Deep in the Everglades region of Florida lies a small, rural city known for its achievements in high school football. Pahokee, which gets its name from the Seminole word Pa-Hay-Okee ("grassy waters") is a tight-knit community that houses one of the top high school football programs in the country and regularly sends its seniors to college on football scholarships.
The historic town of Pahokee is nestled on the shores of Lake Okeechobee in a nutrient-rich area known as "the Muck," – ancestral lands of the Seminole and Miccosukee people. They hold one of the fiercest high school football rivalries in the nation with their neighboring town, Belle Glade. Every year, the Pahokee Blue Devils and the Belle Glade Raiders compete in the Muck Bowl. "Outta The Muck" explores the unique perspectives of players, parents, coaches, and cheerleaders in the lead-up to the big game, and how they rely on each other through hardship and celebration.
"Outta the Muck" tells the story of filmmaker Ian Mckinley's hometown, and his family that still resides there. In returning to Pahokee, he reconnects with his niece and nephew, Bridget and Alvin Dean, and explores their everyday lives and the larger history of the Dean family.
"'Outta the Muck' is a very personal telling of my family's story, but also of the broader community of Pahokee as a whole. Our aim was to capture a sliver of Pahokee's history and preserve it, for present and future generations, in a way that celebrates our community and reminds us of our own shared resilience," Mckinley said.
"Outta the Muck" premieres at 9:00 p.m. on Monday, February 6 on Panhandle PBS.
