Flanagan turns up defense
Falcons grab a big first-half lead in beating Miramar 31-6.
MIRAMAR — Kato Nelson made a successful return to starting quarterback Friday, guiding Flanagan to two first-half scores, but it was the Falcons’ defense that dominated in a penaltymarred, 31-6 District 12-8A victory over host Miramar.
Miramar gift-wrapped a 24-0 first-half lead to the Falcons. Flanagan (4-1, 2-1) started four of its first five drives in Miramar territory as it seized control early.
Nelson, making his first start of the season after knee surgery in the spring, connected with Clevan Thomas twice in the first half on touchdown tosses of 14 and 13 yards. Angel Trujillo added a 27-yard field goal and Stanford Samuels returned an interception 78 yards for the third score of the first half.
“It was my first game back and I think I am a little rusty,” said Nelson, who finished 15-of-24 for 147 yards and rushed for 42 yards. “My knee is still bothering me a little bit. I missed a lot of reads I should have made. I think my next game will be better.”
The teams combined for 516 yards in penalties for the contest. Miramar lost its composure late in the game as a player was ejected for elbowing a Flanagan coach during a play, and after the Falcons’ last score, two Patriots coaches were tossed from the contest, including last year’s interim head coach, A.J. Scott. Flanagan was whistled 26 times for 291 yards, while Miramar racked up 217 yards.
“We played such sophomoric football,” said Miramar coach Pierre Senatus. “We committed turnovers, penalties and they out-executed us from start to finish. We made too many mental mistakes.”
Miramar (2-4, 1-2) started the game on an ominous note as it was flagged for unsportsmanlike penalty when its captains refused to shake hands with the Falcons captains during the pregame coin toss.
“We got flagged for not shaking hands at the command of a referee,” Senatus added. “Unfortunately, the referee made the game less fluid than it should have been. It should have been a more fun game for the kids, unfortunately the referees never controlled it.
The Falcons’ “Dirty Bird” defense was flying high as it forced three turnovers and limited the Patriots to just 23 total yards of offense in the first half. Miramar finished with 74 total yards.
Miramar’s Xavier Lang recovered a fumble on the Flanagan 28 to set up Davon Kendrick’s 1-yard run off tackle with 8:10 left in the game to trim the lead to 24-6.
Flanagan’s Josh Metellus closed out the scoring with a 12-yard run.
Flanagan kept pace with next week’s district foe, Plantation, which sits atop the district with a 3-0 record following its win over Everglades on Friday.
Coach Devin Bush, whose team picked up its second consecutive win over Miramar after eighth straight defeats, said Flanagan has to cut down on the penalties.
Still, he is happy the Falcons control their own destiny in the playoff picture.
“This wasn’t fun at all,” Bush said. “It is high school football. It is high school kids and you got to let them play football. I don’t know how two top-notch teams could be so sloppy.”
Flanagan played without starting running back Darius Alexander, who sprained a knee in last week’s victory over Western.
The teams left the field without shaking hands after the contest as both coaches wanted to make sure emotions didn’t escalate.