Defense and special teams lead Western to ‘ugly’ victory over Miramar

For Western coach Adam Ratkevich, Friday was a night to remember. Not only did the Wildcats win on his birthday, but they also beat Miramar, where Ratkevich formerly played offensive tackle, 14-6 at Miramar High School.

Western sang “Happy Birthday” to coach Ratkevich after the game, before heading to Jose’s Uncle Al’s for chicken wings to celebrate.

“Every time we play Miramar it’s a heck of a battle. They’re a darn good football team,” Ratkevich said. “It was a tense one, obviously, for us. Probably a darn good one if you were watching it in the stands. The defense was outstanding. Our special teams obviously came to play.”

The Wildcats’ defense was nearly perfect on Friday with only one big mistake — an 87-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kael Alexander to wide receiver Eric Nelson, who sped past defenders for the score with 3:13 in the second quarter. That put Miramar up 6-0, but Western (5-3) scored 14 unanswered to close the half.

Quarterback Davi Belfort put the Patriots (4-4) on the board, leading a 45-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Jaylon Edmond. Belfort, a Virginia Tech commitment, rolled to his left on the play before finding a wide-open Edmond on the opposite side of the field with 1:02 left in the second quarter.

After Miramar’s quick three-and-out, middle linebacker Brendan Leal blocked the Patriots’ punt and cornerback Zyon Pressley recovered in the end zone to give Western its second touchdown in less than a minute.

“I saw the hole wide open, and I got tripped a little. But I ran right through, and I saw my opportunity and I just jumped up and got it,” Leal said. “I think I was destined for a blocked punt, though, because the school that I was at before — all I would do is go for punts and I never got it … I’m so happy that it put us in the lead.”

Entering the third quarter with a 14-6 edge, Western’s defense forced six consecutive punts in the second half to seal the victory. It even held on after Belfort went down on a designed run in the third quarter and missed a drive before returning in the fourth.

The Patriots last chance began at their own 45 with 4:37 remaining, but Miramar couldn’t convert a fourth-and-6, and the Wildcats ran out the clock. Alexander was held to an unofficial 38 passing yards in the second half.

Miramar looked like the better team early with two drives deep into Western territory. But the first one ended in a failed fourth-and-1 conversion, and wide receiver Cenard Bennett fumbled in the red zone on the Patriots’ next possession.

Miramar even started a drive on the Wildcats’ 20 after a fumble recovery in the second quarter, but penalties brought them out of striking distance.

Besides that offensive spurt to end the first half, Western struggled on offense too — one week after putting up 56 points in a shutout victory over Cypress Bay. The Wildcats’ had trouble with the center-snap exchange and registered nine penalties for 90 yards, backing up promising drives. But in the end, they found a way to win.

“I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week,” Ratkevich said. “I’ve been on the other side of that where you play an amazing game and come up short. And again, like I said to these boys, winners find a way to win. At the end of the day, it might not have been pretty, but there’s a ‘W’ that’s going on to MaxPreps and that’s all that matters.”

The Wildcats try for their third straight win next Friday against Coral Glades at home.