Clutch defensive plays late help Central hold off Columbus and repeat as GMAC champions
Miami Central’s march through multiple quality opponents this season has been impressive.
But the Rockets really hadn’t been pushed to the limit much since their eye-opening victory over Bradenton IMG Academy in September.
That changed on Friday night against Miami Columbus when what seemed like another Central rout in the making turned into a nail-biter between unbeaten state championship hopefuls at Traz Powell Stadium.
The Rockets saw a 28-point halftime lead nearly evaporate before their defense - led by senior defensive end Rueben Bain - shut the door on the Explorers for a 42-35 victory. Central (8-0), ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps, clinched their second consecutive GMAC championship a year after defeating rival Northwestern in the inaugural event.
“Columbus definitely showed great fight from the first whistle to the last and you have to give them credit for that,” said Bain, a four-star recruit who posted four sacks. “This will definitely make us more hungry. No matter what the score is, we have to come out in the second half and do our jobs.”
Bain’s pivotal play, which preserved the final score, came with a little over four minutes left in the fourth quarter when he pressured Columbus quarterback Alberto Mendoza and forced him to throw the ball away, prompting an intentional grounding call.
The penalty put Columbus into a 4th and 10 situation and the Explorers (8-1) chose to attempt a 31-yard field goal that Rowe Allen missed wide left.
“It was a big-time moment and I needed to make a play,” Bain said. “That stop really just gave our offense some momentum.”
Columbus had one last chance with 1:30 left after forcing the Rockets to punt.
Mendoza moved the Explorers into Central territory and hit A.J. Arellano over the middle for a first down. But as Arellano ran for more yardage, the ball was jarred loose from his grasp by Central linebacker and Louisville commit Stanquan Clark, allowing Javari Flowers to recover.
“That’s just the culture of our team and that’s to fight right to the end,” Central coach Jube Joseph said. “We are looking for tough games like this that will build character and basically showcase our team’s talent. I just saw resilience and fight. They show it all the time in practice and they showed it again tonight.”
Mendoza was responsible for all five Columbus touchdowns and helped the Explorers score 21 unanswered points in the third quarter after falling behind 35-7 at the break. Mendoza completed 19 of 21 passes for 253 yards, threw four touchdown passes and ran for another.
Two of his touchdowns went to Darriel Harper, who caught four passes for 51 yards, while Jose Leon led Columbus receivers with five catches for 81 yards and a score.
Central quarterback Keyone Jenkins completed 15 of 23 passes for 278 yards and threw three touchdown passes including a 5-yarder to Lwayne McCoy early in the fourth quarter, which put Central ahead 42-28 and ended the Explorers’ scoring run.
But even then, Mendoza helped Columbus respond, finding Leon in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard strike. Fadrelle Andrus also caught a touchdown and finished with three catches for 47 yards. Sedrick Irvin finished with 89 yards rushing on 17 carries.
“I like those types of games,” Jenkins said. “Blowouts aren’t as much fun. A little competition once in a while builds character. This felt like a rivalry game.”
Central passed for 412 yards overall as backup quarterback Dylan Tulloch also threw for a touchdown and ran for another.
The Rockets also executed a trick play just before halftime to perfection when Anjuan Coleman took a pitch, rolled out wide and fired a perfect strike to McCoy for a 72-yard touchdown.
Central’s offense was led by the big plays of three-star Pitt commit Lamar Seymore, who finished with seven catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns. Seymore’s touchdowns - both thrown by Jenkins - came from 52 and 47 yards out with the second coming on a great throw across his body while scrambling to his left by the left-handed Jenkins.
“We knew coming in we had to play disciplined ball to win and we did it at the right time,” Joseph said.
Bain said: “In the second half, we just had mental errors. It’s something we need to focus on this week in practice and get better before our next game.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 12:01 AM.
