• 4 months ago
Pahokee
Transcript
00:00You might think this is just another story about high school football, but this is about
00:17something more.
00:20This is the story of a community born from the fires of the sugarcane fields, where ash
00:26falls and gators thrash, and a favorite son comes home in search of greatness.
00:33We win this one, we tell them the sky is orange, they're going to believe it's on.
00:39It's the story of players and coaches at two American high schools whose gridiron excellence
00:46is matched only by the mountains of obstacles they fought to overcome.
00:51Alright Raiders fans and Bluegill fans, keep those seats up fast now, I want you all not
00:57to see.
00:58We gotta win this game.
00:59It's a story of dreams, bound up in a game that's more than just a game.
01:04When you live in a place like this, a lot of stuff you go through, a lot of stuff you
01:09see, don't either break you or make you.
01:11Football is my dream.
01:12I got a little scripture right here, it says your talent is your gift to God.
01:16We got more NFL football players coming out of this area than any school in the country.
01:24For these athletes, and those cheering them on, it all comes down to one final play.
01:35On the banks of Lake Okeechobee, surrounded by a sea of sugar cane fields, are two tight-knit
01:49South Florida towns, Pahokee and Belle Glade, known collectively to locals as Muck City.
01:58Basically, the muck is an organic soil.
02:03Below us, for about eight feet or more, it's just black, organic muck.
02:10We love muck.
02:12The muck is our black gold.
02:14You can grow anything on it.
02:16Sugar cane, we grow year-round.
02:18When we talk about Muck City, it's pretty much the most western part of Palm Beach County.
02:23It's Belle Glade and Pahokee, Florida.
02:26We're 40 miles from West Palm Beach, 60 miles from Fort Lauderdale.
02:33Most of the stuff in Florida is along both coasts, so we're out here in the middle of nowhere.
02:42We have a reputation of being poor, which we are, but we know who we are and we're very proud of it.
02:51It's kind of nice out here. People are friendly.
02:54Now, we're going to beat your ass in football.
03:02Muck City versus everybody.
03:04We take names and kick ass. That's how it is.
03:07I tell people the muck is known for two major exports.
03:11That is sugar and NFL wide receivers.
03:14Since the 1970s, more than 200 players from Pahokee High and their arch rival, Glade Central, have gone on to play college football.
03:23More than 60 made it all the way to the NFL.
03:30Not bad, considering fewer than 30,000 people call Muck City home.
03:37We have Antquan Boldin, we have Janoris Jenkins.
03:40Robert Newkirk, Johnny Radcliffe.
03:43Jimmy Smeltzer.
03:44Jimmy Smeltzer.
03:45I played with the Broncos.
03:46I played with Santonio Holmes.
03:48Muck City, baby. That's what it's all about, man.
03:50These hands that made that Super Bowl catch.
03:53When I played, I was a senior. He was a sophomore.
03:57He didn't play as much when I was there because, like I said, the talent was so great.
04:01And you know he made it to the NFL, MVP of the Super Bowl and all that.
04:04But he wasn't the best one.
04:06And that's just the way the talent is here.
04:10When I played in the Super Bowl, we had five guys represent their hometown.
04:14It was definitely an accomplishment.
04:17I don't think too many places can say that.
04:20You don't put five homegrown players in the same Super Bowl without setting lofty goals early on.
04:27We expect state titles out of our Muck teams.
04:30Anything that's less than a state title is considered a failure.
04:33It's always going to be that way in the Muck.
04:35Pahokee and Glade Central have won 12 state titles between them.
04:39But in Muck City, winning a state championship pales in comparison to winning the tool school's head-to-head battle.
04:46A local tradition known as the Muck Bowl.
04:52The rivalry between Glade Central Raiders and the Pahokee Blue Devils has been going on for years.
04:58You know, it's like, we better than y'all.
05:01Big Glade better than Pahokee, you know.
05:03I'm a Raider to the bone, man.
05:05They can even go past my bone.
05:06We competed for the land, like the Muck.
05:10So we win, we get to have the bragging rights.
05:13Oh, we run the Muck.
05:15That's bigger than winning a state champion.
05:17That is every single thing to them.
05:20That's what they live, that's what they breathe, and that's what they are.
05:27Glade Central is the larger of the two schools and has won the Muck Bowl 25 times, including a 70-0 blowout in 2011.
