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The choppy, natural grass at Harris Field wasn't the fast field the Central football team is used to playing on.
The hostile crowd gave it the feel of a road game.
And the Rockets had to deal with key players sustaining injuries during the game.
Central's football team didn't gain many style points Friday night, but it still managed to secure a piece of school history.
Backed by a dominant team rushing performance, Central beat South Dade 25-7 in the Region 4-6A final to advance to its first Class 6A state semifinal. The Rockets will take on Miramar next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium. The Patriots advanced to their second consecutive state semifinal after beating Krop 34-0 on Friday.
Central (12-1), ranked No. 6 nationally by The National Prep poll, ran for 226 yards as a team led by senior Brandon Gainer's 80 yards on 10 carries. Gainer and junior Devonta Freeman, who had 67 yards on eight carries and a touchdown, each had to come out of the game for extended amounts of time due to ankle injuries.
Rockets' wide receiver Charles Gaines Jr. also missed half the third quarter with a shoulder injury. Offensive lineman Jose Jose, who hurt his knee last week against Northwestern also played sparingly.
Despite the setbacks, Central took a 19-0 lead into the second half after senior quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey connected with senior Joshua Reese on a 21-yard touchdown pass down the sideline. Reese, who was at South Dade as a sophomore, caught three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Godfrey, who also ran for a touchdown, completed 10-of-23 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
South Dade quarterback Jovani McCray lobbed a pass down the field, which was hauled in by Jorell Miller and run for a 53-yard touchdown.
The score appeared to give the Bucs momentum as they forced Central to punt on the ensuing possession.
South Dade (10-3), which had advanced to its third regional final in the past five seasons, moved the ball into Central territory behind its passing game.
But Central's secondary made the play it needed to preserve the win when senior cornerback Patrick Graham intercepted a pass that bounced off the hands of Miller near the Rockets' 5-yard line.
Central put the game away a few plays later when Gaines Jr. returned to the game to haul in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Godfrey to seal the game. On the next drive when senior Tyrone Florence recorded another interception for a defense that had four sacks, and allowed only 21 rushing yards.
The Bucs, who won 10 games after winning only three last season, were led once again by the versatile play of senior receiver/safety J.J. Worton, who caught four passes for 46 yards, and made several key tackles.
McCray completed 13-of-29 passes for 219 and a touchdown, but threw two late interceptions as Central's defense put consistent pressure on him in the second half.
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It’s not quite David knocking down Goliath, but a huge weight was lifted off Miami Central High School when they upset rival Miami Northwestern.
The Rockets turned what appeared destined to be another failure against their longtime neighborhood rival into the most meaningful victory in their history when they rallied to win 29-16 on Friday night in a Region 4-6A semifinal at FIU Stadium.
It was Central's first playoff victory against Northwestern, and only its second overall in the past eight meetings. Northwestern had finished as Dade's top Class 6A team each of the past four seasons, becoming the only Dade team in the playoff era to advance to three consecutive state championship games. The Bulls won the state title in 2006 (with the aide of now Central Head Coach Telly Lockette) and the state title and a mythical national championship in 2007.
After the game, Rockets players and coaches hugged, some cried, and some yelled toward the fans that stuck around as they celebrated a long-awaited victory for a program that had finished second-fiddle to its Liberty City rival. “It’s been a long time coming, but Central has knocked off Northwestern”, said the PA Announcer.
Central (11-1) will travel south to play South Dade (10-2) on Dec. 4 in the Region 4-6A final. It is the fifth time in school history the Rockets have advanced to the regional finals. Several players stayed on the field for more than 20 minutes after the game with coaches and basked in the moment.
But the game didn’t start the way it ended.
Trailing 16-0 at the end of the first quarter, Central rallied behind a stout defensive effort to score 29 unanswered points. Senior Brandon Gainer had a season-high 22 carries for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Gainer ran behind an offensive line that lost starting tackle Jose Jose to an ankle injury in the second quarter. Senior tackle Fritz Simeon and junior tackle John Miller filled in and consistently opened holes for Gainer.
Northwestern scored on its first two possessions, including a nine-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Eli Rogers. Central's defense would shut out Northwestern for the final three quarters -- something that had not happened to the Bulls since last year's Class 6A state championship game, when it gave 21 unanswered points to Sanford Seminole.
