District 16-8A just got a whole lot more interesting.

A Killian team with only seven seniors and five returning starters took down South Dade, ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Florida Class 8A rankings, 32-29 on Thursday night at Southridge.

Freshman quarterback Cariq Rackley threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns on a stout defense that was previously giving up 83 passing yards a game.

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Senior running back Joshua King broke multiple tackles on an 82-yard touchdown run that put Killian (3-3, 1-1) up 32-22 with 4:56 remaining and appeared to be the clincher.

The Buccaneers (6-1, 2-1) cut the deficit to three quickly, though, with Ludovic Saintvil’s second touchdown pass to James Wiggins, but needing 12 yards on fourth down on the final drive, Saintvil hit Ivan Smith one yard short of the marker to end it.

It was a rewarding win for Killian, which lost several players who transferred to neighboring schools this season.

“You can pluck the kids away from us, but we’re going to keep building them,” Killian coach Cory Johnson said.

South Dade appeared to be the clear favorite after beating district foes Southridge and Palmetto by a combined score of 80-0, but the upset now opens up District 16-8A. South Dade, Killian and Southridge are all 1-1 against each other.

Daquris Wiggins had two of his three catches for touchdowns and finished with 83 receiving yards, and Antwan Collier scored once on the ground and once through the air for Killian.

More Football

▪ Ransom Everglades 12, Scheck Hillel 7: Trailing 7-6 in the fourth quarter, Max Suster caught a pass from Mike Gerrard and raced 67 yards for the winning score.

Behind 7-0, Gerrard also threw a touchdown pass to Nick Cobb in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to one. OJ Armstrong had 150 yards rushing, and DT Eddie Montalvo excelled on defense, shutting out Hillel in the final three quarters. The Raiders are 3-5.

Cross-Country

St. Thomas Aquinas swept the BCAA Cross-Country Championships at Markham Park in Sunrise. The Raiders’ boys, led by winner Sean Breslin, scored 18 points. The Raiders’ girls, led by runner-up Alexa Cruz, totaled 46 points. Dillard’s Brittany Gill won the girls’ title.

Soccer

Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach will be hosting schools from across South Florida in the inaugural Jewish Soccer Classic.

The Jewish Soccer Classic is Oct. 19-21 (girls) and Oct. 26-28 (boys) at Scheck Hillel’s new athletic complex.

Competing are varsity teams from Scheck Hillel, Rabbi Alexander Gross Hebrew Academy, David Posnack Jewish Day School, Donna Klein Jewish Academy and Yeshiva High School.

Volleyball

Gulliver d. Florida Christian 25-21, 25-18, 25-21: Blanca Mengotti 11 kills, 4 aces, 3 digs; Isa Lamus 8 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks; Lauren Gold 6 kills, 2 blocks. Gull 13-7.

Miami Country Day d. Sheridan Hills: 19-25, 25-16, 21-24, 25-21, 15-13: Brooke Pumo 13 kills, 18 digs, 4 aces; Jade Iadorala 15 kills, 11 digs, 3 aces; Sasha Jenkins 36 assists, 4 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces.

Doral Academy d. Ronald Reagan 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22: Fabiana Castro 22 kills, 10 digs, 11 points; Marina Paula 15 kills, 10 digs, 20 points; Jacquelyn Triana 12 digs, 10 points; Andrea Bernal (RR) 12 kills, 7 aces, 7 digs; Sara Requena (RR) 12 kills, 1 ace, 14 digs; Pilar Albar-Diaz (RR) 30 assists, 10 digs, 1 ace, 1 block. DA 14-4.

Highlands Christian d. University School 28-30, 25-16, 25-12, 25-18: Katelyn Barclay (Univ) 20 digs, 1 ace, 2 kills; Yasmin Akyurek (Univ) 8 aces, 5 digs, 2 kills. Univ. 2-19.

Pace d. Hialeah Gardens 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-13: Sophia Gonzalez 19 kills, 24 digs, 17 points; Sharell Nairn 15 Kills, 13 digs, 4 blocks; Alyssa Jean-Jacques 7 kills, 5 digs, 8 points.

Sagemont d. American Heritage 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15: Lu Grinspan (AH) 11 kills, 3 aces, 11 points, 12 digs, 2 blocks; Jenna Amaro (AH) 5 kills, 4 aces, 13 points, 14 digs. AHS 12-5.

Westwood Christian d. Keysgate 25-27, 25-19, 25-20, 26-28, 15-13: Jisely Lopez 17 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs; Lauren Amat 4 kills, 29 assists, 3 digs; Christina Molina 9 kills.