05:36Pahokee, meanwhile, has claimed the prized Muck Bowl trophy 13 times.
05:42We love our football here on the Glades.
05:45You know, we love basketball and track, too.
05:47You know, but we football people.
05:51Get over there, get over there, get over there.
05:53Step and hold.
05:54The head coach at Glade Central is former NFL wide receiver and Florida State legend Jesse Hester.
06:00He's also a Glade Central alum.
06:02Jesse Hester, he can fly.
06:05He's one of the first guys out of Belle Glade to really go to pro and make it.
06:09There you go.
06:10Good job, guys.
06:11Good job.
06:13Going into my seventh season coaching here at Glade Central.
06:19Graduated Glade Central High School.
06:21Went off and played college ball and was fortunate enough to play professionally.
06:25In his first six seasons, Coach Hester led the Raiders to the state championship game.
06:30Twice.
06:31This kind of success only happens when coaches connect effectively with their players.
06:37Come on, man.
06:38Throw that early.
06:40And to come back and coach these guys has definitely been a dream.
06:43Come on, guys.
06:44Come on.
06:45Let's go.
06:46Let's go.
06:47Just to see these kids doing the same footstep that I've done on these same fields.
06:51The kids are very passionate about the game of football.
06:55They also know that in order to do that, they've got to have the academics that go along with their play.
06:59I actually graduated fourth in my class my senior year.
07:04I had a couple of academic scholarships.
07:06We have kids that now are lawyers, doctors, nurse practitioners.
07:13The top attorney in the state of Indiana.
07:16The first black veterinarian in Beverly Hills.
07:18One of the top engineers from NASA for the last 30 years.
07:22But they don't get the spotlight because it's not on the gridiron.
07:27We thrive because we have to fight here.
07:30We have to fight to be noticed.
07:31We have to fight to compete on the football field, in the classrooms.
07:34We just want to be the best.
07:36We're trying to hammer that home.
07:38You've got to be student first and athlete afterwards.
07:43One player who's blossomed under Coach Hester's leadership is senior defensive end Jermaine Mays.
07:50Jermaine Mays, we call him the team clown.
07:53He's full of spirit, a fun-loving kid, just loves every moment.
07:57Hey, the freshmen love us, man.
07:59I don't know why.
08:00I don't know why.
08:07Like many of his teammates, Jermaine's family has lived in Muck City for generations.
08:13All my people stay close.
08:15My daddy stay further down this way.
08:17I don't really be topping it up with my dad a lot, but he stay right down here.
08:21Like a straight angle.
08:23My nephew stay right here.
08:25Cousin stay right here.
08:27You take another angle this way.
08:29I'm going to stay that way.
08:30So it's all right here for me.
08:35I see how it feels as an adult to struggle, you know what I'm saying?
08:39And being from a place like this, you know you always got that hustle mentality.
08:43You can't let nothing deter you from your path.
08:45You've got a plan.
08:46You've got to follow that plan.
08:47You've got to keep going, you know what I'm saying?
08:49Jermaine's hard work recently hit a setback.
09:09One that has implications for him on and off the field.
09:13Two days ago in practice, I had ran into somebody's knee, and it just got inflated.
09:18So now I'm in a situation where the trainer got to see the swelling go down a lot.
09:27If I don't go to the hospital to get fluid drained out of my knee,
09:30then no one want to play.
09:31But everybody can't pay hospital bills, you know what I'm saying?
09:34I'd rather just thug it out.
09:41Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer, you know what I'm saying?
09:43My grandma stayed right out there in the project.
09:45And, like, you can hear the game Friday night.
09:49Like, you can hear the clank, you know what I'm saying?
09:51When somebody make a hit, you can hear the noise.
09:53You can see the lights from my grandma house.
09:55So, like, I always wanted to be a part of that when I was younger.
09:59Being younger, what we used to do, no pads, no protection.
10:03We'd just go out there playing the game.
10:06If it was 10 of us, we'd do five on five.
10:08If it was 14 of us, we'd do seven on seven, you know what I'm saying?
10:11We got running backs, receivers.
10:13We got everything.
10:14It's just playing the game.
10:16That's how it is when we're growing up.
10:18Jermaine, he's anxious to get out there being a senior.
10:21He's one kid that understands this is his last hurrah.
10:30Listen up, listen up.
10:32It shouldn't have to be no big, long speech talking about trying to motivate you.
10:35Tomorrow we win.