Led by junior linebacker Dwight Jackson, who had three sacks, Central gave up its fewest points against Northwestern since a 20-10 victory in 2002. Central senior quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey connected with Reese for a 25-yard touchdown pass, and followed it with a two-point conversion pass to Gaines to tie the score at 16.
Godfrey got the go-ahead touchdown on a 20-yard run on Central's opening drive of the second half. Central was forced to line up to punt on its next possession, and nearly had a momentum-turning special teams mistake for the second week in a row. Senior Derrick Knowles recovered after fumbling a low snap and ran 21 yards for a first down to Northwestern's 20-yard line. Three plays later, Gainer scored on a 2-yard run.
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St. Thomas vs. Cypress Bay
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The defending national champions closed out their 11th perfect regular season in program history with a nationally televised demolition of Cypress Bay, throttling the Lightning 35-0 on Senior Night.
Not surprisingly, many of the 40 members of the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders' Class of 2010 keyed the rout.
Quarterback Jacob Rudock entered the season as an unknown, following in the footsteps of Ryan Becker (FSU Backup) and Wesley Carroll (2010 FIU QB). But after 10 games, he has near-flawless command of the Raiders' multiple offense.
Rudock completed 11-of-12 passes for 187 yards and two scores and helped preserve the Raiders' 34-game winning streak.
St. Thomas' last loss: a defeat at the hands of Deerfield Beach in 2007. The Bucks also beat the Raiders in 2006, which was the senior class' only home loss in four years.
The Raiders dominated Cypress Bay in every facet of the game, outgaining the Lightning 271-107 and scoring touchdowns on defense and on special teams. St. Thomas, which wrapped up its 13th consecutive district title last week, will take on Coral Springs in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lightning (5-5) limps into the postseason as the runners-up of District 11-6A. Cypress Bay went three-and-out to start the game, and then St. Thomas went to work at its own 6-yard line. The poor field position was only a slight inconvenience, as quarterback Rudock directed an eight-play scoring drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by James White. The drive's key play: a 43-yard pass from Rudock to Phillip Dorsett. The throw hung up a bit on Rudock, but sailed over Cypress Bay safety Damien Brown's fingertips and into Dorsett's breadbasket.
After another Lightning punt, Rudock remained sharp, completing a 25-yard flare pass to Dorsett and then connecting with a wide-open James Dolan for an 18-yard score. The touchdown was the first of Dolan's career. Cypress Bay managed a first down on its next possession, but only after 20 yards worth of penalties by the Raiders on fourth down.
But the drive stalled immediately thereafter, and Rashad Greene returned the ensuing punt 73 yards down the left sideline to the end zone. In a flash, the Raiders led 21-0 midway through the second quarter.
The Lightning strung together its best drive of the half in the waning moments of the second quarter, but Cody Riggs preserved the shutout when he blocked Derek Soven's 27-yard field-goal attempt.
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St. Thomas vs. Deerfield Beach
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Despite an injured backfield, St. Thomas Aquinas got the job done with their backup quarterback and a safety as their second leading rusher.
It seemed like a perfect chance for the last team to defeat St. Thomas two years ago, Deerfield Beach. With the Bucks within striking distance late in the third quarter, Cole Champion put the game out of reach.
Champion returned an interception for a touchdown and St. Thomas clamped down on dynamic Bucks quarterback Donte' Dotson, propelling the Raiders to a 27-0 victory at Lockhart Stadium on Friday night and extending Aquinas' unbeaten streak to 32 games.
Deerfield Beach, which beat the Raiders (8-0) in 2007 before losing 65-10 to the Raiders last year, had no answer for Aquinas' size, speed and scheme. In all, the Bucks (5-3) mustered up just 47 yards of offense, producing only three first downs and never making it past the St. Thomas 35-yard-line.
The defense took pressure off a hobbled Aquinas offensive unit, which played most of the game without running back Gio Bernard, who has been slowed by a hamstring injury.
Coach George Smith moved two-way threat Lamarcus Joyner, normally a defensive back, to the backfield to complement starter James White. Combined, they tallied 207 yards on 27 carries and two scores.
Deerfield Beach was limited to negative-2 yards and two first downs in the first half. But the Raiders couldn't pull away, settling for a 35-yard field goal by Michael Palardy on their first possession and turning the ball over on their third.
