Needing a boost, Central turned to its senior running back against Carol City. He delivered

Central head coach Roland Smith spent a little private time with his star running back Lexington Joseph earlier this week.

“I told him that all of the great Miami Central backs from past years, Davonta Freeman, Dalvin Cook, Anthony Jones, that when the postseason arrived, they always stepped up and we rode them all the way,” said Smith. “I told him that’s what we were going to need to do with him.”

Well, that’s exactly what happened on Friday night as Joseph stepped up in the biggest moment possible. In a highly anticipated rematch, he ran over, through and around a great Carol City defense to lead the Rockets to a stunning 30-21 win over the Chiefs in a Region 4-6A semifinal at Traz Powell Stadium.

And with that, a season filled with so much promise for Carol City, one that saw the Chiefs never lose a game on the field while riding a No. 1 state ranking and high national ranking with no other goal that to win a state title, was over.

The Rockets, who turned to their fans and celebrated wildly as the final seconds ticked off, advance to next week’s Region 4-6A final where they will take on another neighborhood rival, Northwestern, at Traz Powell on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Unlike three weeks ago when Carol City dominated and the game was not close, the contest this time around lived up to its hype and billing as both teams went at it like a pair of prizefighters, matching score for score all night long.

The end came in dramatic fashion. With two minutes left and Central leading 24-21, Carol City was at the Rockets 20 with third-and-10 when quarterback Daniel Richardson dropped back looking for Thaiu Jones-Bell on an inside slant pattern.

But Central cornerback Tatum Bethune read the play perfectly and jumped the route, picking off the pass. Two plays later, Joseph capped off a spectacular night with an 80-yard touchdown run with 1:20 left. Joseph, who earlier this week committed to FIU, finished the night with 270 yards and two touchdowns on carries.

“I knew it going in tonight that they were going to turn to me and I was ready,” said Joseph. “Hey it was time to put the team on my back. I’m the senior back and learned from all the great backs, Anthony, Dalvin, Davonta. All week they were talking to me about what I would have to do.”

“I did what the coaches told me to do and just got back in my drop in a cover three,” said Bethune. “Then when he locked on to his receiver, I read his eyes and jumped the route. Really exciting that I could come up with a big play to help my team win the game.”

After the two teams traded touchdowns and went to the halftime locker room tied 7-7, Central (9-2) went back out in front with a seven-play, 70-yard drive to open the second half. Quarterback Maurice Underwood found Anthony Fredrick for a 17-yard touchdown.

The Chiefs quickly answered with an 80-yard drive when Richardson, on third-and-two at the Central 35, ran a well-executed quarterback keeper and bolted untouched for the score.

The Rockets came right with another long drive, Underwood going in on a 2-yard keeper to put his team back on top 21-14 with 1:31 left in the third. Back came the Chiefs on another long drive, one that was aided but two huge penalties, a roughing-the-passer and pass interference that kept the drive alive.

When Nay’Quan Wright scored from 1 yard out, the game was tied again with 7:18 left. But Joseph came right back on the first play on the next drive and bolted 61 yards to the Carol City 16 which set up a 27-yard Jayden John field goal with 4:52 left giving the Rockets the lead for good.

It turned out to be a bittersweet night for Richardson. Coming in, he needed 85 yards to pass Rakeem Cato (Miami Springs/Central 2007-10) as the all-time leading passer in Miami-Dade County and got there by throwing for 175 yards on 20-of-29 passing.

“We had a great week of practice and the difference from last time is we eliminated the mistakes tonight,” said Smith when asked how his team managed to change the outcome from three weeks earlier. “We gave them 23 points off turnovers last time and you just can’t do that against a team like that and expect to get away with it. We didn’t do that tonight.

“These were two great teams out there tonight and it’s a shame one of us had to lose. It’s too bad we both couldn’t have met in the state championship game but now we’re obviously glad that it’s us moving on. We can’t take anybody lightly now. We’ve got a big next week against Northwestern and we’ll have to be ready because they sure will be.”