10:36Tomorrow we win.
10:37I ain't got no famous saying for you, none of that kind of junk.
10:39Tomorrow you win.
10:40Tomorrow you win.
10:41Break it down.
10:42Break it down.
10:43Execute on me.
10:44Execute on three.
10:45One, two, three.
10:46Execute.
10:48It's the day before one of Glades Central's first games of the season
10:51against another rival, Palm Beach Gardens.
10:56In order for Jermaine to play, the swelling in his knee must go down,
11:00whether he can afford a doctor's visit or not.
11:03If I don't be able to play tomorrow night, I might go home and cry.
11:09Every game is your last as a senior, so you got to take everything serious,
11:13you know what I'm saying?
11:15Up the road, another product of the muck is fighting to leave his mark on the field.
11:22Demir Bolden, better known as DJ, he's a favorite son of Pahokee,
11:28was called home to take over as the Blue Devils head coach.
11:32Don't duck your head.
11:33See what you're hitting.
11:35There you go.
11:36Good job.
11:37The Bolden family is practically royalty in Muck City.
11:41DJ's older brother, Anquan Bolden, was a star in the NFL for 14 seasons,
11:47winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013.
11:52But little brother DJ played only briefly in the NFL
11:55before a short stint in the Canadian football league.
11:59Every younger brother wants to be like their older brother.
12:02I don't care how old you are or how young you are.
12:05At the same time, I had to find my own identity and who I was as a man.
12:11What DJ discovered was a knack for coaching.
12:14To the Muck, he now brings three years of experience as an assistant on staff
12:20with the San Francisco 49ers.
12:23I felt it would be a great opportunity, not only for him,
12:26but for Pahokee football as well.
12:28You know, Pahokee hit a point in time where we slipped a little bit.
12:34We don't live up to the expectations that we have on a yearly basis,
12:37so having DJ come in and be the head coach I thought would be a great opportunity.
12:43I felt like I had all of the tools, the skills, the leadership
12:47to bring back prominence to my hometown again.
12:50This is my heritage. Pahokee is my heritage.
12:53It feels good to be home.
12:57In my class, 2008-2004, we won a state championship,
13:01and it started something special.
13:03Winning championship after championship after championship.
13:06So it feels pretty cool to be the guy that spearheaded the state championships here.
13:12You couldn't tell me I wasn't my brother, Anquan, at that time.
13:15I thought it was God's gift to Earth.
13:21We about to get that working.
13:23I need you defensive guys to hit you up to tempo.
13:27Go.
13:29The team that Coach Bolden inherits
13:32just suffered through a rare mediocre season the year before,
13:35so DJ has to find ways to build up players who are more ragtag than game ready.
13:41Good job. Good job.
13:43It was perfect until you made a decision to do this.
13:47Now I can't see anymore. Keep your head up.
13:50It's my job to keep things in a relative perspective as far as respect,
13:55as far as accountability, because you get kids that fall to the wayside,
13:59and you want to reach the kid,
14:01and you have to find a way to get that kid to channel those emotions,
14:06those thoughts, those feelings to a positive outlet,
14:09and obviously that's what football is.
14:12Let's go!
14:14But Coach Bolden doesn't have many positive takeaways
14:18from the first few days of practice.
14:21Come on, DJ. Speed up. No feet on contact.
14:24Early in the season, several of the players have bridled at the rigid structure
14:28and high expectations Coach Bolden is bringing to the program.
14:32I'm here to change mindsets. I want energy. I want enthusiasm.
14:36Jog off. Don't walk. Don't walk.
14:39But perhaps Coach Bolden's biggest pet peeve is idle chit-chat during practice,
14:45which he believes is a sign of lack of focus and mental toughness.
14:50I don't mind talking.
14:52What I do mind, though, is when you're not working, why are you talking?
14:56That's the issue for me.
14:58Yes, sir.
14:59All right.
15:00Drop your feet, carry.
15:04They never had a real structured practice.
15:06I'm trying to teach them how to practice and how to train professionally.
15:11This is how it's going to be accomplished. This is how it's going to be improved.
15:14I need more speed out of you, Dre. Your natural tempo too slow.
15:19Coming back and trying to change the coaching, I bring a different level of expertise.
15:23I bring a different level of accountability, which is not the norm for a lot of guys.
15:31Ball! Ball!
15:37Let's go!
