Edison football beats Booker T. Washington for first time since 2000. Plus, more results
They had to wait an extra four days to enjoy the moment, but that didn’t make it any less sweet, as members of the Edison football team counted down the final seconds and then proceeded to douse head coach Luther Campbell with a sea of Gatorade.
The scene was Traz Powell Stadium late Monday afternoon with a setting sun. Reason for the Edison euphoria? After more than two decades of frustrating losses and having to watch their opposition win multiple state titles along the way, the Red Raiders finally defeated crosstown rival Booker T. Washington.
Thanks to a few big plays on offense and a stifling, dominating defensive performance, Edison recorded a convincing 22-3 victory in a game that was supposed to be played Thursday at Curtis Park. Foul weather scrubbed that contest, moving it to Monday.
“What a moment for this program,” said a drenched Campbell. “These kids weren’t even born the last time Edison beat this team; so another big watershed moment for our program working our way back to greatness. It was ugly at times, and we started out a little shaky, but all the kids eventually settled down and played Edison football.”
One has to revert to the 2000 season, just one year after BTW re-started its football program, after a 30-year hiatus, that Edison last beat the Tornadoes.
The win moved the Red Raiders, ranked No. 13 in the Miami Herald Top 20 poll, to 3-1. They will now enjoy a bye week before heading to the northwest corner of the state for a challenging road game against 8A power Niceville on Oct. 8.
“They came out in the PA at school all day [Monday] talking about how we had never beaten Booker T. Washington; so we wanted to come out here and make history here [Monday],” said wide receiver Nathaniel “Ray Ray” Joseph, who recently committed to Clemson. “We came in here with a chip on our shoulder and wanted to do this for the school. A great team win overall and glad to have helped done my share.”
Joseph had a relatively quiet day but referred to his one big play, a brilliant 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass play on the final play of the first quarter that erased an early 3-0 BTW lead and put the Red Raiders up for good at 6-3. Joseph nearly fell to the ground after taking a short pass from backup QB Kevin Wilson but managed to put his hand to the ground to stay upright, before juking a pair of Tornadoes defenders and cutting back across the field in a sprint to the end zone.
“I wanted to try and make a big play early,” Joseph said. “Then it was just fun to sit there and just watch that defense kick tail all day long.”
Fun indeed for Joseph and his offensive teammates as they then watched the Edison defense, mainly the defensive line, take over.
Even though the Red Raiders struggled offensively the next two quarters, the defense sacked BTW quarterback Claudell Sherman nine times (for minus 53 yards) and had him running throughout with constant pressure.
The BTW offense finished with just 93 total yards (129 passing, minus 36 rushing), including minus 13 yards in the second half, with two first downs.
“We were confident coming in here that we could get this done and just wanted to come out, start fast and dominate, and that’s pretty much how it went,” said defensive end and University of Florida commit Francois Nolton Jr., who recorded three sacks and three other tackles for losses. “I wanted them to know where No.8 [his jersey number] was on the field at all times and managed to do that. We’re after big things. Each week, we want to make a statement and [Monday] was one more statement.”
With the game still very much up in the air, Edison got the break it needed at nine minutes left in the game. Booker T. Washington muffed a punt, and Edison’s Dorean Williams recovered the ball at the Tornadoes 19.
One play later (after Edison was flagged for holding), quarterback Champ Harris -- who was re-inserted into the lineup after a shaky first quarter that saw Wilson temporarily replace him -- stepped up in the pocket to avoid a rush and found Daniel Henry wide open in the end zone for a 31-yard score and 14-3 lead with 8:50 remaining.
After the defense pushed the Tornadoes backward to their own 10-yard line and forced a nine-yard BTW punt, the Red Raiders used just three plays to go 19 yards, capped off with a 3-yard scoring run by Gerald Modest to put the game away. Even an errant extra point attempt turned to gold for the Red Raiders as the holder scooped up a bad snap, rolled right and threw for a 2-point conversion.
