Northwestern’s defense dominates Palmetto in matchup between Miami state-title hopefuls
Northwestern is not a team without flaws. Max Edwards tries to stress this to his Bulls every day.
There’s one spot it’s easy for him to harp on right now: special teams. Northwestern gave up a touchdown to Palmetto on the opening kickoff Thursday, then gifted the Panthers another scoring chance in the second quarter with a muffed punt.
He also knows he can always trust defense and the Bulls will respond well in an adverse situation. Right after the muffed punt, they came through, forcing a turnover in the red zone to squash Palmetto’s best offensive scoring chance in a 17-7 win for Northwestern.
“I tell them, ‘Don’t point the fingers.’ We’ve just got to go out and play, and that’s what our defense does,” Edwards said. “Our defense went down and stopped the opponent’s offense in the red zone. It’s something we’ve got to work on as a team, but I praised them for not pointing the fingers.”
The muffed punt gave the Panthers the ball at the Bulls’ 23-yard line and Palmetto moved down to the 10 before Northwestern (2-1) did what it does best. The Bulls flustered Kevin Smith with pressure and forced the Panthers’ star quarterback into a mistake. Star Northwestern cornerback Tim Burns Jr., who is orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes, baited Smith into a throw and picked off junior in the end zone to keep the Bulls ahead 10-7.
In a meeting between to state-title contenders from Miami-Dade County, Northwestern put up a vintage performance against up-and-coming Palmetto. The Bulls, who have won three straight state titles, held the Panthers (1-1) to just 88 yards. They intercepted Smith twice and recovered a fumble. Even though Northwestern only put up 339 yards of its own and didn’t score an offensive touchdown until 2:33 remained in the third quarter, the Bulls handled Palmetto in a matchup between two state-title contenders from Miami-Dade County.
Northwestern finished with three tackles for loss and one sack — both numbers below its typical averages — but the Bulls also made timely plays in the red zone to shut the Panthers out for the final 47:45. Burns had an interception and also blocked a chip-shot field goal. Star edge rusher Patrick Payton, who is orally committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, scored a defensive touchdown for the second time in three games. Palmetto’s only touchdown came on the very first play of the game.
Panthers athlete Mike Jackson fielded the opening kickoff right at the goal line and returned 99 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds into the game. It was all the scoring Palmetto would manage against Northwestern’s always-stout defense.
On their opening drive, the Bulls marched 60 yards down the field before Northwestern kicker Leo Zuazo knocked in a 37-yard field goal. Both teams traded punts and the Bulls went into the second quarter trailing 7-3.
Quickly, the score flipped. Smith tried to get off a throw through traffic and Payton sprung into the air to bat down the pass and pull it in for an interception. The senior rumbled 15 yards into the end zone to put Northwestern ahead 10-7.
“In the last two victories that we had, Mr. Payton has made a touchdown,” Edwards said. “I’m blessed that he decided to come home and play for me for his senior year.”
On the Panthers’ next drive, the Bulls forced another punt, only they muffed the kick and Palmetto recovered deep in Northwestern territory before Burns shut down the drive.
The Panthers had one more real chance to tie or take the lead on their first drive of the second half. An interception by Palmetto linebacker Gabe Hardman gave the Panthers the ball at the Bulls’ 11 and once again Northwestern held. Palmetto settled for a 20-yard field goal from a tough angle and Burns charged around the edge and pushed a Panther in the way of the kick.
Again, the Bulls clung to their 10-7 lead, which only grew to 17-7 in the final minutes of the third quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Siddiq Jackson.
On Friday, Northwestern suffered a rare blowout loss to Bradenton IMG Academy, the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps rankings. The No. 17 Bulls knew they had to respond better Thursday at Traz Powell Stadium. The playoffs being Nov. 13, after all, and Northwestern has every expectation to win the Class 5A title once again.
“We wanted to come out with a better effort,” Burns said. “As far as the defense, we came out outstanding.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 11:34 PM.
