Keiser football blows out Florida Memorial to win 10th consecutive regular-season game
Alex Peterman
Special to The Post
WEST PALM BEACH — Keiser football picked up right where it left off in 2019, continuing a dominant stretch of regular-season play with Saturday's 62-0 drubbing of visiting Florida Memorial — the first shutout in Keiser's short program history.
The No. 9 Seahawks (1-0) opened up their third season as a program with a 10th consecutive regular-season victory, pouring on the points early and often, scoring four touchdowns in the first quarter alone, with star running back Marques Burgess and newcomer Antwione Sims finding paydirt twice apiece.
"I think our guys came out ready to go," coach Doug Socha said. "We want to run the football. We want to set the tone with that. It sets up the pass. Really, it makes it a lot easier when you can run the football and get that plus-one defender down in the box. Now you can get your one-on-one matchups you're looking for."
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Staked to the lead, quarterback Eli Mathews was able to get comfortable in the pocket and proceeded to pick apart Florida Memorial's defense, torching the first-year program for 242 yards and three scores.
Redshirt freshman receiver Michael Robinson, a Jupiter High graduate, led the Seahawks with four catches for 83 yards, including a 67-yard catch and run.
Playing in his first game in two years, Robinson said Cade Socha, his position coach, helped mentor him during a shortened offseason.
And despite the pregame nerves, Robinson said that getting hit for the first time gave him the jolt he needed to settle down with the Seahawks offense.
"It just felt good to make a play for my team," he said. "We had a great day out there today. It was just one play out of the many we had."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Seahawks routinely made big plays to keep the Lions from generating any momentum. Keiser allowed just 219 total yards and Florida Memorial was a paltry 1-for-17 on third-down conversions.
Jalen Wring, a freshman linebacker and Atlantic High alumnus, said it communication and preparation led to the Seahawks' shutout performance.
"We didn't underestimate this team," Wring said. "We took them on like we would take on any other opponent, and we just locked in and focused."
For all of the offensive production, the Seahwaks's possession time was an even 26 minutes, as the special teams helped set up excellent field position right from the first whistle, with former West Boca Raton High star Shavon Taylor returning the opening kickoff 82 yards.
Kade Glenn also had two of Keiser's three blocked punts in the contest.
Ultimately, it was a complete team effort from the Seahawks on Saturday, and although the team will look to reset in the week ahead, Socha made sure his players recognized the value of being able to get on the field after such an abnormal start to the year.
"I told every guy in the locker room before the game, I said, 'at some point during this game, really just take a deep breath and think about the moment,'" he said. '"Think about these last few months that we've had to deal with. All of this adversity in overcoming COVID and the uncertainty of playing. Take a step back and really just enjoy the moment.'"