White punched it into the end zone from three yards on a possession that was dominated by St. Thomas' offensive line. Raiders quarterback Jacob Rudock suffered a minor ankle injury in the first half and didn't return for the second half.
Max Lescano took the snaps for Aquinas, which opened the second half with another long drive, this time resulting in a 32-yard field goal by Palardy.
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What an offensive performance Friday night.
At one point in the second half, four consecutive plays from scrimmage resulted in two touchdowns each for South Dade and Killian.
It was that type of Friday night for two squads desperately looking to keep its playoff hopes alive with a high-powered offense.
In the end, South Dade had just a little more. And Killian ran out of time.
Jovani McCray threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns, with the last one being an 8-yard pass to J.J. Worton that gave the Buccaneers the lead with less than a minute to go and an eventual 42-39 win at Harris Field.
The victory moved South Dade to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in District 16-6A to tie it for second place with Homestead -- who it plays Nov. 6. Killian fell to 3-4 and 1-2 in the district.
Both teams combined for 973 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns, and South Dade didn't punt for the first time until there was 3:37 left in the third quarter.
After Killian took a 39-35 lead with 4:30 left in the game on a 9-yard run by Richard Leonard, who finished with 258 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, South Dade came right back.
McCray connected with Worton on a 40-yard pass down the right sideline to give the Buccaneers the ball at the Cougars' 10-yard line, and three plays later, McCray tossed the winning score.
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Any thoughts of a Miami Central meltdown was out the door after their first drive Friday night.
Central (6-1), coming off a disappointing loss to rival Northwestern the week before, was able to clean their act up and defeat Miami Edison 48-0 at Traz Powell Stadium.
The Rockets were led by a strong rushing attack of Brandon Gainer and Devonte Freeman, who carried much of the offense, Gainer rushed for 82 yards while Freeman found the end zone three different times. The Rockets were so committed to the run game that Jeffrey Godfrey stood on the sidelines watching.
Godfrey, the number one quarterback in the state, threw for 26 touchdowns his junior but watched his Rockets march down the field using their version of the Wildcat. Freeman lined up in shotgun formation, with Gainer standing to his right. The formation was largely successful due to both players athleticism and resulted in touchdowns.
The game got out of reach at halftime, 35-0 entering the break.
The loss gives Edison their sixth straight to the start season. Senior Carlton Colson led the Red Raiders offense in rushing yards but had little chance of finding the end zone. The Rockets defense pitched their fourth shutout on the season, and Edison's first on the year.
Central moves on to play district opponent Hialeah at Traz this Friday. Edison travels down to Monroe County for a district game against Key West.
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Everglades vs. West Broward
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West Broward is still a year or two away from competing in District 11-6A.
Neighborhood rivals Everglades Gators pulled away from the Bobcats 35-0 Friday night before a big crowd at Eastern Financial Stadium. The Gators Darnell Cunningham gave the homecoming crowd something to cheer about in the first half, reaching the end zone twice, giving the Gators their first district win of the season.
Cunningham looked great all night, eluding many Bobcat tackles and using his speed and strength for yards after contact. The Gators benefited from a short field twice in the first half, a 20 yard Bobcat punt set up the Gators on the 30 yard line, resulting in a 12 yard Cunningham TD catch to take the lead.
Cunningham also added a 3 yard TD run in the second quarter to give his Gators a two touchdown lead. The Gators next offensive drive had a minor hiccup. The Bobcats intercepted a pass and appeared to take it to the end zone for a pick six. It would have been West Broward’s third touchdown of the season, had it not been for a block in the back on the return.
West Broward then attempted a 32 yard field goal that fell inches short.
In the second half, West Broward dominated the time of possession. A seven minute drive ended shy of the end zone, but after a Gators three-and-out, the Bobcats controlled the ball for the remainder of the quarter.
Three Gator touchdowns in the fourth quarter put this district rivalry away, setting up the Gators for a hopeful playoff appearance.
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St. Thomas vs. Byrnes (S.C)
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For all the hype that surrounded our Friday Night Game of the Week....this one lived up to it.
The top two programs in the nation, filled with Division 1 prospects, showed why so many college coaches were interested. Including Urban Meyer and Greg Schiano, who made it their Friday Night plans.
