Max Griner and the Royal Palm Beach offense was on fire in a one-sided victory over Boca Raton.
ROYAL PALM BEACH — It took Royal Palm Beach all of one quarter to effectively decide Friday night's result against Boca Raton.
Returning home from a loss to Camden County in Georgia, Max Griner's Wildcats (5-1) wasted exactly zero time in re-establishing county dominance with a 47-8 running-clock victory over the Bobcats.
"It felt good," Griner said. "Honestly, we just came back stronger from the Camden loss. It fueled us and we really just went hard in practice all week and delivered the win."
Despite the game against Boca being dubbed the "game of the week" across multiple social media accounts leading up to Friday, some Royal Palm fans could be overheard wondering why — and the one-sided result proves two points.
First, records aren't everything. Both teams entered Friday night at 4-1.
Second, the Wildcats are continuing putting the 'wild' in their dynamic offensive showcases.
"It was a great sign to see them get into a rhythm, and the connection they have was amazing tonight," Royal Palm Beach head coach Sam Curry said. "They have a good connection and I'm glad it carried over to Friday Night Lights."
Griner has already garnered Ivy League interest, which doesn't come as a surprise. As a quarterback, the junior is as athletically talented as he is adept at breaking down defenses on an intellectual level.
Boca Raton found that out the hard way on Friday, giving up a receiving hat trick to James Smith. The night also featured a long touchdown to Raoul Brown as well as rushing scores by Griner and Tyree Pearson, who each punched the ball in after Jordan Johnson set his teammates up with highlight-worthy plays.
"When Max is focused and he's on point like he was tonight, it's hard to stop him," Curry said.
Boca Raton was just the second team all year to score against Royal Palm — which can be credited to a beautiful pass from Mason Chapman to Geron Miller — but the eight points came off of the only real splash play allowed by the Wildcats defense all night.
Demetrice Rolle set the tone by returning the opening kickoff to the house, and then Griner proceeded to pick the Bobcats apart at will, firing passes over the middle to multiple targets en route to a running clock for the majority of the second half.
This time last year, many were discussing both Griner and Chapman as two of the quarterbacks set to carry the torch in representation of Palm Beach County signal-callers — and although Griner is finding more success this season, the junior isn't looking for sources of comparison.
"I really just try not to compare myself to anybody in general because I feel like that takes away happiness from what you're shining in, to be honest," Griner said.
Instead, he credited his offensive line and pointed toward the weapons at his disposal.
"Shout-out to my O-line; they did great tonight," Griner said. "I have a great receiver corps and a great receiving coach. It just goes back to practice and how we work. The fade balls, the jump balls, it doesn't just come out on Friday night. It shows in practice Monday through Thursday. Just really grateful we work as hard as we do."
The team will need to continue working hard in preparation for another elite matchup when they welcome West Boca Raton to town next Friday, Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
"They're a great team," Griner said. "You can't take anything away from them. They're a great team. At the end of the day, I want to get better. I want to play good teams. I want to play great competition, so I'm not going to shy away from anything. I'll meet it head on and that's it."
Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Royal Palm Beach eases by Boca Raton in team's latest lopsided victory
Category: General Sports
