Palm Beach Lakes football is scheduling tough teams once again to fulfill "insane atmosphere" in home games.
Some teams would be content with scheduling a collection of subpar opponents and reaching the postseason on the back of record.
That's not enough for Palm Beach Lakes head coach Turmarian "TMO" Moreland. For the second year in a row, the Rams staff has put together a tough group of opponents, early and often.
Glades Central and Palm Beach Central stand out, while Wellington and Jupiter are are other tough squads the Rams are set to face in the regular season.
Before any of those contests, Lakes is preparing for John Carroll Catholic in a tone-setting kickoff classic on August 13.
It certainly won't make things easy on first-year starting quarterback Julian Ayala, who has high expectations for himself despite the difficult task of leadership ahead of him.
"You can expect a lot, actually," Ayala said. "Becoming a starter, I'm starting to pick up and understand how to lead an offense. I trust myself more and I have confidence in my guys. It's all about being consistent."
The turn of the page at signal-caller for Lakes coincides with the graduation of the talented backfield tandem in Christopher Holmes and Anthony Palmer.
Still, a bevy of sophomore talent will make a collective return and look to improve on a 2024 season where the record did not necessarily tell the story.
The Rams went 2-8 last year, but Forest Hill and Lake Worth both came down to one-score fourth-quarter losses that could have gone either way.
At the end of the day, those tough games are where programs find identity and character — and Moreland wants to make sure his staff isn't pulling any punches.
"We're trying to make everybody come to Palm Beach Lakes to play us, because the atmosphere is insane," Moreland said. "But in order to get that kind of atmosphere, we've got to play people. We've got to make sure we play good games. We don't dodge anything. We don't run from anybody. We're trying to have county pride."
Turmarian Moreland Jr. says it's all about playing "up to the competition, not down" by season's end, when the playoffs are around the corner.
That will suit an improved team just fine.
"You walk in that room now, and it looks like Lakes," Moreland said. "We're loaded and skilled."
Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Lakes football doesn't pull any punches with 2025 schedule
Category: General Sports
