Homestead rolls to historic win over Booker T.
Philip Simpson did some quick math in his head as the clock ticked toward its final 30 seconds Friday at Orange Bowl Field at Harris Field Park and then his eyes lit up. The Homestead coach started hopping up and down, and waving his arms to get his quarterback’s attention.
“Take a few steps back,” he shouted once Joshua Townsend finally turned in his direction, “and take a knee!”
The Broncos quarterback did it and Simpson led a charge onto the field, punching the air and bounding his way out toward his players to celebrate Homestead’s 27-20, come-from-behind win against Booker T. Washington.
It’s the sort of win the Broncos (7-1) haven’t managed often in their history and, in the middle of one of their best seasons ever, it felt monumental.
“That win was for the history of Homestead,” said Simpson, rattling off a list of Homestead natives who had gone north to play for the Miami powerhouse in recent seasons. “Obviously, it’s a great opponent, another physical team. On film, you can see them being scrappy, so it was a good playoff environment against those guys and then, on top of that, talk about the recent history.”
The Broncos rallied twice in the second half, scored a touchdown on fourth down with 2:57 remaining and made one final defensive stand to finish off the Tornadoes (4-5) in Homestead.
Tyrone Maxwell ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries for the Broncos, fellow running back Isaac Brown returned a punt for a touchdown, and Townsend ran for another 56 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
The win helps Homestead, which has already locked up District 16-Class 7A, jockey for positioning in the Region 4-7A bracket. Booker T. Washington, which last won a state championship in 2019, should remain in playoff position in Region 4-Class 4A despite the loss.
The Broncos trailed 14-7 at the half after a late field goal attempt was blocked and set up the Tornadoes for a go-ahead touchdown. In the first 13 minutes of the second half, the lead changed three times.
Homestead started the third quarter on defense and swung the game with a disruptive sequence. On a six-play drive, the Broncos, led by star defensive lineman Daniel Lyons, piled up three sacks and two tackles for loss, and Booker T. Washington had to punt from its own end zone. Brown fielded the kick at the Tornadoes’ 30-yard line, ran to his left and hit a hole to find the end zone and put Homestead ahead 15-14 with 7:12 left in the quarter.
“After the half,” Maxwell said, “we came fired up.”
Booker T. Washington answered. The Tornadoes covered 67 yards in seven plays, and Booker T. Washington quarterback Claudell Sherman linked up with Tornadoes running back Antwan Smith for a 4-yard touchdown to put Booker T. Washington back ahead 20-15 with
3:46 left in the third.
Sherman finished 9 of 16 for 134 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and also ran for a touchdown. Smith added 83 yards on 12 carries to go along with his touchdown catch, and Tornadoes wide receiver Adam Moore had four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
The Broncos started their next drive in Booker T. Washington territory, though, and Maxwell capped a 10-play, 39-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown to give Homestead the lead again with 11:42 remaining. The Broncos came up with another stop, then marched back down the field again to set up Maxwell for a 26-yard touchdown run on fourthand-2.
On Booker T. Washington’s final drive, three straight passes fell incomplete, then Homestead star athlete Richard Dandridge picked off a desperation heave on third down.
“As soon as we crossed the 50, I said, ‘Guys, you’ve got four downs on every play,’ ” Simpson said. “It paid off.”
ST. THOMAS WINS 15-7A DISTRICT TITLE
St. Thomas 23, Dillard 13: The St. Thomas Aquinas defense was backed up almost to its goal line, the clock ticking away and its lead looking very close to disappearing.
Dillard had marched 73 yards over 15 plays and was set up for a gametying 24-yard field goal.
The snap was low. Junior King Mack got his hand on the kick and fellow junior Conrad Hussey scooped up the loose ball and returned
Ait for a touchdown, sending the Aquinas sideline into jubilation.
“I just saw the ball,” Hussey said, “and took off.”
Two minutes later, Hussey sealed the Raiders’ win over the Panthers and the District 15-7A title with an interception at a sold out Brian Piccolo Stadium. St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 8-1 on the season and has secured its spot in the FHSAA state series. Dillard fell to 7-1 but is still in solid position to earn an at-large bid.
“It was a district championship-type atmosphere,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said. “We pride ourselves on playing for a full 48 minutes.”
Star running back Anthony Hankerson scored a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns in the first half to pace the offense, but it was St. Thomas Aquinas’ defense that kept them in the game.
But not before Dillard gave them a wake-up call.
The Panthers opened the game with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Armani Norcius to Edward Louis to take a 7-0 lead.
Aquinas buckled down from there, giving up just one more touchdown the rest of the night on a 90yard catch-and-run by Dillard receiver and Florida State commit Devaughn Mortimer in the third quarter to cut Dillard’s deficit to 16-13 with about 20 minutes left to play.
Dillard stopped Aquinas in the red zone on the ensuing possession and then spent seven minutes marching down the field with the chance to tie or take the lead. It ended with Hussey’s long return the other way to seal the game.
It ended, even if temporarily, a remarkable run of success for Dillard.
The Panthers entered Friday with a 7-0 record and had outscored opponents 320-7, its lone blemish being a touchdown given up in a 15-7 win over Miramar. The Panthers have shut out Boyd Anderson (44-0), Deerfield Beach (21-0 in a game that was called at halftime), Cooper City (50-0), South Plantation (66-0), Nova (62-0) and Hallandale (62-0) before facing its biggest test of the year in St. Thomas Aquinas.
This is a team that had lost once in its past 26 games dating to the 2019 season — a shutout in the regional final loss to eventual Class 6A champion Central to end the 2019 season.
But St. Thomas Aquinas has faced a heftier schedule with wins against national powerhouse St. Frances Academy, defending state champions Plantation American Heritage and Cardinal Gibbons and Class 8A contender Western. The Raiders’ lone loss was a 24-21 defeat to Tampa Jesuit, undefeated on the season and ranked as the No. 13 team in the country by MaxPreps.
“You want to play competitive games, especially when they’re local,” Harriott said. “When I was here at St. Thomas in high school, our strongest foe was Dillard. It’s nice to see them playing extremely hard and I know coaches are going to do a good job of keeping their spirits up and getting them ready for the next day and the remainder of the season and the playoffs.”