‘It’s our state game’: Northwestern bracing for rematch with longtime rival Central
Miami Northwestern coach Max Edwards didn’t say much to his team after their game Saturday night.
He just repeated the same message several times.
And he did it by walking up to several of the leaders on his team, looking them in the eyes and saying it with a stern voice.
“Friday, that’s our state game!” Edwards shouted.
Miami Northwestern. Miami Central. In the playoffs.
Enough said.
The Bulls (6-4) earned the chance to face their longtime neighborhood rivals again with a comfortable 39-0 blowout win over Gulliver Prep (5-5) in a Region 4-2M quarterfinal on Saturday night at Traz Powell Stadium.
Miami-Dade County’s premier rivalry will hold its next chapter Friday when Northwestern takes on Central in a regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. at Traz. The Rockets (10-0) earned their spot on Friday with a 60-0 rout of Miami St. Brendan.
“It’s for all the marbles next week,” Edwards said. “It’s what you practice for all summer. To face one of the best teams in the nation. You have to beat them to get the prize. It’s do or die Friday so hopefully our kids prepare for it because we know what’s coming.”
Northwestern has won seven state championships all-time. Central has won eight.
The Bulls last won a state title in 2019. The Rockets also won one that season as the two teams were in different classes.
The FHSAA’s new alignment put the rivals back in the same class as was the case for many years when the two powerhouses needed to go through each other to win a state title.
Since then, Northwestern has watched Central win three state titles in a row and become one of the country’s top teams.
Central will enter the rematch ranked No. 3 in the nation and on a 22-game winning streak. One of those wins was a 42-7 rout of Northwestern back on Oct. 7. The Rockets have won the past three games in the series and won the past two by a combined score of 91-13.
But the Bulls realize what an upset win could do for a program that once was at the heights where Central is these days, having won a national title themselves in 2007.
“I ain’t going to say too much,” said Northwestern running back Jamari Ford, who sat out the first game against Central with a shoulder injury. “They’re going to see.”
On Saturday, Ford caught a touchdown pass from Dickens and ran for another. Dickens threw a second touchdown pass - a 43-yarder to Andy Jean. Running back Marlin Cochran also ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulls jumped out to a 27-0 lead after one quarter.
The Bulls were without multiple key players in that first game against Central including Ford, starting quarterback Taron Dickens and wide receiver Adam Moore.
All have since returned to action.
Northwestern has won three of its past four since that loss.
“They’re not unbeatable. We just have to trust ourselves and trust our coaches and do what we need to do,” said Dickens, who was a freshman on that 2019 championship team. “It was frustrating sitting out the first time because there were a lot of throws I knew I could have made.
“The butterflies are already going. I’ve been playing in this game since I was a freshman so I’m used to it.”
OTHER SCORES
▪ Region 4-3M quarterfinals: Homestead 40, North Miami 0; Miami Southridge 20, Hollywood South Broward 14.
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 10:03 PM.