In the end, St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 1 in several major polls, managed to hang on for a 42-34 victory over Byrnes (S.C.). A crowd estimated over 15,000 packed into Lockhart Stadium and watched both teams slug out high-powered offenses in a tight fourth quarter in which Byrnes, ranked No. 2 in the nation, pulled within a touchdown of possibly upsetting the Raiders. But Aquinas kept their distance thanks to a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Rudock to James White.
This came moments after Byrnes pulled within a touchdown 34-28 after Rutgers commit Chas Dodd completed a 59-yard touchdown pass to Torian Richardson with 7:58 left, the Raiders (and White) responded with one of their biggest drives of the year.
St. Thomas (4-0) marched down the field on a seven-play, 66-yard drive that took 3:04 off the clock and was capped by White's score. The victory sets a St. Thomas record for win streak at 28 games.
White's touchdown put the game out of reach for Byrnes (5-1), who proved their team didn't come down to South Florida just for fun.
After nearly causing a pre-game scuffle by crossing midfield during warm-ups, The Rebels broke out their trick plays on the game's opening drive, using both a fake punt and a flea-flicker to convert crucial first downs and move deep inside St. Thomas territory.
Then Marcus Lattimore, rated the nation's No. 2 running, scored on a 1-yard touchdown to give Byrnes its only lead. St. Thomas, which hadn't trailed all season, needed a little bit of time to find its rhythm. After two possessions, everything started clicking for the Raiders.
Rudock, a junior capitalized on the offensive line support, completing a 52-yard touchdown pass to Lamarcus Joyner that tied the game with 2:34 left in the first.
It was the first of three unanswered touchdowns scored by the Raiders.
Two possessions later, with the Raiders facing a 3rd and 5 on their own 27, Rudock completed a pass to Phillip Dorsett, who took off for a 73-yard score for the lead with 7:51 left in the first quarter.
But he stayed on his feet and eluded the Rebel defense, scoring on a 73-yard play that gave St. Thomas its first lead with 7:51 left in the second half. It was the top play on Sportscenter.
Four plays later, Lattimore fumbled and the ball was picked up by Raider defensive lineman Kenneth Hankerson, who returned it for a 39-yard score that put St. Thomas up 21-7 after Mike Palardy's extra point.
Rudock finished as the Raiders' offensive leader, completing 9 of 17 passes for 196 yards.
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After a rough start against Hialeah the week before, Teddy Bridgewater and the Northwestern Bulls knew they needed to correct that problem against Hialeah-Miami Lakes before facing three playoff teams from 2008.
And if the Bulls continue to get plays like they did Friday night from Bridgewater, their future looks bright.
The Junior quarterback set a Miami-Dade record by throwing a whopping seven touchdown passes to lead Northwestern past the Trojans 54-23 at Traz Powell Stadium. Bridgewater’s all-around performance was remarkable, finishing with 327 passing yards and completing 19 of his 24 throws. Five different receivers were in on touchdown receptions, including an absolute laser beam to Eli Rogers.
Bridgewater rolled to his left then avoid the oncoming rush twice before launching a 47-yard bullet to Rogers for the score. Rogers lead all receivers with 114 yards.
Both players hope to click next week when they face a difficult gauntlet with Booker T. Washington, Central and Columbus upcoming. Their defense will need to step up to finish that stretch 3-0.
The Bulls defense allowed its second consecutive opposing rusher to gain more than 100 yards. Trojans (1-3, 0-1) running back Antwon Gay gashed the Bulls' defense for 171 yards to lead HML. Gay, a senior, also had an 89-yard kickoff return for a score.
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Cypress Bay vs. Deerfield Beach
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To say Donte Dotson was tearing through the Cypress Bay defense all night would be an understatement. But with the game on the line, Lightning cornerback Kendall Fullington didn't give Dotson an inch on a goal line stand to give Cypress the 28-27 victory.
The Deerfield Beach drive saw them reach the endzone despite Dotson on the sideline watching. The Bucks (2-1) put together an 11-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Khambrel Garland. Dotson missed that final drive because of a shoulder injury, but when it came time to line up for the win, Bucks coach Adam Ratkevich decided to put his playmaker back in the game.
Dotson finished with well nearly 150 yards on the ground with a pair of touchdown runs. Not bad for the former wide out.
