Though it took two extra days, Columbus picked up its first district victory of the season as it defeated Miami Springs 20-6 on Friday afternoon at Ted Hendricks Stadium.

The game kicked off Wednesday night, but was postponed because of lightning and heavy rainfall, and was completed Friday.

Explorers coach Chris Merritt was weary of his teams ability to adjust to playing Friday afternoon.

''Getting the guys ready for this game was a bit of a pain,'' Merritt said. ``We came out kind of flat, but we got things going with the running game, the defense stepped up and held up strong for us, and the passing game made some big plays when we needed them to, so everything worked out pretty good.

''If you think about it, we're still pretty rusty. Our [Columbus] game against Southridge got canceled, which made us have two weeks off, so our guys are still trying to get back in the groove,'' Merritt said.

The Explorers (3-0, 1-0 District 14-6A) took control of the game early with their running game. Junior running back Jakhari Gore led Columbus with 114 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.

Gore's first score of the day came late in the first quarter when he darted around the Miami Springs defense for a 20-yard touchdown run.

The Explorers would extend their lead before halftime when quarterback Garrett Colao found Erik Lora streaking down the middle of the field for a 25-yard touchdown strike.

Columbus would miss the extra point, taking a 13-0 lead into halftime.

Colao and Lora connected four times for a total of 69 yards. Colao completed 8 of 12 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.

Merritt had nothing but praise for his passing game.

''We've got four great receivers and a very head-strong quarterback,'' Merritt said. ``We know they can make plays, we just have to get the ball in their hands and let them run.''

Trailing 13-0 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, the Golden Hawks (1-2, 0-1 District 14-6A) caught a break. Forcing the Explorers to punt, a high snap sailed over Columbus Alex Irastorzas head into the end zone in which Miami Springs recovered for a touchdown.

Miami Springs only other bright spot came from sophomore quarterback Rahkeem Cato, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 175 yards.

• Central 49, Goleman 0: Friday night's matchup against district rival Goleman was what Central needed to shake up the early season woes that have led the Rockets to a 1-3 start.

After starting out the season with losses to Edison, Booker T. Washington and Killian by a combined eight points, the Rockets -- led by Jefferey Godfrey and Brandon Gainer -- lit up Goleman early en route to a 49-0 victory in front of 500 at Nathaniel ''Traz'' Powell Stadium.

Godfrey threw for four touchdown passes and completed six passes of nine attempts for 184 yards. Gainer rushed for 186 yards on nine carries and two TDs.

''This was just what the doctor ordered,'' Central coach Telly Lockett said. ``We've been fighting and fighting all season. Now we're going to take things around and keep fighting.''

Central (1-3, 1-0 in District 13-6A) faces Norland next week before starting the rest of its district schedule. Goleman dropped to 1-3, 0-1 in the District. Running back Josh Gomez led the Gators with 105 yards on 23 carries.

''We've had some heartbreaking loses,'' Lockett said. ``But we're going to have to keep fighting.''

Central jumped out to a 35-0 lead at the half. After Goleman turned over the ball on the 12th play of the game, the Rockets wasted no time getting in the end zone. Godfrey hit Lazaro Diaz on a screen pass behind the end zone, and the Central receiver scored from 25 yards out to help make the score 7-0 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.

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@