Central demolishes Lake Minneola to win second straight state title, seventh overall
It wasn’t just about winning a second straight Class 6A championship for Miami Central. It wasn’t only about matching a Miami-Dade County record with seven state titles or finishing off this challenging year with a some new hardware for the trophy case.
No, Central’s 46-0 beatdown of Lake Minneola on Friday in Tallahassee was about making a statement.
“Year in and year out when we come to the state finals,” coach Roland Smith said, “I want everybody to make sure when they see all the games that they know that Miami Central is the best football team in the state of Florida, no matter what classification.”
The Rockets (8-1) certainly made their point. Central took a 32-point lead into halftime, triggered a running clock less than three minutes into the third quarter and went home with the fifth biggest blowout win in Florida High School Athletic Association championship history.
The Rockets’ title is their sixth in nine years and seventh since 2010. Their seven titles places them in a tie with Miami Northwestern for most in Dade County history.
The rivals are tied for fifth on the all-time list and trail only 11-time champion Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida.
“Just making them know that we run this state,” star linebacker Rhoody Jean-Louis said. “That’s all.”
After throwing an interception on its first possession, Central scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives before the end of the half. The Rockets ran for 250 yards, threw for another 108, held the Hawks (11-2) to 65 and took a 32-0 lead into halftime, and then they got the ball back to start the second half and scored again to trigger a running clock at Doak Campbell Stadium.
A year after setting a state championship record with 498 rushing yards and beating Pensacola Escambia by 35 to win its sixth championship, Central put together an even more dominant performance this year. Amari Daniels, who signed a national letter of intent with the Texas A&M Aggies on Wednesday, ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, and fellow running back Ghana Oho added 98 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Sophomore quarterback Keyone Jenkins went 8 of 14 for 160 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Rockets only gave up 87 yards and six first downs and piled up four sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
Central, ranked No. 18 in the nation by MaxPreps, outgained Lake Minneola, 528-87.
In the first quarter, the Rockets held the Hawks to 13 total yards without a single first down. Central recorded at least one sack or tackle for loss on each of the Hawks’ first four drives, and the Rockets answered nearly every punt with a touchdown.
“They came out ready to play. They did an excellent job today,” Smith said. “Like I told them: We’re not worrying about our opponent. We’re going to worry about us.”
After Jenkins threw an interception on Central’s first possession, Daniels started driving the Rockets down the field on the next. The senior opened the second drive with a 38-yard run to set up Jenkins’ first touchdown pass to wide receiver Zaylan Reese to go up 6-0.
On Central’s third drive, Daniels ripped off a 13-yard run to push the Rockets down to the Hawks’ 24-yard line and Jenkins heaved a touchdown to wide receiver Robert McMinn for a 12-0 lead.
Central’s fourth drive was entirely handled by its tailbacks, as Oho tore off a 38-yard run and Daniels’ punched in a 14-yard touchdown to put the Rockets ahead 18-0. Daniels and Oho both had 15-yard runs on the next drive, and Jenkins capped it with an 8-yard touchdown to star athlete Yulkeith Brown, who also signed with Texas A&M on Wednesday. Before halftime, Central added one more when Daniels added a 40-yard run and Oho scored from 3 yards out to send the Rockets into halftime ahead 32-0.
Central started the second half with a 47-yard pass from Jenkins to McMinn, converted a fourth down with a swing pass to Daniels and then started the running clock with 9:43 remaining when Daniels ran in a 1-yard touchdown to go up 40-0.
As the final seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter, pastor Dwight Jackson Sr. showed off his jewelry collection to anyone would look.
Around his neck were six gold medals from each of the Rockets’ six previous championships. On each finger of his right hand and the ring finger of his left were those gaudy rings they use to commemorate those victories.
Central is back at the top and happy to be in elite company.
“In the city, we ain’t really competing about who has more rings or not,” Daniels said. “We’re all one family in Dade County. We wish they were here tonight, playing tonight.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
