Glades Central At Dwyer Preview

     The Dwyer Panthers have their home opener in Palm Beach Gardens on Friday night as they begin their reign as FHSAA Class 7A champions and host arch-rival the Glades Central Raiders at Blum Stadium. The Panthers, who went undefeated last year at 15-0, have won the last two opening game meetings between both schools after they dropped the previous six games.
     Dwyer played their preseason kickoff classic on ESPN national television last Sunday and lost to the defending FHSAA Class 5A champions the American Heritage Patriots 49-23 in Plantation. Glades Central barely held on to a kickoff classic road victory over the Lake Worth Trojans 26-20 last week.
     The Panthers, with two-time FHSAA state champion head coach Jack Daniels at the helm, have several recognized players from their offense returning as quarterback Daniel Parr will lead them while Cornelius Smith comes back as their top rushing threat. The team lost wide receivers Johnnie Dixon, Clint Stephens, Ezra Saffold, Shawun Lurry and running back Alonso Smith on offense to graduation. They look at Tavares Martin, a transfer from John I. Leonard, and Nick Martinsen as wide receiver options for Parr while Erick Hartnett comes in from the District 7-3A champions Cardinal Newman where he can add extra punch to their running game.
     The Raiders finished at 5-6 in 2013 for their worst record in over 20 years and were eliminated in the FHSAA playoffs during the first round for the first time since 2002. They named Rick Casko as their new head coach to lead the club in another direction.
     Glades Central has Andre Tommie as their primary quarterback with James Blackman in a back-up capacity. They will not have a controversy over the starting quarterback role like they had last season. Jonathan Istatche has returned to a wide receiver spot with the squad while Giovanni Lugo transferred. Running back Jerry Jones graduated and the Raiders now have Keith Clemones along with Ja'kevious Vickers to get the bulk of the carries from the backfield. Wide receiver Javis Jefferson sat out last week against Lake Worth, however Jamarius Way and Devonte Burden can fill in that void for receptions.