15:41This week was the training wheels. We're taking training wheels off and we're moving full speed.
15:46The team is headed into a tough early-season matchup against Palm Beach Lakes,
15:51a school with an enrollment more than twice that of Pahokee.
15:54But the Blue Devils have long staked their reputation on punching above their weight class.
15:59Try to guard! Never, never! Amen, baby!
16:02Oh, God!
16:07Our football schedule is one that's probably the toughest schedule in the state.
16:11So it was already a task trying to get the guys prepared and ready.
16:16This year, Coach Bolden is counting on a handful of players
16:19who transferred from Glade Central in hopes of gaining more playing time.
16:25One of those transfers is a 6'3", gifted athlete named Mac Williams,
16:30who's vying to be the starting quarterback.
16:32He wasn't getting the type of exposure that he has now at Glade Central,
16:37so he said he wanted to be at Pahokee to get the more exposure.
16:42I love Pahokee because I like the program they're running.
16:45It's like, the way they run it, they run it in an orderly fashion.
16:49Like, college-wise, they're getting us ready for the next level.
16:51Like, when I be at home, I watch colleges just to see which one best fit for me.
16:55And we work hard every time, everywhere we go, on and off the field.
17:00So in the classroom, at school, or even when we out there just playing around,
17:05we still gotta go through the motions that we do at practice.
17:07Perhaps no one is more excited to see Mac develop under Coach Bolden
17:11as much as his father, Mac Sr.
17:13Known to the people of Muck City as Little Mac.
17:16But Mac's relationship with his dad can be a rocky one.
17:19Little Mac has had his fair share of run-ins with the law
17:22and has been in and out of jail several times.
17:25Like me, I've been in and out of the system,
17:27so mainly his uncles and mother done kind of raised me.
17:31How's your grades going?
17:33Had my SAT. I ain't take SAT yet. My GPA high.
17:38Where the football ain't with?
17:40What happened? What you going to do?
17:42If I don't make it or do make it, I'm going to start a business.
17:44I'm going to build houses right here for the homeless people.
17:47For real?
17:48Them shelters.
17:49Yeah, homeless people. Yeah, some of them.
17:51You need money to do that.
17:52Yeah.
17:53How you going to get it?
17:54You got to have a plan. You got to dedicate yourself.
17:59Once you dedicate yourself, man, you're going to be scraped.
18:03Once you put your mind to it and you do it,
18:06there ain't nobody taking that from you.
18:08You got to show and prove. I keep telling you that.
18:11It's up to you.
18:14I ain't going to say I was the A1 father of the year,
18:18but you know I'm always here for you.
18:20Keep your head scraped. Stay level.
18:22I told you I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it every day.
18:25As long as I'm here, I'm going to make it.
18:28Feel me?
18:29Yeah.
18:33I'm here for my son.
18:35Anything that better him, I'm going to try to be supportive of.
18:39So he's on the right track, and I want him to stay on the right track.
18:43Coach Bolden is excited to start the season
18:45with talented transfers from Glade Central.
18:48He wants them to know he has their back,
18:50but he also wants to make sure they're ready
18:52to live up to his high expectations.
18:55Yes, we have a lot of guys that play professional football
18:58or has played collegiate football,
19:00but what we didn't have was a lot of guys
19:02that coached professional football or coached on a high level.
19:06I believe Volga High School hired me
19:08because they knew that I had been a coach on a higher level,
19:13so they felt that I could implement something greater
19:16or way better than what they've had in the past,
19:19and I think it's holding true.
19:22I feel like this was the best place for me, instead of down here.
19:26Just got to keep my head right and keep doing what Coach tells me.
19:30At the end of the day, this is high school football,
19:34and it's about you guys,
19:36and if you guys are unhappy or pleased with something,
19:40we as coaches have to give you guys a voice
19:44to say what's going on, what's not working.
19:48If I'm a real coach, it's my job to get you in school.
19:52Mac, Dawn, I want each and every last one of y'all
19:55to earn a scholarship to go to college,
19:57and if you go to college, you're that much closer
20:00to changing your whole family's lives, not just yourself.
20:04You know what I'm saying?
20:10All right, y'all, man. See you, man.
20:12Have a safe weekend.
20:16People absolutely love football here,
20:19and for many of the young men in this town,
20:22it's a way to leave this town.
