After stocking up on ‘sweat equity,’ Krop football team seeing results finally pay off
Krop football coach Tom Caporale calls it “sweat equity.”
It’s the amount of sweat, or effort, his players put in throughout grueling summer conditioning, which included running up and down hills at Ives Estates Park right next door to their school.
On Friday night on the football field located within the radius of those hills, the Lightning’s investment paid off with a crucial 20-16 victory over Hollywood McArthur.
“I talk about believing in each other, discipline, attitude and effort,” Caporale said. “These kids are tough. They’ve put in too much sweat equity and now we’re playing the way we’re supposed to play. Good, Lightning football, and I love it.”
McArthur (4-5) entered the game with a chance to go unbeaten in District 13-3M and lock up the title with a win. But the Lightning (5-4) won their third consecutive game following a 2-4 start and solidified their chances of making the postseason.
Krop moved into a three-way tie atop the district with McArthur and South Broward and gave itself a chance to win the district championship, which will be decided by which of the teams is ranked the highest in the FHSAA’s power rankings at the end of the regular season.
South Broward entered the week ranked 186th overall. Krop was ranked 232nd and McArthur was ranked 281st. The Lightning’s victory could potentially narrow the gap between them and South Broward. Krop closes the regular season against Hialeah next week while South Broward faces Miramar. A Lightning win and a Bulldogs loss could potentially flip their places in the standings.
As far as the postseason, the victory strengthens Krop’s chances of hanging on to a playoff berth in Region 4-3M regardless of who eventually wins the district title. The Lightning entered the week seeded 6th out of the eight playoff spots. McArthur, coached by former Miami Dolphins’ linebacker Kevin Burnett, was the No. 8 seed and is in danger of falling out of the postseason picture following the defeat after ninth-seed Pembroke Pines Charter (ranked 294th overall) won on Thursday. The Mustangs finish the regular season next week with a home game against Boyd Anderson.
“What we’ve been preaching is to peak at the right moment and these kids believe in that brotherhood, and that’s what they’re doing right now,” Caporale said.
Julius Pascal led the Lightning’s offense with 89 yards on 20 carries as well as two catches for 45 yards. Pascal broke a tackle and sped through McArthur’s defense for a 30-yard touchdown, which proved to be the decisive score on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Jamaal Haggins ran for two touchdowns, one of which he set up with a 21-yard pass near the goal line to Frank Valbowtin, which put them ahead for good late in the first quarter.
Krop recovered three fumbles by McArthur in the first half, including one at the Mustangs’ 3-yard line which set up Haggins’ second score.
McArthur was led by quarterback Florentino Lopez, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 218 yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass to Keymani Fleurme with 3:40 left in the fourth. But Krop was able to run out the clock on the ensuing possession, nailing things down when Valbowtin broke loose around the right side for a 14-yard gain and a first down.
“That’s those 120, heck, forget that…those 140-yard sprints that we run from track to track on our field,” Caporale said. “We wanted to open them up and then we want to pound you and wear you down with the run game to show that we’re the better conditioned team.”
MORE SCORES
No. 1 Central 50, Monsignor Pace 14
No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 44, Boyd Anderson 0
No. 4 Columbus 42, Goleman 0
No. 5 American Heritage 63, Hallandale 0
No. 6 Cardinal Gibbons 49, Stranahan 20
No. 7 Homestead 18, Belen Jesuit 7
No. 9 Dillard 35, Tallahassee Lincoln 10
No. 11 Miramar 50, Everglades 6
No. 14 Western 63, Coral Glades 0
No. 15 Coconut Creek 42, Deerfield Beach 0
Ocala Vanguard 28, No. 16 Carol City 21
No. 17 Doral 38, Miami High 19
Archbishop Carroll 26, Palmer Trinity 15
Calvary Christian 40, Northeast 0
Coral Reef 34, Ferguson 14
Coral Springs Charter 41, Taravella 27
Cypress Bay 34, Fort Lauderdale 29
Jackson 15, Edison 6
Jupiter Christian 50, Westminster Academy 14
Killian 34, Somerset Silver Palms 7
Mater Academy 17, Miami Beach 14
Miami Springs 27, Archbishop McCarthy 7
Pine Crest 35, North Broward Prep 14
Ransom Everglades 36, Tavernier Coral Shores 35
Reagan 42, Varela 24
St. Brendan 34, Westminster Christian 14
Somerset Academy 49, Flanagan 0
South Broward 31, Hollywood Hills 6
South Plantation 29, Nova 25
Stoneman Douglas 49, Boca Raton Olympic Heights 0
University School 44, Marathon 38
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 12:46 AM.
