BOCA RATON — The four-star running back is gone. The quarterbacks he shared time with the past two seasons have moved on.
This is now Trey Moran’s team.
When West Boca Raton faced Miami Carol City in a Kickoff Classic on Aug. 14, it became evident early on that the Bulls’ bid for a third consecutive state championship will rest largely on the shoulders of Moran, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior who has attracted little attention from college scouts.
Moran did just about everything. He led the team in rushing and passing, despite taking several vicious hits. He accounted for all three touchdowns, running for two and passing for one. He even punted a couple of times.
But he couldn’t quite will the Bulls to victory. On their first possession of overtime, Moran scored on a 5-yard run but then was stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Chiefs to escape with a 24-23 win.
“Exactly what I expect out of him,” West Boca coach Dylan Potts said. “Senior quarterback, the heart and soul of our offense, at the end of the day the ball’s going to be in his hands when the game’s on the line.”
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The matchup of teams ranked fifth (Carol City) and eighth (West Boca) in the USA Today Florida Network Super 25 felt more like a playoff game than a preseason game. It attracted a standing-room-only crowd, including hundreds of Carol City fans who made the drive from northwest Miami-Dade County, and provided down-to-the-wire drama.
With the score tied at 17, Carol City’s Alex Lima just missed a 50-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation. That sent the game into overtime — alternating possessions from the 10-yard line.
The Chiefs scored on their first play when wide receiver Nick Lennear, a five-star recruit headed to the University of Miami, made a sensational catch in the corner of the end zone. After West Boca countered with three consecutive runs by Moran, the last for a TD, Potts decided to go for two and end the game one way or another.
“We felt confident in that call,” Potts said. “Trey ran the ball well all night, we just didn’t get it in that last one.”
With running back Javian Mallory (1,258 yards in 2025) now at the University of Miami, the Bulls are hoping that a running back-by-committee approach will help take up the slack. But Moran proved to be the most effective rusher against the Chiefs, carrying 20 times for 96 yards and picking up seven first downs.
He also completed 12 of 21 passes for 113 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown to running back Anderson Gracilien, a play on which Moran took a violent hit just as he released the ball.
“Trey’s a tough kid, so I know ultimately he’s going to risk it all out there,” Potts said. “He knows this year’s an important year for him, not just as a senior leader but really having the first chance for it to be his show. … He had a couple of turnovers early in the game that he’d like to have back, but overall I thought he played really well and made big plays in big moments.”
But on a team stacked with Division I recruits, one of its biggest stars still lacks a bona fide scholarship offer.
“He’s going to earn it this year,” Potts said. “He’s going to solidify himself as one of the top kids in South Florida. What you saw tonight is just a glimpse of what he’s been doing the last couple of years.”
The Bulls’ defense lived up to its preseason billing, especially tackles Jamar Thompson (305 pounds) and Joey Cammarata (295 pounds) and edge rusher Jamir Johnson. Carol City had only one sustained touchdown drive, and that was aided by four West Boca penalties. A breakdown in the secondary resulted in a 43-yard scoring pass that pushed the Chiefs in front 17-14 in the fourth quarter.
“It’s hard to be in a lot of football games when you have over 200 yards in penalties,” Potts said. “We didn’t do a great job of staying disciplined. … It felt like we dominated the game in all three phases other than the penalties.”
Discipline will be the focus next week when the Bulls open the regular season on the road against Plantation-American Heritage, the defending Class 4A state champion.
“Our kids know what we’ve got to do,” Potts said. “We’ve got to get back to business and we’ve got no time to slip up anymore. We’ve got to rebound fast and get ready to go.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trey Moran, West Boca Raton open new era with Carol City thriller
Reporting by Rick Robb, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rick Robb, Special to The Post | USA TODAY Network