20:25Student-athletes across the Glades region
20:28hope to secure a place at the collegiate level
20:31as a result of their performance on the field or in the classroom,
20:35the latter at which kids from Muck City increasingly excel.
20:39For 90% of the guys, that's way out.
20:44For me in life, football is the key
20:48to going places you never gone before.
20:54Because we don't produce no basketball players or nothing like that.
20:57It's strictly football. Get it out the muck.
21:01It's the day before Pahokee's showdown with Palm Beach Lakes.
21:05Coach Boland's pregame plan includes an off-campus meeting
21:09where he tries to shore up Team Unity.
21:12All right, get your phones away, guys.
21:14Phones away, get your phones out of here.
21:16Obviously, this is my first season as a head coach
21:18here at Pahokee High School.
21:20The expectations is high,
21:22but in order to maximize the expectations,
21:25there's a couple things that we have to address early on.
21:27Everybody set up lock arms.
21:33Listen up. In the Roman Empire time,
21:37there's a strategy of war.
21:39As long as y'all have locking arms, who can breach this?
21:43Who?
21:45Nobody can get in between the Pahokee football team
21:50as long as y'all are unified.
21:54But as soon as you get one another head to unlock arms,
21:58you have an enemy in your camp.
22:01And once you get an enemy in your camp,
22:03he cause great destruction and chaos and fear and intimidation.
22:10We the Pahokee football team, we give chaos.
22:14We give fear.
22:17We give intimidation.
22:20If you guys stand together,
22:22there's nothing nobody can do to you.
22:25Period.
22:27If you stand together.
22:29One, two, three.
22:39While Pahokee must travel to face Palm Beach Lakes High School,
22:43Glades Central's game is against Palm Beach Guardians,
22:46and it's on the Raiders' home turf.
22:48Thank you.
22:50How y'all doing?
22:52Y'all cooking?
22:54It's just a few hours before kickoff,
22:56and Jermaine Mays has learned he won't be suiting up.
23:00Trainer had told me that I won't be able to play tonight
23:03because of my injury.
23:05I'm trying not to show it, but I'm really emotional about it.
23:10I just got to take it an hour at a time, a minute at a time.
23:14However long it's going to take me to get through it,
23:17then that's what I'm going to do.
23:19Only if you would have listened, bro,
23:21I would have got this took out Monday
23:23when it first happened, it would have been good.
23:25I can't go to no hospital, man, you know that, man.
23:28Well, scatter needles, like I said,
23:30we're going to get the fluid took out.
23:32I ain't scatter needles, NJ.
23:34Everybody ain't got no fun, man.
23:40As kickoff approaches, the atmosphere at the stadium
23:44and inside the Glades Central locker room intensifies.
23:48Let's make this community great.
23:50Let's make this community proud.
23:52You guys are riding on great, so is that big Glades Central great.
23:56When they make a play tonight,
23:58you come back and you punch them in the mouth.
24:00This Glades Center, it's in our DNA.
24:03Bring it in, bring it in, bring it in close, bring it in close.
24:06No more excuses.
24:07We are one in the spirit and we are one in the flesh.
24:11One, two, three.
24:12One.
24:18This is really a big game for us.
24:20It's really a true test of what we are as a football team.
24:27For decades, the teams at Glades Central
24:30have been renowned for their blazing speed and grit.
24:33Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time.
24:35And it's off.
24:38And against Palm Beach Gardens,
24:40both are on display early and often.
24:45Though one of the grittiest players remains on the sidelines.
24:50Let's go, boss.
25:01My emotions boiling over right now.
25:03I can't play, you know what I'm saying.
25:04But I still got to root my boys on.
25:09Jermaine's fellow defensive players come up big,
25:12snagging an interception
25:13and extending the lead against Palm Beach Gardens.
25:18Touchdown. Touchdown, baby.
25:22Glades is a little better than the Dolphins.
25:24Let's go.
25:25Let's go, Steve.
25:26Let's go.
25:29They're a little better for this game, too.
25:32Come on, man. Come on, man.
25:38At halftime, the Raiders have a comfortable lead.
25:42But in the second half, Palm Beach Gardens
25:44narrows the gap with some speedy play of their own.
25:55If we win tonight, I think it'll be one of the biggest wins
25:58because this is a hard school.
26:02Right now, we're in a crunch situation,
26:05but you can't lay down not on a team like this.
26:08So what they got to do is they got to stay focused.
26:10They got to calm down and keep playing football.
