Swarming defense leads Booker T. past Columbus

The primary focus for Booker T. Washington this week as it prepared for Columbus was the same as it is for any team as they get ready to face the Explorers: Slow down Henry Parrish.

The running back, who was honored by ESPN before the game for a “SportsCenter” Top 10 play he made last month, is one of the most prolific in the entire country and the foundation of Columbus’ offense. The Explorers are among the favorites to make it back to the Class 8A championship for the second straight year in large part because of him. The Tornadoes knew they had to first make sure they could contain him.

“We just wanted to swarm and make sure we were doing our pursuit, and that’s what we pride ourselves on — every man to the ball,” Booker T. Washington associate head coach Ben Hanks said. “This week in practice, we really emphasized that.”

The visiting Tornadoes handled their primary assignment Friday and it turned into a dominating defensive performance — and 34-11 win. Booker T. Washington (3-1) held Parrish to 142 yards on 15 carries and 97 of those yards all came on one run in garbage time against a group of Tornado reserves.

With Parrish mostly held in check, the Explorers (2-2) managed only

280 yards of total offense and they only had 163 until Booker T. Washington started to pull its starters with a 27-3 lead in the final three minutes.

The Tornadoes also grabbed three interceptions, scored a defensive touchdown, recovered a fumble and sacked Columbus quarterback Brandon McDuffey five times on a rain-soaked night in Miami.

“We pursued as a team, we played together,” said Tornadoes cornerback Rance Conner, who had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. “We stopped the best player on their offense.”

Until the third quarter, it was a pure defensive struggle. Booker T. Washington held Columbus to only 34 yards in the first quarter and took a 7-3 lead into halftime after quarterback Torey Morrison threw a touchdown to wide receiver Jacorey Brooks with 1:27 left in the half.

The rain began to fall in the third quarter. Star wide receiver Xzavier Henderson went out with a right arm injury just before halftime. The Tornado defense could start to tee off.

McDuffey threw his first interception just before the end of the third quarter. Defensive end Jeremiah Peters picked the quarterback off at the line of scrimmage and rumbled all the way to the Explorers’ 12yard line. Two plays later, running back Nijeh Bethel punched in a touchdown to stretch the lead to 13-3.

On Columbus’ next drive, an errant snap led to a 20-yard loss and a quick three-and-out. Booker T. Washington took advantage of another short field and went 38 yards on two plays, capping another scoring drive with a 6-yard run by Morrison to build the lead to 20-3.

Cardinal Gibbons 41,

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Fort Lauderdale 16: Special teams returner Antonio Spencer and junior quarterback Brody Palhegyi spearheaded a 27-point third quarter as the Chiefs rolled over the Flying L’s in a non-district game at Cardinal Gibbons High.

Spencer had 223 return yards, including a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half.

Palhegyi threw a pair of touchdowns, a 14-yarder to Elisha Edwards and a 12yard pass to Jackson Marseille. The junior quarterback, who was 13 of 20 for 134 yards, also ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:45 left to play in the third quarter

The victory was the seventh straight for Gibbons (3-1) over Fort Lauderdale (2-1) and they lead the series 13-4 dating back to 1981. It was the first meeting between the schools since 2012.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

LaSalle d. Edison 3-0 (25-10, 25-15,

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25-8): Mikayla Sanchez 3 aces, 8 kills; Samantha Santiago 2 aces, 10 assists; Madeline Cannata 9 aces, 9 kills; Helena Marquina 4 kills, 2 blocks; Angelina Cambo 4 aces; Adriana Medina 13 assists; Kiara Alietti 3 aces, 2 digs; Nicole Piedra 2 aces, 2 kills, 4 assists.

Miami Beach d. North Miami 3-0

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(25-17, 25-18, 27-25): Valentina Scarduelli 7 kills; Hannah Hurwitz 16 service points; Stephanie Ramos 6 kills.

Hebrew Academy d. Katz Yeshiva 3-1

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(21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-21): Eliana Pollack 12 digs; Yael Bister 5 kills, 4 aces; Kayla Herssein 16 digs; Kayla Abramowitz 13 assists. HA: 3-2.

Colonial Christian d. Greater Miami

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Adventist 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 27-25):

Ariana Long 8 kills, 10 digs, 8 aces; Morgan Wells 7 kills, 8 digs, 4 aces; Julianna Rendon 18 assists, 5 aces; Alexis Downing 10 points. CCS: 5-6

BOYS’ BOWLING

Columbus d. Braddock 7-0: COL –

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High game: Ale andro Johnson 221; High series: Giancarlo Perez 598. BRAD – High game: Alec Garcia 219; High series: Alec Garcia 572. COL: 4-0

Palmetto d. South Dade 7-0: High

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game: Connor Pipho 208; High series: Connor Pipho 565. PAL: 3-0.

Ferguson d. South Miami 7-0: High

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games: Aramis Martínez 205, Raul Chavez 205, Gabriel Perez 200; High series: Raul Chavez 584.

GIRLS’ BOWLING

Palmetto d. South Dade 7-0: High

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game: 142 Colleen Ryan 142; High series: Colleen Ryan 391. PAL: 3-0.

Ferguson d. South Miami 7-0: High

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games: Megan Morales 180, Alenays Lopez 170, Caroline Findeisen 160; High series: Megan Morales 481.