Archbishop McCarthy flips momentum, stuns Norland for first district victory
Jeremiah Alexandre returned a kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown, while the Archbishop McCarthy defense shut out Miami Norland’s offense in the second half to secure a 21-14 victory and the Mavericks’ first District 15-4A win of 2025 Thursday at Traz Powell Stadium.
The Mavericks (5-1), who went 0-3 in district play last season, overcame a deluge of backbreaking turnovers and ended the night with 14 unanswered points to spoil homecoming for the Vikings (2-4).
“Its huge,” Mavericks coach Jake Pew said. “I’m so happy for the kids. I’m proud of them. It wasn’t easy but it was a big time win for this year and our program and everything we’ve got going forward.”
Penalties and turnovers prohibited fluidity from either offense in the first half. Kai Moore veered the Vikings into the lead with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Siggers on the game’s opening drive.
Alexandre quieted the crowd when he caught the resulting kickoff and darted to the other end zone his 98-yard score.
“I had to come out strong and finish strong,” Alexandre said. “My blockers blocked for me and I just hit it.”
Homecoming king Kenton Dopson ended the first half with a red zone interception, which denied the Mavericks a score. The Vikings snatched even more momentum when Kevin Peeples scooped up a fumble, forced by Xavier Baker, and scored on a 23-yard return on the Mavericks’ first drive of the second half.
But the Vikings didn’t score again. Tedrick Oatman logged an interception on the next drive, but the Mavericks blocked a Vikings field goal to keep the score tight.
Damien Grant climbed through the Vikings defense for a 7-yard touchdown run on the next possession. Kendall Brown dove into the end zone for a 10-yard go-ahead score with 8:39 remaining.
The Mavericks turned to their strong rushing attack to drain clock and secure their victory.
Grant totaled 90 yards from scrimmage. Kevin Campbell logged a sack, while Mahki Vance had an interception for the Mavericks. Peeples and Demonta Oliver were among those with sacks for the Vikings.
Moore threw for 206 yards in the loss.
“We stayed resilient,” Pew said. “Obviously, we had a couple things go our way and a couple things that didn’t go our way. But our kids never quit. They stayed resilient and got the job done.”
Norland will next host Cocoa at 7 p.m. on Oct. 3 while McCarthy will host Plantation in another key district game at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10.
“It was a team win,” Alexandre said. “We came out and did what we had to do to take care of business. Now we have a bye week, so we have to get back and work.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 2:09 AM.