Pahokee football enters new era with young QB, Class 1A move

A new classification, a new quarterback battle, new running backs and a revamped defense.

Pahokee football is entering 2026 with plenty of change, yet the Blue Devils showed flashes of promise in a 9-3 preseason Kickoff Classic victory over Santaluces.

As they prepare for Friday's regular-season opener against Dr. Joaquín García, coach Carlos Lammons believes the program's expectations remain the same despite a roster and classification overhaul.

Here are three observations for Pahokee as the Blue Devils head into the 2026 season.

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Times are a-changin' with switch from Rural to Class 1A

The Florida High School Athletic Association has done away with the rural classification for high school football, setting Pahokee up to compete in Class 1A this season, something head coach Carlos Lammons is excited by — though he does not expect it to change their approach to the year.

"Our expectation doesn't change," Lammons said. "I mean, technically, Pahokee never played rural classification during the season."

It was not until it came time for the playoffs that Pahokee played then-rural opponents, which set the Blue Devils up with one of the tougher schedules within their bracket, though their playoff run would end in a loss to Blountstown.

"We're playing 6A teams again this year," Lammons said. "It is what it is. We can't complain about it. The pro to it is we don't have to travel six hours up the road anymore, hopefully. So it's 18 teams in our area where we can actually have a district and play district games. In the past, we only played rural teams in the playoffs. So we never got to look at that style of offense, that style of play until we got to the playoffs."  

Lammons said that could have played a role int he outcome of those games.

"It was more of a shock that we didn't get reps at certain systems because once you travel far up north, the system and the game is played differently," he said. "So it was never in our favor like that."

Now playing in District 10-1A, Pahokee will vie for a district title against John Carroll Catholic and Somerset Academy Key.

New quarterback, running backs to run Pahokee offense

The quarterback situation is an interesting one for Pahokee.

While Uzarus Boswell took snaps as a 'wildcat' quarterback against Santaluces (and could see extensive playing time at multiple positions this year, including quarterback), the Blue Devils rolled with 8th-grader Braylon Peterson on most obvious passing downs against Santaluces.

Lammons had high praise for the young signal-caller as well.

"Braylon Peterson, man, is an eighth grader," Lammon said. "He's coming in, and he's playing a big chunk of minutes. And we've got nothing but faith in him. He's going to be a big time recruit and a legend if he continues on the route that he's going."

Lammons suggested that the team "has a good problem at quarterback." He admitted that history shows running a two-quarterback system might not be best but that "nothing is off the table."

While replacing Xavier Mitchell under center will be one storyline to keep an eye on, another play-maker from last year also left big shoes to fill.

Samuel Arnold, Pahokee's 1,500-yard workhorse back from last season, will have his production replaced by a collection of Boswell, Mari Singleton, Antoine Lawrence, Sincere Foster, and Corey Hill.

"The offense is gonna be fresh every week, man," Lammons said. "As we're going, we're growing, we're learning our players. If we have to adapt to the players, that's what we're doing. We're not trying to force any kids to adapt to our system."

Uzarus Boswell is 'Mr. Do-It-All' for Blue Devils

Uzarus Boswell entered this season already positioned in a leadership role, and Lammons did not shy away from discussing the senior's versatility on the football field.

"We can easily put Boswell anywhere," he said. "He can truly play any position: he played running back tonight, quarterback, receiver, safety, linebacker, kick return. Hell, we even put him at center. He can play everything. We just want to make sure he's on the field at all times."

Boswell was limited to just six games played last season, so Pahokee's staff is glad to have their most dynamic play-maker back for 2026.

He contributed on both sides of the ball in his playing time as a junior but contributed nearly 400 all-purpose yards on offense and 49 tackles in 10 games played as a sophomore starter the year prior.

Pahokee will host Dr. Joaquín García in Week 1, which is set to take place on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@usatodayco.com.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pahokee football enters new era with young QB, Class 1A move