‘It’s an honor to play at home.’ Palmetto High QB Xavier Williams hungry for a championship
Palmetto High head coach Dave Marino could see Xavier Williams’s breakout season coming.
While coaching Williams’s older brother, former Tigers captain Simon Williams IV, in 2014, Marino learned about the younger Williams and was impressed with his character, work ethic and attitude. Then Marino saw Williams play in the Tigers’ spring game this year.
“When he put on that performance, we felt a little better,” Marino said. “He was going to fill in quite admirably and do a great job for us. Every week, he’s just gotten better and better.”
The quarterback’s development helped him lead the top-seeded Tigers (11-1) to Friday’s Class 6A-Region 3 championship game against sixth-seeded Charlotte (9-3), a team they’ve beaten in three consecutive games. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Palmetto.
Although the Tigers beat Charlotte 34-0 in Week 8, that doesn’t necessarily bode well for Palmetto.
They struggled in postseason rematches against Braden River, a team they beat by 24 points in the regular season and by just 3 in the first week of the playoffs, and against Port Charlotte, a team they beat by 40 in the regular season and by just 6 last week.
Those regular-season wins, Marino believes, might have played a role in those postseason results.
“Each week, it was a combination of things,” Marino said. “You’re still dealing with 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids. When you play an opponent and you beat them and you beat them handily, it’s tough for those kids to take that opponent seriously, as much as you’re like, ‘How could you not? It’s the playoffs. They’re going to play a lot tougher and hungrier.’
“That is something we’ve been impressing upon the kids: ‘OK, you’ve seen now two weeks in a row, it’s different. It’s a different level in the playoffs and their passion to make amends for the games they lost.’ Hopefully this week you’ll see a hungrier and more focused team in us that will not take Charlotte lightly. We’ll see.”
One factor in the Tigers’ favor has been the steps forward Williams has taken in the playoffs.
The senior went 4 of 21 with a touchdown and an interception to open the postseason and then 19 of 25 with two touchdowns last week. Williams, who has thrown for 1,931 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 359 yards and six scores, is now battle tested in Marino’s eyes.
Williams suffered a bruised quadricep last week but is expected to play Friday.
The Tigers hope Williams can lead them to a win Friday, which would give them their first state semifinal berth since 2011. Because they’re the top-rated team in the FHSAA’s RPI rankings, they’d play host to the winner of the 6A-4 championship game between Fort Lauderdale Dillard and Miami Central, which are ranked No. 8 and No. 12, respectively.
Williams, who played his first two seasons for the Tigers before transferring to Saint Stephen’s last season before coming back to Palmetto, would love nothing more than to play another home game with teammates he grew up and for coaches he’s known for years.
“It’s an honor to play at home,” Williams said. “Get all of our fans to come out, especially for our seniors. Anytime could be our last time. That’s what makes us so much hungrier. Add that to playing at home, it’s all God, it’s a dream. It’s a true blessing.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 11:38 AM with the headline "‘It’s an honor to play at home.’ Palmetto High QB Xavier Williams hungry for a championship."