponed because of Hurricane Milton’s pass through Florida.
With an undefeated season and a District 10-2A championship on the line, Glades Central will hit the road to face Fort Myers-Bishop Verot (6-3) on Thursday. The Vikings, led by four-star quarterback Carter Smith, are likely to be the toughest team the Raiders face this season.
“We’ll enjoy tonight and then get to work tomorrow,” Haugabook said. “We’ve been in playoff mode since (Oct. 18 against) Sebring. Our mindset is playoff football.”
Pahokee will play Forest Hill (5-4) on Thursday before heading into the Rural division playoffs, but Lammons knows this loss will sting for a while.
“We had the momentum, but a few penalties kind of let the air out of it,” he said. “No excuses. We should have gotten the job done and we came up short.”
Lammons was pleased with the way his team came back from a 16-0 deficit and acknowledged that the Muck Bowl had “an old feel” to it this year.
“Both communities rallied behind their programs,” he said. “I think both programs are headed in the right direction.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Muck Bowl 2024: Glades Central beats Pahokee to reclaim rivalry trophy
