Miami Central remains unbeaten, clinches district championship with rout of Norland
The Miami Central Rockets, ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps, won a championship on Thursday night when they routed the Miami Norland Vikings 53-7 Thursday night at Traz Powell Stadium to clinch the District 13-2M title.
The win and its postseason implications for the Rockets (7-0) served as a routine accomplishment for a program seeking bigger trophies - like its fourth consecutive state title and a national championship.
“Here on 95th street, it’s good to have a district championship, but that’s not the standard here,” Central coach Jube Joseph said after the game. “When we get into summer and we get into our spring workouts, we know what the standard is. And we know what the brand means. And we know what we’re going for every year.”
It’s the second loss in a row for the Vikings (4-2), but they could still make the playoffs. A strong finish to the regular season will be important for them to secure an at-large berth in Region 4-2M.
Senior wide receiver Lamar Seymore recorded three of Central’s eight touchdowns. He bookended the Rockets’ win, having caught the first, second and final scoring passes of the evening.
“He’s been good to football,” Joseph said of Seymore, alluding to his work ethic over the last four years, “so right now football’s being great to him.”
Anjuan Coleman came in just behind Seymore with two touchdowns. The first came off an 18-yard pass by Dylan Tulloch, or quarterback “1B,” as coach Joseph referred to him. The second was a 35-yard Tulloch-Coleman connection.
Starter Keyone Jenkins and Tulloch, Joseph said, are the quarterback versions of Dalvin Cook and Joseph Yearby – two legendary running backs from Miami Central. Jenkins is “1A,” while Tulloch is “1B.”
“They support each other,” Joseph said. “They’re like brothers…They led us to a state championship last year, and we’re on track for another one.”
Other scoring drives by the Rockets came off a blocked punt and two key passes.
With less than two minutes left in the first half, Shawn Smoak blocked a Norland punt, chased after the ball and fell on it in the left side of the end zone. A failed 2-point conversion stretched Central’s lead to 34-0.
Senior wide receiver Cataurus Hicks had a 12-yard scoring catch for the Rockets. Running back Corey Washington, who had dropped a punt earlier in the contest (which Norland was unable to turn into points), caught an 83-yard pass for Central’s second-to-last score of the night.
A 65-yard bomb from Norland’s quarterback Ennio Yapoor to wide receiver Isaiah Scott, followed by a 16-yard completion by wide receiver Tarbell Short and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Central set up a 9-yard touchdown catch by running back Lemmie Faulk. It was the Vikings loan score with 15.6 seconds left in the first half.
Norland will travel to Palmetto next Thursday for a non-district contest against the Panthers on GMAC championship week.
In what could be a battle of the unbeaten teams, Central will face Miami Columbus (7-0) next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Traz for the GMAC championship. The Explorers face Doral on Friday night.
MORE SCORES
No. 2 Hollywood Chaminade 90, Deerfield Beach Somerset Key 0
No. 6 Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons at Hallandale, postponed
No. 17 Coconut Creek 50, West Boca Raton 0
No. 20 Pinecrest Gulliver Prep 21, Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin 14
Boca Raton Spanish River 35, Hialeah-Miami Lakes 0
Coral Glades 33, Coral Springs Taravella 7
Coral Springs 14, Boca Raton Olympic Heights 0
Doral Reagan 40, North Miami Beach Mourning 13
Hialeah Gardens 14, Miami Coral Park 7
Hollywood Avant Garde Academy 68, West Palm Beach SLAM 0
Miami Coral Reef 33, Miami Sunset 0
Miami Edison 35, Miami TRU Prep 6
North Miami 12, Hialeah 6
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 11:18 PM.