Columbus takes advantage of three Western fumbles
Any coach will tell you. When you get deep in the playoffs and the competition ratchets up, you better stay away from crucial mistakes.
Somebody forgot to tell that to the Western Wildcats on Friday night.
Western head coach Adam Ratkevich could only watch as his team lost three fumbles at the most inopportune of times and the No. 5 seed Columbus Explorers made them pay dearly in a 27-8 drubbing of the top-seeded Wildcats in a Region 4-8A semifinal contest at Western High School.
And guess who’s up next? As if the two were on a collision course, Columbus and Palmetto, bitter district rivals, will meet for a third time this season. No. 2 seed Palmetto is the host team and will play the contest next Friday at Harris
Field in Homestead at 7:30 p.m.
“Our big thing coming in tonight was outrush them, win the turnover battle and limit the yards after catch, and I thought we did the job in all three areas,” said Columbus head coach Dave Dunn.
But what Dunn can be most thankful for was a great performance by his defense, particularly the ability to come up with three huge turnovers.
After Western had taken an early 8-3 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Nelson Walker and ensuing two-point conversion, the Wildcats
(9-3) offense was rolling downhill again on the next drive with a firstand-goal at the six.
When Walker took a handoff up the middle, he had a gaping hole and was headed for a score that would’ve put Western up by 11. But as he reached the one, Columbus defensive end Brysson Stouffer reached out and popped the ball loose from Walker. A wild scramble ensued in the end zone before Columbus’ Darren McQueen Jr. came up with the ball.
It was the first of two big plays for McQueen. After the Explorers (8-3) took a 10-8 lead on a 15-yard Fernando Mendoza-to-Eddie Durand hookup with 8:57 left in the second quarter, it appeared Columbus would take that two-point advantage into the half.
But with just over two minutes left, McQueen stripped the ball from Tyreik Thorpe on a flanker reverse and recovered the ball at midfield. Mendoza then led his team downfield by finding Durand, his favorite target all night (nine receptions for 87 yards) three times, which led to a Luis Palenzuela 27-yard field goal as time expired, making it 13-8 at the break.
The third quarter settled into a battle of punts and field position before Columbus finally created some separation by putting together a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Denim Edwards with 10:35 left to make it 20-8.
Region 4-8A semifinal — Palmetto 27, Deerfield Beach 14: Mike Jackson was a oneman highlight reel as he led Palmetto (9-2) to an impressive win over Deerfield Beach in a Region 4-8A semifinal Thursday at Tropical Park in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.
Playing both wide receiver and defensive back, Jackson scored all three of his team’s firsthalf touchdowns, two on receptions and one on a pick-six. He also had another interception to close out the first half, giving him nine for the season, and finished his night with five catches for 116 yards. He added four rushes for 21 yards.
After blitzing to a 20-0 halftime lead, Palmetto pretty much ended the issue by taking the second-half kickoff and driving 61 yards in seven plays to score on a fake field goal when holder Lucas Suarez sprung up, wheeled around to his right and tossed a 6-yard touchdown to Jaiden
Louis to make it 27-0.
Region 4-7A semifinal — Homestead 28, Dillard 14: Homestead’s Joshua Townsend dropped a 72-yard pass over Dillard’s secondary and hit Isaac Brown over the shoulder for a go-ahead score Friday at Harris Field.
The beautiful play was an anomaly in an otherwise physical game. Dillard and Homestead delivered punishing runs on offense all night, but Homestead’s pass rush dominated the game from start to finish.
The win sends the Broncos (10-1) to a Region 4-7A final matchup against St. Thomas Aquinas (11-1).
Senior running back Tyrone Maxwell put the Broncos in front with a 6-yard run at the start of the second quarter. Townsend ran for a 12yard score about five minutes later for a 14-0 edge.
Jaferris Finley cut into the Homestead lead with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:18 left in the second quarter. The Broncos led 14-6 at halftime.
The Panthers (10-2) continued to hand the ball to Finley in the second half. He ran over Broncos defenders for a 1-yard score midway through the third quarter and tied the score with a two-point conversion.
But Townsend delivered
AAthe decisive blow to the Panthers with his long touchdown toss to Brown less than two minutes later. The Broncos never trailed again.
Broncos defensive linemen Amen Mackey and Markwon Strong each logged two sacks. Dante Anderson also had a sack in the victory.
Region 4-6A semifinal — Plantation 42, Coconut Creek 7: Mekhi Sera scored four touchdowns to lead Plantation past Coconut Creek. The rout sends the Colonels back to a regional final for the first time since 2000, with a clash against Northwestern set for Nov. 26.
“We are playing the best football of our season at the right time,” said Plantation head coach Steve Davis.
Sera’s bulldozing rushes along with the initial elusiveness of shifty junior running back Shawn Williams, who broke the deadlock with a 10-yard carry on the game’s opening drive, launched the Colonels to a 20-0 lead early into the second quarter.
Coconut Creek got on the board with 8:59 to play before halftime on a 15yard run down the middle from senior running back Brian Skipper, making the score 20-7.
That was as close as the home side got, however. Plantation responded immediately with a quick drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown rush from Sera to push the lead to 28-7.
ARegion 4-4A semifinal — Gulliver Prep 43, Booker T. Washington 0: The top-seeded Raiders (8-1) cruised to a 26-0 halftime lead and never looked back in their shutout victory over the Tornadoes.
Take your pick as to who made the biggest impact.
Lamont Green Jr., the edge rusher and Florida State commit who lived in the Tornadoes’ backfield, had four sacks Friday, including the final play of the game.
Running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. scored three touchdowns. His 2-yard run up the middle midway through the fourth quarter activated the running clock to close out the game. Irvin also scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and a 20yard catch and run from Carson Haggard.
Haggard threw three first-half touchdowns.
The Raiders will host Cardinal Gibbons for the regional final.
AMORE SCORES