Homestead football holds off Miramar to advance to second consecutive state semifinal

Miramar’s inability to capitalize on early scoring opportunities left it with a deficit too large to overcome as Homestead hung on for a 22-17 victory in the Region 4-3M final Friday at Harris Field Park.

Homestead (11-1) advanced to the state semifinals for the second consecutive season, won its 11th consecutive game and will host Orlando Jones at Harris Field in a Class 3M state semifinal next Friday.

After being forced to punt after three plays on their first possession, the Patriots drove to the Broncos’ 5- and 9-yard lines on their next two possessions, but its offense was unable to score either time.

The first possession ended when senior Kael Alexander’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

The drive indirectly led to points for Miramar when Homestead quarterback Joshua Townsend was called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety three plays later.

The Patriots’ next possession ended when a pass by Alexander was intercepted by linebacker Eduardo Nunez, who returned the ball to Miamar’s 31-yard line. Townsend threw a touchdown pass to Cortez Mills on the next play, giving Homestead a 7-2 lead with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

The top-seeded Broncos (11-1) increased their lead to 13-2 with 6:13 before halftime on Towsend’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Fraquan Warren. Townsend’s pass on the 2-point conversion attempt was incomplete.

Townsend threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Brown on Homestead’s second possession of the second half to give it a 20-2 lead with 8:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Third-seed Miramar (8-5) began its comeback attempt on the ensuing possession when Alexander threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Nehemiah Pittman and completed a pass for a 2-point conversion, pulling the Patriots within 10, 20-10, with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

Jordan Jones ran five yards for a touchdown for the Patriots with 7:50 to play, cutting the deficit to 20-17, but they would only have the ball for one more play.

Homestead kept the ball until there was 1:37 left when it punted to Miramar’s 3-yard line.

Alexander was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the first play of the drive. The Broncos recovered the onside kick on the free kick and ran out the clock.

Homestead coach Ronnie Thornton Jr. called the victory ``a community win.’‘

“The city of Homestead, they’ve always had a good football program but they haven’t been this consistent in the last years,’‘ Thornton said. “Everybody has a lot of different opinions about what goes on down here at Exit One but we wanted to make a statement and we want to make sure that we represent it well.’‘

This is the second consecutive year Homestead has ended Miramar’s season. The Broncos were 33-13 winners in the Region 4-3M final in 2022.

“I got much respect for (Townsend),’‘ Patriots coach A.J. Scott said. “He should be highly recruited. He’s a playmaker. Sometimes, college recruiters only look for measurements. That kid got a big ol’ heart. That’s what they need to measure.”