Miami Central falls to No. 3 St. John Bosco in nationally ranked showdown in California
Miami Central fumbled away the opening kickoff and fell behind by three touchdowns in the first nine plays, and never could recover Friday in its first game of the regular season. Central’s quest for a national championship might be over before most of its Florida peers even began their regular season after a 35-12 loss to No. 3 St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California.
The Rockets, who traveled across the country to make the long-awaited matchup happen, managed just 45 yards in the first three quarters, including 11 rushing yards. It left the Braves with short fields over and over, and St. John Bosco scored on drives of 20, 40 and 28 yards in the first quarter to take a 21-0 lead.
Central (0-1) made two field goals in the second to cut the Braves’ lead to 21-6, then an interception by cornerback Caleb McKenzie, who’s orally committed to the FCS Charleston Southern Buccaneers, gave the Rockets’ the ball at St. John Bosco’s 18-yard line, but Central fumbled the ball away again at the 5 to keep from potentially cutting the lead to a single score.
“You can’t turn the ball over against a good team like that, and they’re really good,” coach Roland Smith told the Orange County Register. “We tried to fight back, but when you make mistakes like that, that’s what happens. We tried to score, lost the ball, and you can’t do that. It could have been 21-13 or 21-9, and it probably would have been a very different game.”
The Rockets and Braves (1-0) had been trying to put the game together since 2019, Smith said, and Central went into this season with national-title aspirations, ranked No. 15 in the nation by MaxPreps and loaded with about a dozen future Power 5 Conference players. The Rockets still have some high-profile national matchups left this season — including a meeting with Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman next month in Naples — but the full focus now shifts to trying to win a third straight state championship.
Cardinal Gibbons 15, Palmetto 14
Cardinal Gibbons shut out Palmetto in the second half and rallied out of a narrow halftime deficit to nab a 15-14 preseason win in a meeting between state-title hopefuls Friday in Fort Lauderdale
The Chiefs won their second state championship in three years in 2020, while the Panthers reached the state semifinals for the first time. Palmetto led 15-14 at the half before Cardinal Gibbons’ defense clamped down in the second half and Chiefs wide receiver Jesse Anderson caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give Cardinal Gibbons the lead for good at Dr. Bud Tight Field.
Chaminade-Madonna 16, Dillard 0
Chaminade-Madonna shut out Dillard in the preseason to make an early statement in its quest to win a fourth state championship in five years with a 16-0 win Friday in Fort Lauderdale.
Lions quarterback Cedrick Bailey threw for one touchdown and ran for another, while Chaminade-Madonna’s stout defense shut down Dillard, which is coming off a tri-county championship in 2020.
Venice 56, Northwestern 34
Venice romped past Northwestern for the most stunning result of the preseason Friday, getting 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns from running back DaMarion Escort to beat the Bulls, 56-34, on Friday in Miami.
Indians quarterback Ryan Browne also ran for two touchdowns and threw for another at Traz Powell Stadium to lead the lopsided victory. For Northwestern, quarterback Taron Dickens threw for three touchdowns, including one each to star wide receiver Daverrick Jenkins and Andy Jean, and ran for another, but the Bulls also gave up one special-teams touchdown and one defensive score in the meeting between state-title hopefuls.
Seffner Armwood 28, Booker T. Washington 12
Booker T. Washington made a push in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a 21-point first-half deficit in a 28-12 loss to Armwood in Seffner on Friday.
The Tornadoes trailed 21-0 at the break before scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, then added a late defensive touchdown before ultimately falling short in a preseason tune-up in the Tampa Bay area.
Westminster Academy 52, Boca Raton Christian 0
Westminster Academy blew out Boca Raton Christian in coach Ehren Wallhoff’s debut, getting a pair of touchdowns from both wide receiver Jabari Brady and running back Javion Mallory in the 52-0 win Friday.
Quarterback Anthony Barbar also threw for three touchdowns in the shutout win.
