A ‘more focused’ Miramar shuts out Western to extend winning streak to five games
It was a statement moment for the Miramar Patriots on Thursday.
Holding a two-score lead late in the third quarter, Miramar’s defense was backed up inside its 5 yard line as Davie Western tried to put together a late rally. On fourth and goal, Western quarterback Collin Hurst took the snap, rolled slightly to his left and threw a jump pass to running back Chance Washington.
Miramar safety Kamar Lhomme broke up the pass. Turnover on downs.
Fourteen plays, 96 yards and nearly eight minutes later, the Patriots’ offense marched its way the length of the field, with quarterback Kael Alexander’s 12-yard bootleg run for a touchdown sealing Miramar’s 21-0 win over host Western.
“I’ve watched them put up a lot of points against a lot of people, so I took it as a challenge,” Miramar coach Antwan Scott said. “I didn’t expect the shutout, but I’ll take it.”
It was the Patriots’ third shutout over their current five-game win streak in which Miramar (6-1) has outscored opponents 200-14.
The first four games of this win streak — Pembroke Pines Flanagan, Coral Glades, Pembroke Pines Charter and Hialeah American — entered the week with a combined 8-20 record.
On Thursday, the Patriots’ win came against a Western team that entered the season with state title aspirations in Class 4M but has struggled against top teams this season — the Wildcats’ other two losses this season were 38-0 to St. Thomas Aquinas and 42-18 to Plantation American Heritage.
It was a moment of validation Miramar was hoping for after losing its most recent big test of the season when it got beat by Dillard 35-7 way back on Sept. 9.
“We’ve learned to take everything more seriously and not live up to the hype,” Alexander said. “Dillard’s a great team, but we let the hype get to us. Coming into this one, we were more focused.”
Prior to that game-sealing drive, Miramar’s offense used two big plays to get on the scoreboard — a 63-yard Alexander touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 64-yard run by senior running back Nate Henry on the first play of the second half to go up 14-0.
“We knew we had them where we wanted them,” Henry said. “We knew at that point we could chew the clock down and get the game over with. All part of the plan.”
Miramar’s defense did the rest. They recovered a pair of fumbles to stymie two promising Western drives. They forced a three-and-out when the Wildcats had a short field in the first half.
And then, late in the third quarter, the goal line stand that led to a game-defining touchdown drive put all the momentum on Miramar’s side the rest of the way.
“That was awesome,” Scott said. “We go over red zone and goal line [situations] all the time. As a coach, you think you’ve got it until you get into the situation. Tonight, we did it.”
Miramar plays at Everglades on Oct. 28 with a chance to lock up the District 14-3M title. Western can also secure its district title next week when it faces Coral Glades.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 11:38 PM.
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