Archbishop Carroll routs previously unbeaten Ransom Everglades, 35-13

To run a hard-nosed offense, you need a hardnosed quarterback.

And Archbishop Carroll senior Ryan Castro fits that description perfectly.

Castro doesn’t get a chance to throw the ball much in the Bulldogs’ Wing-T offense.

But he runs as well as any of their backs. And he blocks about as well as any of their linemen, too.

On Friday night at Harris Field, Castro was once again at the heart of the Bulldogs’ latest win over a quality opponent.

He didn’t throw the ball once, but he ran for 143 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown to help Archbishop Carroll topple previously unbeaten Ransom Everglades 35-13 to improve to 8-1.

For the Bulldogs and their retro offensive look, which is barely implemented any more in

South Florida with most teams going to spread offenses, the formula continues to work.

Carroll last week locked up the District 8-1M championship.

The Bulldogs, who had to revive their football program as a varsity team after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, have gone 23-5 over their past 28 games and made the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, winning district titles each year.

It’s the school’s best stretch of success since advancing to the state semifinals in 2007 and the regional finals in

2008 during Jorge Zagales’ first stint as its coach.

The Bulldogs ran the ball 40 times and amassed 342 yards.

Senior Alejandro Isaza ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries while Sylus Villanueva totaled 56 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. Ryan Gonzalez also had 35 yards.

But Carroll’s defense played a huge role, shutting down Ransom Everglades’ offense led by 6-2, 180-pound eighth-grader Neimann Lawrence, which entered the game averaging 40.4 points per game.

Lawrence’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Reid Rosenberg with 3:40 left in the first quarter gave the Raiders (8-1) a 7-6 lead. But Carroll responded with 22 unanswered points.

Lawrence completed 23 of 35 passes for 233 yards and also ran for a touchdown, but was sacked six times. Senior Ivan Quesada had two of those sacks and a tackle for loss while junior Anthony Pazmino also had two sacks and knocked down a pass. Jorge Sanchez-Morales and Kendrick Pembleton each had one sack.

Led by senior wide receiver James Madison’s three touchdowns, the Raiders pummeled rival Dillard in quick fashion for a victory that locked up the District 11-3A title.

In addition, it was the largest margin of victory in the previous 25 meetings since the two teams first met in 1973.

The win also extended the Raiders’ winning streak over Broward opponents to 22 games.

The Raiders scoring barrage came in the form on 37 first quarter points.

Senior running back Jordan Lyle scored on a seven-yard run in just 1:11 into the game. It was his sixth straight scoring run after a team-record five touchdown runs against Monarch last week.

Ryan Mack had a 12-yard interception return with 9:06 to go. That was followed by a blocked punt for a safety one minute later.

Within the next minute senior linebacker Bowen Drewes picked off another Panthers pass and raced 26-yard for a 30-0 lead.

Before the opening quarter closed, junior quarterback Andrew Indorf threw the first of his three first half touchdown passes to Chance Robinson.

AThe Rockets (6-3) scored early and often, blowing out to a 49-0 halftime lead in the rout of Monsignor Pace in a District 13-2M contest at Pace High School.

Jayden Ford bolted 50 yards for a touchdown on Central’s opening drive which was followed by a strip sack of Pace quarterback Aidan Karsh and a 15-yard scoop-and-score by Berlin Camfort.

One play later Deangelo Thompson picked off a Karsh pass and two plays after that, quarerback Antonio Smith found Lawayne McCoy for a 13-yard score. With only four minutes gone in the game it was 21-0 and the rout was on.

MORE SCORES

No. 2 Miami Norland 54, North Miami Beach 7; No. 5 Miami Central 42, Miami Monsignor Pace 0; No. 6 Homestead 41, Belen Jesuit 3; No. 7 Coconut Creek 56, Deerfield Beach 8; No. 11 Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 44, Stranahan 24; No. 15 Western 62, Coral Glades 0; No. 17 Miramar 41, Everglades 6; No. 19 True North 41, Fort Pierce John Carroll 6; No. 20 Gulliver Prep 44, South Miami 0; Coconut Creek North Broward Prep 27, Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest 20; Davie Nova 30, South Plantation 9; Doral Academy 42, Miami High 3; Fort Lauderdale 38, Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson 10; Fort Lauderdale Archbishop McCarthy 42, Lake Worth Garcia 0; Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian 42, Oakland Park Northeast 6; Hialeah 42, Miami Carol City 0; Hollywood McArthur 15, Miami Dr. Krop 7; Homestead South Dade 41, Coral Gables 6; Miami Northwestern 42, Miami La Salle 0; Miami Southridge 63, Southwest Miami 0; Miami Varela 34, Reagan Doral 28; Naples Barron Collier 34, Miami St. Brendan 7; North Lauderdale Somerset Prep 16, Hollywood Avant Garde 7; Parkland Stoneman Douglas 47, Boca Raton Olympic Heights 24; Pembroke Pines Flanagan 18, Somerset Academy 7; Tavernier Coral Shores 45, Somerset

South Homestead 14; No. 1 Chaminade 69, Boca Raton St. John Paul II 0; No. 4 Plantation American Heritage 55, Hallandale 0; No. 8 Columbus 24, Goleman 6; No. 10 Booker T. Washington 50, Westland Hialeah 7; No. 12 Monarch 48, Coral Springs 0; West Boca Raton 21, No. 13 Blanche Ely 7; Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy 18, Bradenton Christian 14; Hialeah American 60, Pembroke Pines Charter 13; Hialeah Gardens 28, Hialeah-Miami Lakes 0; Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy 75,

Miami Beach 34; Miami Edison 35, Miami Jackson 6; Everglades Prep 20, Palm Glades Prep 14; Miami Ferguson 37,

Miami Coral Reef 13; Miami Palmer Trinity 40, Marathon 10; Mourning 56, Coral

Park 0; NSU University School 63, Jupiter Christian 48; West Broward 67, Cooper City 0; Sebastian River 34, Coral Springs Charter 8.