26:17At the end of the third quarter, it's neck and neck
26:19as each team continues to put points on the board.
26:28You ain't got no heart. You can't play this sport right here.
26:32I just wish I was good. That's all.
26:35Think about all the plays I could make.
26:38Jermaine also realizes that every minute he's not out there,
26:41it's a lost opportunity to catch the eye of college scouts.
26:45I always tell them, boy, that people in the stands are watching you.
26:48You never know who's watching you.
26:51Late in the fourth quarter, it's a Palm Beach Gardens receiver
26:55who turns heads when he breaks away
26:57for what could be the game-time touchdown.
26:59That's right, B-Lad. That's right, man.
27:02Raider standout Jim Davis pulls down the receiver,
27:04but he still crosses the goalie,
27:07making it a one-point game.
27:12All eyes are on the kicker.
27:14Palm Beach Gardens can tie if it hits this extra point.
27:18Now it's a one-score game.
27:20Adrenaline rushing. Adrenaline rushing.
27:30Go, go, go!
27:33And the Raiders block the ball.
27:4333-34. You gotta keep playing your game. You can't quit.
27:48Good game. Good game.
27:51Though the final score was a little too close for comfort,
27:54Coach Hester takes pride in every victory,
27:57especially against a formidable rival like Palm Beach Gardens.
28:02Hooray for defense. Hooray at last.
28:06Hooray for defense. They are Raiders from the past.
28:10The victory also inspires Jermaine
28:13to find a way to somehow pay to go see the doctor about his injured knee.
28:17Straight up, you got something to say?
28:19Y'all boys know I've been out because I was injured with a fluid in my knee.
28:23I didn't want to go to the hospital, you know what I'm saying?
28:26But seeing y'all boys on the field, how y'all pulled through for each other,
28:29kept playing, kept going, I gotta go to the hospital for y'all boys.
28:33Let's go, Cougarac! Cougarac!
28:36One, two, three, Panthers!
28:45Any time the Glade Central notches a win,
28:47that puts pressure on the players and coaches at Pahokee
28:51to match their archrival's performance.
28:54Headed into this game with Palm Beach Lakes, I feel like our chances are very great.
28:58Let's do this.
28:59Just if I get the guys rallied up, get the troops rallied,
29:01I feel like we can go in and take this victory.
29:06Get dressed, everything, put it on.
29:10Let's go.
29:11Coach Bolden and the rest of the Blue Devil faithful
29:14are counting on transfer QB Mack Williams
29:17to have a big game against Palm Beach Lakes' bruising defense.
29:21They feel like I'm not taking control of the offense.
29:23So that's what I gotta go out there and do when I get out there.
29:27Trying to work on getting my team right and getting my head in the game.
29:32I go back to the old days when we said Pahokee pride.
29:35Pahokee pride meant something.
29:37It meant nobody was taking nothing from us.
29:41It's one unit, man. It's one heartbeat, man.
29:44It's Pahokee pride.
29:45Blue Devils!
29:46You know!
29:47Blue Devils!
29:48You know!
29:49Blue Devils!
29:50You know!
29:51Blue Devils!
29:52You know!
29:53Blue Devils!
29:55Two by two.
29:56Let's go, guys.
29:57Two by two.
29:58My guys feel great and confident going into it.
30:01I think as a coach, for me, it's just trying to prepare them
30:04to go in and just compete on a high level.
30:06Let's go!
30:08Let's go!
30:18Pump it up! Pump it up! Pump it up!
30:21Pahokee gets the ball first, but the Palm Beach Lakes defense
30:25shuts down Mack Williams and the rest of the Blue Devils from the get-go.
30:29You gotta give a better angle, man!
30:31Force it back in!
30:33Then the Rams take over.
30:35Read!
30:37Ah!
30:39And he could go all the way to touchdown!
30:50He ain't killing us, man.
30:54Pahokee! Pahokee!
30:55Hey! Hey! Hey!
30:58On his second series under center, Mack Williams continues to struggle.
31:04Hey! Hey! Hey!
31:06And on just the fifth play from scrimmage, he throws an interception.
31:12Where you throwing the ball to?
31:1511! Stay 11! Stay 11!
31:17Stay outside!
31:18Let's go, defense!
31:19Go get it!
31:23No!
31:25No!
31:26Read!
31:27Touchdown!
