Miami Central upends American Heritage for state title, potential national championship
Case made?
Miami Central sure thinks so.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the national pollsters cast their votes in the coming weeks and whether they agree the Rockets did enough throughout the course of an impressive unbeaten season they capped with a 38-31 victory over Plantation American Heritage that wasn’t as close as the final score made it seem.
“I always told them we’re different. We’re going for different goals,” Central coach Jube Joseph said. “They (Heritage) were playing for a state title and we were playing for a national title.”
As Joseph said this to reporters after the game and assistant coach yelled: “That natty, they can’t take that away.”
The Rockets (14-0), who entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally by High School Football America and No. 3 by MaxPreps, won their fourth consecutive state title.
They aren’t the only South Florida team with an argument for a national crown.
Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, ranked No. 5 in both polls, has a shot to boost its own resume if it beats Las Vegas Bishop Gorman on Saturday in the Geico State Champions Bowl.
St. Thomas Aquinas, also a top 5 team in both polls, capped an unbeaten season on Thursday with a 38-21 win over Homestead in the Class 3M final.
But the Rockets’ strength of victory gives them an argument to be the most deserving.
Central ran the gauntlet in the state’s toughest classification and defeated nationally-ranked opponents such as Heritage (ranked in the top 10 by both HSFA and MaxPreps) and Bradenton IMG Academy earlier in the season when the Ascenders were ranked No. 4 in the nation by MaxPreps.
“We’re No. 1 everywhere. We know that,” Joseph said adamantly. “We knew the doubters were real. We knew it was Central vs. everybody and that’s fine. At the end of the day, when you’re coaching young Black teens you have to teach them about adverse situations and to stand up tall and fight through it and just dominate. I’m so proud of these kids.”
The night belonged to Central, which continued one of the most impressive championship runs ever in the history of Florida by winning its ninth state title in a 13-year span.
The Rockets, who won their 26th consecutive game, also became the first team in Florida to win four consecutive state titles on two different occasions. The Rockets now have the third-most state titles in state history, tied with Jacksonville Trinity Christian and Jacksonville University Christian.
“This national championship, I’ve got a lot of guys on my staff that were on that 2007 Miami Northwestern team that couldn’t coach that year,” Joseph said. “Guys like Alexander Snipes, Michael Ross. This is sweet for them. I have to tip my hat for Roland Smith, Telly Lockette and Anthony Saunders. They paved the way for us.”
Five Rockets players have been a part of all four championships - edge rusher Rueben Bain (a UM commit who finished his career with 58.5 sacks), defensive back Shawn Smoak, wide receiver Lamar Seymore, quarterback Dylan Tulloch and middle linebacker Dalevon Ogarro.
The Patriots (13-2), whose only losses were to Central and Chaminade, came up short of winning their first state title since 2020 and what would have been their sixth overall.
The Rockets played like a team worthy of that national title for most of the first half on Friday led by quarterback Keyone Jenkins, an Auburn commit who continued to deliver when his team needed it most.
Jenkins accounted for Central’s first four touchdowns as the Rockets scored on their first five possessions to open up a 31-10 lead with 2:33 left in the first half.
Jenkins completed 11 of 21 passes for 154 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and ran for 73 yards on six carries and another score. Jonathan Harris led a potent rushing attack with 141 yards on nine carries including a 73-yard touchdown and Nicholas McCall ran for 101 yards on 10 carries as the Rockets amassed 343 yards on the ground overall.
Heritage’s Mark Fletcher ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to lead the Patriots while Brandon Inniss caught seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
“Kids kept battling and I’m proud of them for that,” said Heritage coach Mike Smith, who took over this season after Pat Surtain joined the Miami Dolphins coaching staff. “Defense did a helluva job getting stops there down the stretch to give us a chance and just came up short.”
Heritage’s defense forced Central to punt with 3:01 remaining in the fourth. But Central’s defense made the game-clinching play as it did several times in key wins when Ezekiel Marcelin stripped Heritage freshman Malachi Toney of the ball and Rueben Bain recovered it with 1:17 left allowing the Rockets to run out the clock.
“We wear this brand like it’s Gucci,” Joseph said pointing at the Central logo on his sweatshirt. “We understand the standard that we stand up for and sign up for. This is mandatory. No free rings. Everything is earned. Nothing is given.
“(Bain), he doesn’t know what losing feels like. It’s like a disease. It’s foreign to him. He’s a generational talent and a pleasure to coach.”
▪ Class 3S championship - Lake Wales 32, Daytona Beach Mainland 30: After settling for runner-up finishes in their only other two state title game appearances in 1993 and 1994, Lake Wales finally broke through with the program’s first-ever state title on Friday afternoon.
Led by quarterback Trent Grotjan, running back Corey Harris and receiver Carlos Mitchell, the Highlanders completed a perfect 15-0 season.
Grotjan completed 13-of-23 passes for319 yards and two TDs while Harris and Mitchell finished with 158 yards rushing and seven catches for 140 yards, respectively as the two teams combined for 979 yards of total offense. Mauricio Alvarez drilled a 27-yard field goal for Lake Wales to put his team up 25-23 with 6:47 left and just 90 seconds later, following a Highlander interceptions, Grotjan scored from 3 yards out to make it 32-23.
Mainland trimmed its deficit to two on a 1-yard touchdown by running back/receiver Ajai Harrell with 2:15 left but Lake Wales, aided by a controversial third down defensive holding call and fresh set of downs, was able to run out the remainder of the clock. Harrell turned in a monster effort, finishing with 195 yards rushing on 24 carries with three touchdowns while catching nine passes for 139 yards. The Bucs, making only their second state title game appearance, having won it in 2003, finished 11-4.
BILL DALEY
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:58 PM.