Ratkevich's decision to avoid overtime was in part of Cypress Bay's disciplined run attack that chipped away the Bucks defense right from the start.
The first play of the game junior Danny Epstein (playing with bronchitis) went the distance off a dive, nearly 54 yards to start the scoring affair.
And moments before the Bucks' final drive, the Lightning snapped a 21-21 tie when Senior quarterback Zac Green scored on a 5-yard run with five minutes left. Cypress Bay ended with 238 rushing yards.
Cypress Bay improves to 2-1 through a tough gauntlet of Boyd Anderson, Plantation, and Deerfield Beach. After taking a much needed bye week after a night of plenty injuries, the Lightning will face Dillard.
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Plantation vs. Cypress Bay
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The Plantation Colonels came to Cypress Bay in white jerseys and left with the win and a different shade of uniforms.
In extreme weather conditions which included a 45 minute delay, Colonels quarterback Imonni Carswell threw a touchdown pass to Travis Holland and Michael Anderson ran for a score to lead Plantation 14-0 over Cypress Bay on Friday.
Plantation (2-0) broke a scoreless contest in the third quarter, thanks to runs of 33 yards and 28 yards by Terrance Mitchell and Anderson, respectively. The Colonels rolled the dice on a fourth-and-8 from the Cypress Bay 14-yard line, when Carswell rolled to his left and tossed a pass up to Holland, who made a leaping catch in the end zone for a 7-0 lead following the extra-point kick by Kevin Castro.
The Colonels doubled their lead to 14-0 in the fourth quarter. Exploiting the middle of the Cypress Bay defense with a heavy rushing attack, Plantation capped a nine-play, 64-yard drive with a 6-yard TD run by Anderson.
The Colonels got some help on the other side of the ball with an interception by Jerome Howard which stopped a late drive by Cypress Bay (1-1) with nearly three minutes remaining.
After a fumble on Plantation's ensuing possession, two consecutive quarterback sacks by the Colonels' defense stuffed the Lightning on their final drive.
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Northwestern vs. Carol City
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Miami Northwestern 27 Carol City 6
Whatever doubts Miami Northwestern had of a losing streak were quickly erased once junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater stepped on the field.
Coupled with a stout defensive effort, Bridgewater helped drive the Bulls to a season-opening 27-6 victory against Dade county rival Carol City in front of nearly 8,000 fans at Traz Powell Stadium.
Northwestern (1-0), ranked No. 3 by most national prep polls, held the Chiefs (0-1) to just 5 yards rushing and without any points until a touchdown in garbage time to break the shutout. The Bulls' defense, led by linebacker Rashad Gaitor's two sacks, held Carol City in negative yardage rushing for the majority of the game.
Carol City, which entered the game ranked No. 10 in Class 6A, created a handful of chances to make the score competitive early. Trailing 8-0 early in the second quarter, the Chiefs blocked a punt and recovered at the Northwestern 10-yard line.
After a three yard run, the Chiefs offensive line collapsed twice as Northwestern's defense refused to budge. Linebacker Lyndon Edwards sacked Devonte Mathis on third down, and then a high snap to Brandon McCord combined with a swarming defense caused an 11 yard loss.
Bridgewater led the Bulls, the top-ranked team in the state in Class 6A, in both rushing and passing yardage.
With college scouts watching from the sidelines, Bridgewater ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns. And although he wasn't at his sharpest, Bridgewater still managed to complete 8-of-21 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Bridgewater threw a pair of interceptions on passes that bounced off intended receivers hands and each landed in the waiting hands of Carol City senior defensive back Teandric Slocum.
Bridgewater completed his first two passes on an opening drive that took Northwestern only a minute and three seconds to score. Bridgewater scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper, and on the conversion, connected with wide receiver Eli Rogers to put the Bulls ahead 8-0.
Rogers was the Bulls' leading receiver, finishing with 59 yards on two receptions. The big catch came in the second quarter when Rogers caught a 37-yard touchdown to put Northwestern ahead 14-0.
Linebacker Demetrius Allen made one of Northwestern's top defensive plays of the game to set up the Bulls next score. After a Mathis pass was batted straight up at the line of scrimmage, Allen jumped and reached over an offensive lineman to pull down an interception. The play set up Israel Linder's 1-yard TD plunge four plays later. |
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