Booker T. showing it can handle being a favorite again during victory over Carol City
As a four-time state championship coach, Booker T. Washington coach Ice Harris knows quite well what it’s like to be consistently favored to win games.
But many of his current players have yet to experience that before.
The Tornadoes learned a little more about how to handle that role when they fended off upset-minded Miami Carol City 26-6 on Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium.
Booker T. (4-1), a six-time state champion as a program, is hoping to add another soon to its collection after back-to-back non-winning seasons.
“That’s exactly what we talked about especially when it comes to programs with great tradition that are trying to get back to that level,” said Booker T. coach Tim “Ice” Harris, who returned to coach the Tornadoes this season - his fourth stint with the school. “We have standards and we’re trying to reach them so we’re finding out every week how tough it is to find out who we are. Today our passing game wasn’t very good, but we ran the ball well so we’re finding different ways to win.”
Junior running back Antwan Smith led that effort on the ground with three rushing touchdowns as he ran for over 100 yards and paced Booker T.’s offense.
“We’re going to keep working on his speed development and he’s going to run track so that should help him become one of the elite backs in the state,” Harris said about Smith.
The Chiefs (0-3), who have taken on three of the state’s best to open the season also losing to Miami Central and Miami Norland in prior games, committed three turnovers including an interception on the game’s first play.
Carol City tried several trick plays including a flea flicker on that opening series which Booker T. defensive back Leroy James picked off leading to Smith’s first score.
The Chiefs ran four fake punts in the game and converted only one, which led to a push into the Tornadoes’ red zone. But Booker T.’s defense stood its ground throughout the game, only allowing a touchdown late on Johnnie Henderson’s 3-yard run with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter.
By then the Tornadoes, ranked No. 10 in the Miami Herald’s South Florida Top 20 poll, were in full control.
One of those fake punts resulted in disaster for Carol City when an errant pitch by one of the upbacks went wide and Ben Hanks Jr. scooped up the ball, returning it 14 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Booker T., which suffered its lone loss against nationally-ranked Central, enters a challenging three-game stretch starting next week where it will face rival Miami Jackson (Thursday), Norland (Oct. 6) and Miami Northwestern (Oct. 15).
“I think we’re taking each game at a time and we’re learning how to handle adversity,” Harris said. “We were able to balance out a tough game and get ourselves prepared for that tough stretch coming up.”