31:30Palm Beach Lakes goes on to score a pile of unanswered points,
31:35thanks in part to another interception from Mack Williams,
31:39brought on by the Rams' fearsome pass rush.
31:44At this point, Coach Bolden has seen enough.
31:48You're not the game.
31:49Bruh, you don't wanna play football today?
31:51Who can love you home?
31:53Mack is banished, and Pahokee rotates in the second-string QB,
31:57KJ Boo, number 14.
31:59But he doesn't fare much better than Mack.
32:04I thought I was gonna, like, come out and get started
32:06and, like, have a great season with my team, like, as a starter.
32:10Sometimes I be nervous to throw the ball
32:12because I feel like my ball ain't gonna be right.
32:15All I gotta do is just stay focused mentally
32:17so when I get on the field, I know what to do.
32:20Mack's a good quarterback.
32:21Now, when he learns how to go through progressions good,
32:25you'll see a whole new player.
32:26He's the future. He is our future.
32:28But tonight, it's clear.
32:31Mack has a long way to go.
32:34I swear, if I hear a soul talking on Monday,
32:39they will not go to Jacksonville.
32:42The score is Palm Beach Lakes, 48, Pahokee, 0.
32:47The loss comes as the largest for Pahokee in six years.
32:51Perhaps no one is more shocked than the Blue Devils
32:54new coach.
32:59I need y'all to ask y'all several real questions.
33:03Do y'all feel like y'all played y'all hard side tonight?
33:05No, sir.
33:07It was 40-something to 0.
33:09I don't believe that, y'all.
33:11So I'm gonna look within, see what I can do differently
33:15as a coach.
33:16Because, obviously, what I'm trying to do is not working.
33:20Look at my coaches. What can we do differently?
33:22The next practice will be an angry practice.
33:25It will be a disciplined practice.
33:26I can tell you that.
33:28Any real man self-reflects?
33:30We're gonna find the answers.
33:31I promise you, if the last thing I do in this world,
33:33I'm gonna find the answers.
33:34I'm gonna find the guys who wanna play football.
33:42The loss further ratchets up the pressure on Coach Bolden to succeed.
33:46None of this stuff matters if we don't win.
33:48So, for me, this is like putting more fire under the butt.
33:51You know, you wanna come and be a part of this?
33:53Win.
33:54But being back in Muck City has one silver lining for this native son.
33:59Sunday dinner at his mother Brenda's house.
34:03While Brenda gladly serves up DJ some comfort food,
34:06she doesn't mince words when it comes to her thoughts on the loss to Palm Beach Lakes.
34:11I was very disappointed in the way they played.
34:13Very.
34:16I don't know what to say about these kids.
34:18Either you want it, or you don't.
34:20That's how I feel about it.
34:22Ain't nobody gonna give you nothing.
34:23You gotta work hard for it.
34:27We bless the food that is prepared before us,
34:29as we give you the glory and all the honor.
34:31In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
34:33Amen.
34:37I have to self-reflect.
34:38I have to go back to the drawing board,
34:40as a leader, as a mentor, as a coach,
34:44and figure out how I can get my guys ready.
34:51Everybody look at me as a head coach,
34:53and think we just go out on Fridays and do it.
34:55No.
34:56Like, there's a thousand other things that need to be done,
34:59on a day-to-day basis, to get to Friday.
35:03You know, to be able to win.
35:05And I don't think everybody fully understands that on my staff completely.
35:10You know, one of the biggest things you have to do here is,
35:13you have to pay attention to your staff.
35:16You have to pay attention to your staff.
35:18You know, because you got to be that leader and that example.
35:22It's just, some people are not ready for change.
35:29I am from Pahokee, but I've been gone for 15 years.
35:34There's an expectation here,
35:36and you want to live up to that expectation.
35:39So, the only pressure I feel is the expectation of the community of Pahokee.
35:45But I have to be headstrong,
35:46and I will see where the chips fall come next Friday.
35:55Next time on Forth and Forever…
35:57Stay tight!
35:58The jury's still out on whether or not Pahokee fans can accept a former Raider
36:02on the Blue Devil coaching staff.
36:04I grew up in Belgley.
36:05I graduated from Glade Central, actually, a rival school.
36:08Everybody want me.
36:10It's not about no other coach on this staff.
36:12It's about me.
36:14And Jermaine Mays comes back from his knee injury.
36:17Everybody know what needs to be done,
36:18what's at stake, what's on the line.