Miramar’s offense brings balance as Patriots rout of South Broward to cap regular season

Miramar likes to embrace the “Dark Side,” but the Patriots brought some balance to the force Friday in Hollywood, just in time for the postseason.

Miramar already had its spot in the Class 3M playoffs locked up going into the final week of the regular season despite failing to score more than 14 points in any of its four toughest games. Its defense, dubbed the “Dark Side” defense, was the reason, allowing just 100 total points in the first nine games of the year. The Patriots were waiting for something like their 53-23 beatdown of South Broward.

“We’ve been looking for offense for a couple weeks now,” Miramar coach A.J. Scott said. “Hopefully, we can build from this.”

Patriots quarterback Kael Alexander threw three touchdown passes, all in the the third quarter as Miramar (6-4) put a running clock on the Bulldogs (8-2) at South Broward High School, and Patriots running back Jordan Jones ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Miramar’s 53 points were its third most of the season and its most against a team that entered this weekend in playoff position.

The Bulldogs entered the regular-season finale as the No. 2 seed in Region 4-3M and the Patriots were never truly threatened. Miramar forced South Broward into a three-and-out on each of its first two possessions, split up by an eight-play touchdown drive for the Patriots, and the Bulldogs’ second drive ended with a bad snap going out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Miramar wide receiver Cenard Bennett returned the ensuing kick for a touchdown and the Patriots led 17-0 with 5:44 still left in the first quarter.

Miramar pushed its lead up to 25-0 later in the quarter and never led by fewer than 19 points the rest of the way. The Patriots scored in all three phases -- five times on offense, with the kick return on special teams and on an interception returned for a touchdown by Miramar athlete Jaheim Williams on defense -- and triggered a running clock before the start of the fourth quarter.

“It’s always going to be the ‘Dark Side’ defense and when you see the offense doing what they’re supposed to do, it’s like, Alright, offense, we’ve got to get our stuff together,” Alexander said. “We played offense how we know we could.”

Alexander went 14 of 17 for 154 yards, with only one interception, and threw his three touchdowns to three different receivers.

Star wide receiver Eric Nelson, an FIU commit, led the Patriots with 50 yards on four catches and caught Alexander’s first touchdown with nine minutes left in the third quarter to put Miramar ahead 39-9. Bennett then made a spectacular catch in double coverage, snatching the ball away from a defensive back, for the second touchdown in the third quarter and finished with 45 yards on five catches. Finally, Patriots wide receiver Izaiah Jean-Gilles triggered the running clock when he scored on the final play of the third quarter.

“Sometimes, you need players to be playmakers,” Scott said. “My guys made plays tonight. I’m proud of them.”

South Broward simply dug itself too big an early hole to climb out of, especially given how heavily the Bulldogs lean on star running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey. The Miami commit still ran for 127 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, but he also lost a fumble and spent a large portion of the game running the offense as a Wildcat quarterback when almost everything else was faltering for South Broward.

The “Dark Side” swallowed up the Bulldogs and this time it got the help it needed.

“We played Miramar football,” Alexander said. “I have no doubt in my mind we can do this every single game.”

▪ South Broward honored Buddy Brown, one of the great players in the program’s history and a fixture in the school community for more than three decades, at halftime by retiring his jersey. Brown was a star wide receiver for the Bulldogs, graduating in the Class of 1984, and went on to play at Colgate in what was then Division I-AA. After graduating from college, he served in the United States Army and finally returned home to South Florida in 1992. He has been a staple on the sidelines and in the classroom at South Broward ever since, working at the school as both a teacher and an assistant coach in various capacities.

This story was originally published November 4, 2023 at 12:24 AM.