Football Game Preview: Royal Palm Beach Wildcats vs. Palm Beach Lakes Rams

After each having a week off, the Royal Palm Beach Wildcats and the Palm Beach Lakes Rams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Last Thursday, Royal Palm Beach was just a hair shy of victory and fell 27-26 to Dr. Joaquin Garcia.

Max Griner

Passer Rating

08/22/25 vs Port St. Lucie	161.9
10/03/25 vs Boca Raton	149.3
09/11/25 @ Dwyer	145
08/28/25 @ Leonard	140
09/05/25 vs Suncoast	139
+ 4 more games

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Max Griner, who threw for 226 yards and three TDs while picking up 11.3 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 38 yards. His passing game has become a key predictor of Royal Palm Beach's success: the team is 5-2 when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. The Wildcats also got a significant boost from Tyree Pearson, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 136 yards.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach Lakes got the win against Suncoast last Thursday by a conclusive 26-6. The Rams might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three games by 20 points or more this season.

Palm Beach Lakes' win came from a few key players Royal Palm Beach will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Julian Ayala (*), who threw for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That's the most passing yards he has posted since back in August. Palm Beach Lakes' leading receiver Jaden Hutchins was Ayala (*)'s top target yet again, picking up 138 receiving yards and one score.

Palm Beach Lakes didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Suncoast to a completion percentage of just 13%. The Rams weren't nearly as limited: they posted one of 67.9%.

Royal Palm Beach has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 6-4 record this season. As for Palm Beach Lakes, their record now sits at 6-4.

Royal Palm Beach was able to grind out a solid win over Palm Beach Lakes in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, winning 27-20. Will the Wildcats repeat their success, or do the Rams have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.