Edison, Miramar have ‘a lot of work to do’ after sloppy preseason football tune-up
All Miramar and Edison could do after a turnover-plagued, penalty-filled preseason showdown Friday was grimace — maybe laugh a little self-deprecating laugh — and try to figure out how to get better once the regular season begins next week.
For 47:11, the Patriots and Red Raiders couldn’t find the end zone in Miramar until finally, with 49 seconds left, the Patriots broke a scoreless tie to win 7-0 on their home field.
“I’m proud of my team. We stayed with it, we stayed with it and we pulled it out in the end,” Miramar coach AJ Scott said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The Patriots failed on their first four red-zone trips and Edison couldn’t convert on its only trip inside Miramar’s 20-yard line. The Patriots committed three turnovers and the Red Raiders had one, and each team nabbed an interception inside their own 1.
MIramar, however, finally pulled together one successful drive when quarterback Kael Alexander found Tre’ Rigby for a long completion down to the 5 and running back Nathaniel Henry punched in the game-winning, 4-yard touchdown run in the last minute.
It was just a preseason game and it certainly felt like one.
“We’ve just got to get way better,” Edison wide receiver Nathaniel Joseph said. “Offense—we’ve got to put it together.”
Joseph, who orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes in June, led the Red Raiders’ offense with five catches for 48 yards, although the preseason format, with no live special teams, limited one of his biggest strengths.
After an ugly preseason tune-up, Edison will need to be much improved next week when it goes across state lines to face Cedar Grove of Ellenwood, Georgia, on Aug. 27 in Clarkston, Georgia. The Saints are the No. 71 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps’ preseason rankings.
Friday was the first varsity start for Red Raiders quarterback Michael Zephrin, so Joseph is hoping Edison worked out some of the kinks at Miramar High School.
“From coming off the bench to playing, he did a great job,” Joseph said. “I’m going to keep working with him after practice and just trying to get on the same page.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 11:13 PM.