Norland routs Pace; Columbus beats Palmetto
Many thought that Friday night’s big District 13-2M showdown between neighborhood rivals Monsignor Pace and Miami Norland would bring lots of competitive drama.
After all, the two teams, ranked No. 15 and No. 12 in the Miami Herald South Florida Top 20 poll, respectively, were supposed to be very evenly matched.
But Norland players had much different ideas.
The Vikings traveled the short distance to Pace High School and dominated from the moment they got off the buses on their way to a 29-12 victory.
Norland quarterback Ennio Yapoor finished with more than 250 yards passing and three touchdowns and scored the other touchdown on a quarterback sneak as the Vikings (3-0) moved to 2-0 in the district with a matchup against Miami Central in three weeks to likely decide the 13-2M title.
This could be the best Norland team its longtime head coach Daryle Heidleburg has put together since Duke Johnson helped lead the program to the second of its two state titles in 2011. Two years ago the Vikings won the Tri-County Championship (during the
COVID season) with several players from that squad still on Norland’s roster this season.
“The key has been that we’ve been able to keep all these guys in the system, bringing them in as ninth- and 10th-graders and basically the same team that won the Tri County championship two years ago so it’s a special group,” Heidleburg said.
The Vikings took advantage of a very uncharacteristically sloppy performance by Pace as the Spartans (2-2) practically handed Norland its first two touchdowns, committing numerous penalties and missteps all night long.
Columbus 28, Palmetto 10: Sedrick Irvin Jr. took a second-half handoff, lowered his helmet and punished a group of defenders before squeezing through for a 51-yard gain, shifting the momentum for good in Columbus’ key victory.
“It was a great call,” said Irvin, who logged 19 carries for 143 yards. “It lined up perfectly. I got to the safety, shrugged him off and just kept going.”
Irvin’s long sprint set up a go-ahead, 4-yard touchdown run by Edward Bandy. The Explorers, who trailed by three at halftime, scored 21 unanswered points over the final two quarters.
A“He’s not one of them kids that’s gonna let that junk get him down,” Jones said of Gause. “And he
Neither offense could net big plays early on, but two first-half turnovers put the Explorers in an early hole. Palmetto kicker Patrick Keough put the first points on the board with a 38-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter.
The Explorers answered when Alberto Mendoza split Panthers defenders with an 11-yard rope of a touchdown toss to A.J. Arellano midway through the second.
A fumbled punt return later in the quarter gave the Panthers (1-3) the ball deep in Explorer territory.
Panthers quarterback Lucas Goenaga, who started the game 7-for-7, ended that drive with an 11-yard touchdown toss to 6-5 tight end Blake Brookins 30 seconds before halftime.
Irvin’s long play out of the locker room — and Bandy’s finish — then ignited the Explorers’ second-half inferno.
Mendoza later connected with Jose Leon for the longest play of the night, an 80-yard touchdown pass with 9:11 remaining.
Cornerback Jancent Wallace added an interception for a touchdown in the final minutes to put an exclamation point on the victory.
Mendoza completed 12 of 15 passes for 186 yards and two scores. Leon totaled 102 yards on three didn’t. He came back like, ‘Coach, give me the ball.’ He wanted to reprove himself, man, and he did.” catches. Palmetto quarterback Lucas Goenaga completed 20 of 28 passes for 202 yards and one score for the Panthers. Wide receiver Jacory Barney totaled 109 yards on five catches in the loss.
Star linebacker T.J. Capers totaled two sacks for the Explorers.
“I love my defensive line,” Capers said. “They make the game so much easier for the linebackers. I give them all the glory.”
St. Thomas Aquinas 38, Western 0: Aquinas (4-0) improved to 8-0 against Western dating back to 2004, outscoring them 389-63. Over the past 10 seasons, including 2022, Aquinas has a record of 68-6 against Broward opponents.
“We’re never satisfied,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said.
“We’ll watch the film and evaluate and see where we can improve. This was an emotional game against a local team that’s very talented. We’re fortunate to come out of here with a solid win.”
Despite the victory, the Raiders, ranked No. 5 in the country by MaxPreps, had their nine-game streak of scoring at least 42 points snapped. The victory also improved the Raiders’ win streak to 15 games.
Western (2-1) has struggled to find the end zone
AChaminade’s other three touchdowns came from the arm of quarterback Cedric Bailey to receivers Kyle since the second half of its first game of the season and has now gone 10 consecutive quarters in regulation without scoring a touchdown.
Western committed 91 yards in penalties, most coming after gaining positive yardage and first downs.
“We made too many mistakes against a great football team.” Western coach Adam Ratkevich said. “You can’t make mistakes against one of the best teams in the country.”
Braddock 14, Coral Reef 7 (susp.): Braddock appeared to be on its way to its first 3-0 start in more than a decade before inclement weather prompted the game being suspended at halftime with the Bulldogs ahead 14-7.
Even though the game could’ve been deemed official since it reached halftime, athletic directors and head coaches from both sides met and decided to postpone the game with the plan to complete the game on Monday at Coral Reef at 4 p.m.
ACentral 34, Carol City 0: Quarterback Keyone Jenkins and Ean Pope each had two touchdown runs to lead the Rockets (3-0), ranked No. 4 nationally by MaxPreps, to the victory in a game
Athat was called official after halftime due to inclement weather.
Homestead 44, Southwest 0: Isaac Brown, Ryan Bullard, Kemari Morrison, Marquis Robinson and Clinton Riley all ran for touchdowns as the Broncos moved to 4-0. Cortez Mills also caught a touchdown pass.