Central upsets IMG in battle of powerhouses
Throughout its rich football history, Miami Central has often scored major road victories.
Friday night’s will likely be regarded among the best yet.
Underdogs against an IMG Academy squad replete with Power Five conference recruits, the Rockets rallied in the second half to beat the Ascenders, 20-14, on their home field in Bradenton.
While Central (1-0) entered the matchup a three-time reigning state champion and ranked No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps, the victory over No. 4-ranked IMG (0-1) firmly puts the Rockets in the hunt for a national title.
First-year Central coach Jube Joseph, who was the Rockets’ defensive coordinator the past three seasons, saw his defense dominate in the second half as it blanked IMG 14-0 over the final two quarters.
Central’s defense stopped the Ascenders three times in the final five minutes and forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter overall.
Cornerback Shawn Smoak picked off a pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown with 11:09 left in the fourth to provide Central with the winning margin.
Four-star edge prospect Rueben Bain, who was often matched up at the line of scrimmage against IMG tackle Francis Mauigoa, a University of Miami commit, led a stout defensive effort by Central
with three sacks. The last of Bain’s sacks came with three minutes left in the fourth quarter to hold off one of IMG’s lastditch attempts to come back.
Northwestern 32, Venice 26: Despite relinquishing a 16-point lead in the second half, the Bulls found a way to hang on and defeat the defending Class 8A state champions on the road. Linebacker Kareem Maycock picked off a Venice pass in the Bulls’ own end zone on the game’s final play to preserve the victory.
Northwestern (1-0) stopped Venice six times in Bulls’ territory during the first half including three losses on downs and held the Indians (0-1) to just a field goal.
Bulls quarterback Taron Dickens ran for three touchdowns and threw for another to help Northwestern build a 26-10 lead late in the third quarter.
Broward Showcase — Cardinal Gibbons 11, DeMatha (Md.) 6: The Chiefs (1-0) bounced back from an ugly outing in their preseason classic with a stellar performance from their defense. Gibbons put together a key goal-line stand early that set the tone for the victory. The two-time defending state champions host Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian next Friday.
Columbus 41, Benedictine (Ga.) 15: Since his freshman season, Alberto Mendoza watched and learned from his older brother, Fernando, as he guided Columbus to numerous
AAAvictories as their starting quarterback. For two years, Alberto waited for his opportunity.
On Friday night, he made the best of it, throwing three touchdown passes in his first career start and leading the Explorers (1-0) to a season-opening victory over Georgia powerhouse Benedictine Prep at Tropical Park.
Mendoza helped Columbus’ offense set the tone early, throwing his first two touchdown passes on the Explorers’ first and third drives of the game. His 67-yard hookup with Ahmere Foster put Columbus ahead for good late in the first quarter.
Broward Showcase — Dillard 35, Rock Creek Christian 0: The Panthers (1-0) scored twice in the first 1:45 — two touchdowns on the first three plays from scrimmage — and took a 28-0 lead into halftime, then went up by 35 in the
Athird quarter to trigger a running clock at Dillard High School.
“We’ve been falling short for a long time,” said senior Christopher Johnson, who’s a fourstar running back in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2023, with interest from the Miami Hurricanes and Ole Miss Rebels.
“We don’t expect to come out here and play with nobody. We’re giving everybody hell.”
Tastean Reddicks, who’s orally committed to the Oregon State Beavers, scored three touchdowns, including two in the first quarter as Dillard built a quick 21-0 lead and the final one in the third to initiate the running clock and let the Panthers wrap up their blowout win.
Norcius finished 10 of 12 for 187 yards and three touchdowns, and Reddicks accounted four of those caches, 72 yards and all three touchdowns.
The Panthers also racked up nine sacks and held Rock Creek Christian (0-1) to just 70 yards in the first half before they mostly emptied the bench in the second.
Homestead 19, Palmetto 7: The Broncos (1-0) held Palmetto (0-1) to just 146 yards, including only 36 in the first half, and came 56.7 seconds away from opening the season with a shutout before giving up a late touchdown.
Even after the Panthers scored to cut Homestead’s lead to 12-7 in the last minute, the Broncos scored less than 10 seconds later when Homestead running back Clinton Riley returned Palmetto’s ensuing onside kick for a touchdown.
ABroward Showcase — Western 33, St. Johns Creek (Ga.) 14: The Wildcats (1-0) were one play away from clearing out their bench. They were in the red zone early in the third quarter and a touchdown would have started the running clock. Western’s backups would have taken the field the rest of the game.
That didn’t happen. Senior running back Matt Wilson fumbled the ball at the goal line and Johns Creek took possession. Momentum shifted into the Gladiators’ favor the rest of the night.
So even though Western held on for a win on its home field to begin a season with state championship aspirations, the second half left much to be desired.
The Wildcats (1-0) scored on each of their
Afirst five possessions, starting with a 22-yard field goal on their opening drive and then scoring touchdowns on each of their next four drives to take a 33-0 lead at halftime.
Senior quarterback Collin Hurst threw three touchdown passes — one apiece to senior wide receiver Ben Sherota, senior receiver Santana Fleming and senior tight end Justin Tedim. Sophomore Chance Washington scored the final touchdown with a 20-yard run with 2:31 left in the second quarter.
Broward Showcase — Life Christian (VA) 21, Stranahan 6: Senior running back Sincere Rodriguez scored Stranahan’s lone touchdown on a 4-yard score late in the first quarter.