Campbell said: “What a job by that defense. I didn’t realize we had nine sacks. That is unbelievable. Let me tell you something. That group came to play. I put a lot of pressure on them because I’m the defensive coordinator; so there is more pressure on them, and there’s no room for error. I ask a lot of them, and they just go out and do their job.”
More football
Ransom Everglades 54, Marathon 0: QB Nick Rubino, a junior, was 8-of-12 passing for 118 yards and six touchdowns, giving him 11 for the season.
Senior Jack Rivas caught three TD passes, and junior Brendan Dyke made two TD receptions. Levi Gans, a senior, ran for a TD and caught a TD pass. The defense forced four fumbles as the Raiders improved to 4-0.
Keying the defense: DT Ryan Courey, a junior, forced a fumble and recovered another. Nose guard Andy O’Brien, a senior, recovered a fumble, and DT Jesse Kaplan, a junior, was in the backfield constantly.
Belen Jesuit 42, Archbishop McCarthy 6: Jarvis Johnson (DE) 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 3.5 TFL, 1 FF, 4 pressures; Davion Dixon (DT) 7 tackles, 1.5 sack, 2 TFL, 1 FF, 5 pressures; Gavench Marcelin (DE) 6 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 6 pressures, 1 FF; Stefan Borrero 1 INT; Khamani Alexander (RB) 8 carries, 122 yds, 2 TD; Anthony Rubio 5 carries, 66 yds, 1 TD; Andres Miyares (QB) 7-of-15 passing, 170 yds, 1 TD; Cristian Souto (Rec) 1 catch, 35 yds, 1 TD; Robby Lizama (Rec) 4 catches, 78 yds. Belen (3-2).
Archbishop Carroll vs. Everglades Prep: The game was canceled because of lightning.
Bowling
BOYS: COHEA d. Gulliver Prep: COHEA: Tyler Keller high game 257, set 723; Adair Garica high game 183, set 462; Vincent Teck high game 131, set 209; Bo Williams high game 110, set 202. GP: Jordan Bankston high game 135, set 339; Matthew Li high game 125, set 305; Conner Gebhart high game 135, set 269; Aaron Gold high game 117, set 196; Jonah Avmando high game 113.
BOYS: Ronald Reagan/Doral d. JC Bermudez 605-376, 568-388, 527-502 (1,700-1,266): Highest Score Marco Gardelin (RR) 158, Highest Series Christopher Bolanos (RR) 439.
GIRLS: Ferguson d. Barbara Goleman 5-2: Ferg: Samantha Perez High Game 123, Samantha Abreu High Game 137, High Series 398. Gole: Kaitlyn Ramos High Game 143, Alexa Llovet High Game 134, Andrea Vasquez High Game 130, High Series 346.
GIRLS: Ferguson d. Cutler Bay 7-0: Ferg: Samantha Abreu High Game 193, Natalia Findeisen High Game 167, Samantha Perez High Game 130, High Series 437.
GIRLS: Ronald Reagan/Doral d. JC Bermudez 322-166, 385-119, 391-151 (1,098-446): Highest Score Florencia Merlino (RR) 130; Highest Series Florencia Merlino (RR) 332.
Volleyball
Carrollton d. LaSalle 25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17: S.Ibarra 26 kills, 1 ace; M.Matos 7 kills; L.Lee 3 aces, 17 assists; D.Medina 14 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace. Carr (8-7).
Doral Academy d. Gulliver Prep 25-19, 25-20, 25-19: Melissa Gonzalez 22 assists, 6 aces, 3 digs; Ariel Simmons 9 kills, 3 blocks; Vicky Escuer 26 digs, 3 aces; Izabella Molina 7 kills, 2 blocks. Doral (11-4).
Hialeah Gardens d. Barbara Goleman 3 sets to 0: Team Captain Sabrina Cabrera 19 kills, 4 aces; Player of the Match Cynthia Lopez 5 kills, 2 aces; Christina Gonzalez 19 digs.
Submit Fall sports results
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade, if you have varsity results, top performers and stats for this column, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 11:36 PM.
