Goleman, Westland Hialeah highlight GMAC All-Independent football team
Clearly the two best teams in the GMAC Independent Football Conference last season, it was no coincidence that Goleman and Westland Hialeah had the most players selected to the All-GMAC Independent Team.
As voted on by the coaches from the conference, 16 of the 31 spots (10 from Goleman, 6 from Westland) went to either the Gators or the Wildcats with Goleman running back Jamaal Joseph leading the way.
Joseph was named the conference’s Player of the Year as he finished the 2021 season with 1,349 rushing yards (averaging 6.3 yards per carry) and 27 touchdowns. He led the Gators to a 9-2 season and their second consecutive Independent title when they wiped out Westland 42-0 in the championship game on Nov. 17.
A senior who has a full-ride scholarship lined up to Division II Nebraska-Kearney, Joseph rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns in the championship game and finished as Goleman’s single season and career leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Coach of the Year honors were close as Westland Hialeah’s Joe Gross turned in quite a feat transforming the Wildcats program from doormat to contender (WH finished 8-2) but Goleman’s Ariel Cribiero, who just completed his ninth year at the controls for the Gators program, took home the honors for the second straight year.
ALL GMAC INDEPENDENT TEAM
Offense - QB: David Garcia, Braddock; Jose Hernandez, Goleman. RB: Jamaal Joseph, Goleman, Ezekiel Fuller, Westland Hialeah; Manuel Rodriguez, Ferguson; Gavin Greaves, Varela. WR: Keon Adderly, Westland Hialeah; Daniel Buitrago, Reagan; Keith Bellot, Goleman; Nathan Washington, Westland Hialeah. OL: David Guggino, Goleman; Antonio Rangel, Ferguson; Cleyver Rodriguez, Coral Park; Robert Mack, American; Rodrigo Herrero, Goleman.
Defense - DL: Norrie Alexander, Goleman; Andres Vallejo, Goleman; Abraham Francois-Harris, Westland Hialeah; Armani Cuero, Braddock; Marcus Brice, American. LB: Ethan Bradley, Goleman; Javier Cifuentes, Ferguson; Dariel Rodriguez, Coral Park; Zerek Marquez, Hialeah Gardens. DB: Jamari Howard, Westland Hialeah; Dannyal Leiva, Hialeah Gardens; Corvareis Davis, Westland Hialeah; Dorian Hodge, Goleman. ATH: Avari Marshall, Goleman; Anquone Rhodel, Coral Park. PK/P: Raynier Hernandez, Goleman.
BASKETBALL
The Columbus boys’ basketball team rebounded from its loss to state power Pembroke Pines Charter by defeating district rival Coral Gables 67-53.
With starting point guard Cayden Boozer sidelined with an injury sustained in the Pembroke Pines game and center Malik Abdullahi sitting most of the second and third quarters because of foul trouble, Columbus (18-2) got the help it needed from starters Garyn Bess (17 points, 5 rebounds), Cameron Boozer (20 points, 5 offensive rebounds, 5 assists) and Benny Fragela (18).
Fragela had 13 first-half points to keep pace with the Cavaliers.
Senior standout Romulo Delgado led the Cavaliers with a game-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and freshman point guard Bruno Sanchez added eight points. Four first-half three-pointers sent Gables (7-7) into the locker room trailing by nine, and by the end of the third quarter, it narrowed the deficit to seven points.
In the fourth quarter, Columbus outscored Gables 21-14 to seal the win. Angelo Miranda scored two key buckets in the quarter to counter Coral Gables’s final charge. He finished with 10 rebounds.
COL 67: Velasquez, Jaylen 4; Galleno, Daniel 2; Miranda, Angelo 4; Bess, Garyn 17; Boozer, Cameron 20; Fragela, Benny 18; Abdullahi, Malik. 2. CG 53: Horne, Jayden 3; Chang, Gabriel 4; Gonzalez, Daniel 4; Devallet, Seraphin 2; Sanchez, Bruno 8; Nehemiah, Daniels 1; Antoine-Taffe, Marcus 9; Delgado, Romulo 22. Half: COL 34-25. 3-Ptrs: Bess, G.; Fragela, B. 4; Horne, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Sanchez, B; Antoine-Taffe, M.; Delgado, R. 4. Rebs: Miranda, A 10; Boozer, Cam. 7. Asts: Boozer, Cam. 5.
SUBMIT SPORTS RESULTS
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