Defense, special teams provide enough points to help Booker T. edge Northwestern
Over the years, Booker T. Washington’s football team has overcome different types of adversity on its way to winning championships.
This year’s path to a title is presenting some interesting challenges.
The Tornadoes are in the midst of playing three games, including two district games, in an eight-day span.
And they know they will have to play those contests without starting quarterback Claudell Sherman, who is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season and possibly longer due to a collarbone injury suffered last week against Miami Norland.
Thanks to its defense and special teams, Booker T. cleared the first hurdle on Thursday night.
Four-star junior cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. set the tone early, returning two interceptions for touchdowns as the Tornadoes scored all 28 of their points on defensive and special teams touchdowns and later hung on for a crucial 28-20 win over Miami Northwestern at Traz Powell Stadium.
“We knew we had to go have fun and play our game,” Hanks Jr. said. “Our defense wants to make a statement every time we play. Offense had a rough night but we had the confidence and I feel like we have the best DBs in the country.”
The loss eliminated Miami Northwestern (2-6, 1-2 in district) from district title contention. The Bulls, who entered the week in ninth place overall in Region 4-2M per the Florida High School Athletic Association’s power rankings, need to win their final two games against Coral Gables and Miami La Salle to have a chance to secure an at-large playoff berth.
Booker T. (4-2, 3-0 in District 14-2M) moved into sole possession of first place in its district with the victory and will next take on Miami Edison (4-2, 2-0) on Monday night at 6 at Traz in a game that will decide the district championship.
The Tornadoes are then scheduled to play Homestead South Dade at Harris Field three days after that on Oct. 19 as part of the Greater Miami Athletic Conference championship week.
“I think that might be illegal, but we’re going to make sure we win them all so we can end up on ‘60 Minutes’,” Booker T. coach Tim “Ice” Harris said. “I mean that’s a ‘60 Minutes’ story for this team to play, come back Monday, and then play again Thursday. I might have to make sure Walter Cronkite or whoever is on that show knows and we’ll get that right.”
The win must have been particularly sweet for Booker T. Washington defensive coordinator Max Edwards, who coached the Bulls until last season when he was fired after nine seasons. Edwards, who guided Northwestern to three consecutive state titles from 2017-2019, watched as Hanks Jr. picked off Northwestern quarterback Leon Strawder twice in the first quarter and finished off returns of 30 and 68 yards. Sandwiched between those two scores was La’varis Stanford’s 76-yard return of a blocked field goal in the first quarter.
Leroy Taylor then gave Booker T. a 28-0 lead when he picked off a Calvin Russell pass and returned it 40 yards for a score.
But Booker T. must solve a big issue on offense if Sherman isn’t able to return to action this season. The Tornadoes mustered only 123 total yards on offense and no points with sophomore Anthony McQueen behind center.
“We’ve been here before with Sancho McDonald and back in the day when Treon Harris got hurt, Malik Atkins came in and helped us win a title,” Harris said. “We get the opportunity to show the next man up has to be ready. And (McQueen) has to take the next step.”
Northwestern took advantage of this and chipped away at the Tornadoes lead thanks largely to Russell, who finished with 147 rushing yards and passed for 120 yards and three touchdowns.
Russell led one final drive into Booker T. territory with time winding down. But after he was tackled in bounds on another keeper, Russell was unable to spike the ball and stop the clock from running out.
“Coach Max told our quarterback, ‘We’ve got your back’,” Harris said. “It’s good we didn’t turn the ball over, but we have to be consistent and score points. We have a great offense and we haven’t showed it yet.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2023 at 12:41 AM.
