Two longtime rivals began their transitional periods Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium.

Carol City played its first game in 26 years without legendary coach Walt Frazier.

Northwestern played its first official game without the numerous stars that led it to a pair of state championships and a mythical national title.

But despite several new faces playing key roles, the result on the scoreboard was the same one the Bulls have enjoyed looking up at for a Miami-Dade County record 31 consecutive games.

Northwestern shut out Carol City 14-0 in front of an estimated, near-capacity crowd of 7,000 fans.

The Bulls (1-0) struggled on offense, much like they did when they scored only seven points last week in a preseason game against Long Beach (Calif.) Poly.

But late in the game, Northwestern's offense sealed a game dominated by its defense, which gave up only 143 total yards.

Leading 8-0 in the fourth quarter, the Bulls put together a 17-play, 80-yard drive that took over nine minutes to seal the victory. Senior tailback Tyresse Jones capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

''We know the days of us just showing up and throwing the ball all over the field are gone,'' Northwestern coach Billy Rolle said. ``The only way we're going to win football games is the way we did tonight. We grinded it out and fought and got a victory the hard way.''

Six Northwestern players ran the football and combined for 125 yards. The quarterback tandem of sophomore Teddy Bridgewater and Wayne Times combined for 125 yards passing. Bridgewater and Times completed a pass to eight different receivers.

Bridgewater put the Bulls ahead 6-0 in the second quarter when he connected with junior Lorenzo Shinhoster for a 13-yard touchdown.

The Bulls defense capitalized on a special-teams error by the Chiefs (0-1) a minute later. The long snap on a punt sailed over the head of Carol City punter Dante Roberts. After a scramble among several players from both teams trying to recover it, the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety to give Northwestern an 8-0 lead.

Despite the shutout, Carol City showed signs of improvement for a team coming off a 2-8 season.

The Chiefs put a few solid drives together led by the solid rushing of Kennedy Spikes, who gained 73 yards on 20 carries. But the spread formation that Carol City has begun to use more was shut down by Northwestern's intense pass rush and often blanket coverage by its secondary.

Northwestern sacked Carol City quarterback Atkins Morris three times and forced him to fumble once. Senior linebacker Kenneth Dillard had one sack and created havoc in the Carol City backfield most of the game.

Bulls senior defensive back Brandon Pierre intercepted a pass on the game's final play, preserving the shutout.

''It's been a hard time for the kids losing the games even if they didn't count,'' Rolle said. ``We've lost a lot of respect around the county. But those guys are working hard to earn it back.''

ELSEWHERE

• Gulliver Prep 35, Zephyr Hills 6: Gulliver was led by junior quarterback Michael Strauss, who threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

The leading receivers were Conner Vernon and Daniel Rodriguez, who combined for 340 yards and three touchdowns.

The Gulliver defense was led by Ralph Williams, who had five sacks and four tackles.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@