Karpiak powers Palmetto past South Dade

BY GARRETT W. HYLTON ghylton@MiamiHerald.com

When Palmetto kicker Kevin Karpiak booted the game-winning field goal against South Dade with less than 10 seconds in the game, a feeling of redemption washed over him as he sprinted toward the sidelines to celebrate.

Karpiak had already missed three field goals and, as the team's quarterback, completed only 5 of 18 passes and accounted for three turnovers.

He was able to shake off the mistakes and drill a 29-yarder to beat South Dade 16-14 at Harris Field and improve Palmetto's record to 4-1.

''Even though they blocked it a little bit, it was just a sigh of relief when I heard everybody screaming,'' Karpiak said.

Palmetto's offense couldn't get in the end zone without running back Jaamal Berry, who left the game with an ankle injury after gaining 11 yards on his first carry and did not return.

Backup Jeremy William set up Karpiak's field goal with 31-yard run, but the Panthers struggled to string together first downs for most of the game.

With the offense sputtering, Palmetto's defense and special teams managed to put the Panthers on the scoreboard.

Darryl Williams gave Palmetto a 7-0 first quarter lead after returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown.

South Dade responded with two touchdown passes from Travon Anderson to Dontravious Floyd. The second touchdown was a 39-yard strike on a fade route that Floyd caught on the sideline before stepping through a tackle to score.

The touchdown put South Dade ahead 14-7, but the Palmetto defense came up with a big play of its own in the fourth quarter to keep the Panthers in the game.

Anderson, who was sacked five times, was hit as he threw the ball and Palmetto linebacker Adrian Blue picked off the fluttering pass and darted up the sideline. He cut back across the field at the 50 yard-line, then lateralled to Keenan Paicely as the defense closed in. Paicely outran South Dade's offense into the end zone to bring Palmetto within 14-13 with 8:42 left in the game.

• Archbishop Carroll 40, LaSalle 17: Archbishop Carroll cruised past LaSalle, spoiling the Royal Lions homecoming festivities.

Carroll (5-1, 2-0) handed LaSalle (4-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season thanks to the dynamic backfield duo of David Gonzalez and Jeff Scott.

Gonzalez provided the power, rushing for 158 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. The senior scored on runs of 74 and 44 yards. The speedy Scott wasn't far behind, slashing his way to 148 yards on 17 carries. He too scored multiple times, reaching the end zone three times on rushes of 2, 15 and 79 yards.

-- ANDREW

DONOVAN

• Miami High 31, South Miami 7: The Stingarees bum rushed the Cobras in front of a small crowd at Curtis Field.

South Miami scored the first points of the game on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Amos Leggett to Rafael Chang early in the first quarter.

The Miami High defense shut down the Cobras the rest of the game.

Stingarees' quarterback led Miami High's rushing attack finishing with 74 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

After taking a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter, Miami High sealed the victory when defensive back Venel Hippolite intercepted the South Miami quarterback Amos Leggett for a 40-yard touchdown return.

-- JUSTIN AZPIAZU

• Sunset 14, Varela 0: The knights scored first with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Steven Fonticella to Peter Galirdi in the first quarter. But the Vipers had chance to tie the score, after a forced fumble, the Vipers found themselves inside the 5-yard line but three consecutive penalties and a aggressive Sunset defense held the Vipers shut down the Varela offense.

The second half showed more defensive prowess, with Varela forcing three more turnovers.

-- IGNACIO

RODRIGUEZ-ARGOTE

• Doral 9, Marathon 7: Macha Shinhoster had 12 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown to lead the Firebirds. With the score tied at 7 with seven minutes left, Marathon botched a punt and the ball rolled out to the endzone to give Doral a safety and the winning points. Nathaniel Berry had eight tackles and cuased a fumble.

 

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