Central downs Heritage to reach 5A region finals
Miami Central and Plantation American Heritage had been on a playoff collision course since before the season even began.
They were a pair of preseason Top 25 teams nationally, two defending state champions and arguably the two best in Florida, with defenses stacked with blue-chip recruits and potential All-Americans, and they had to meet in the second round of the Region 4Class 5A playoffs after they landed in the same region during the latest round of Florida High School Athletic Association reclassification.
All year long, both teams insisted they weren’t thinking about the seemingly inevitable postseason matchup between the two perennial powers.
All along, they knew it would effectively determine the 5A champion, and now Central, with a 41-28 win in Plantation, is right on track to win a third straight state title.
“Whoever wins this game wins states,” Rockets quarterback Keyone Jenkins said. “That’s what everybody was saying. This is the biggest game of our season.”
Central (9-2) overcame four first-half turnovers and an early 21-6 deficit to blow away American Heritage (6-4) in the Region 4-5A semifinals. Now the Rockets, ranked No. 25 in the nation by MaxPreps, are three wins away from winning a third straight state championship and will take on unbeaten Killian next weekend in Miami.
“We told our guys this is the game that will determine who will be the state champion,” Central coach Roland Smith, “but we’re not going to take nobody lightly.”
For the second straight week, the Rockets went with Jenkins as their starting quarterback and the junior led Central to a quick 6-0 lead on a 42yard touchdown run in the opening four minutes. The Patriots answered with a touchdown drive, though, and then Jenkins fumbled and American Heritage scored again on a short field. Jenkins threw another pick in the second quarter and the Rockets went to their bench, calling upon quarterback Dylan Tulloch to take over temporarily.
For the past month, the two quarterbacks have split time. Jenkins began the regular season as the starter before he broke a bone in his hand in Central’s opener, leaving Tulloch to take over. After losing his first start, the junior ripped off seven straight wins as a starter, including two against Northwestern, to close out the regular season while Jenkins recovered. Jenkins rejoined the starting lineup last week, but the Rockets feel good enough about both to play both.
Tulloch threw a pick-six on his first pass of the game and Central was down 21-6, but he bounced back with a 23-yard touchdown run on the next drive and the Rockets’ run was underway. Jenkins came in after Tulloch fumbled and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Central running back Jonathan Harris to cut the lead to 21-20 at halftime.
On the Rockets’ first possession of the second half, Jenkins hit Central wide receiver Joshisa Trader for a 58-yard touchdown to take a 26-21 lead, and the Rockets never trailed again.
Jenkins threw another touchdown to Trader with 4:59 left to push the lead to 34-21 and seal the win.