Columbus ‘firing on all cylinders’ after rout of Doral Academy. Next up: Miami Central
Dave Dunn took a moment to reflect on the past two months. His Columbus Explorers football team is undefeated, a perfect 8-0 after beating Doral Academy 35-7 in a key district matchup.
But as the Explorers get closer to the playoffs and expectations continue to rise for a team trying to win its second state title in four years, Dunn still sees room for growth.
“We’ve had a couple opportunities [this season] to put teams away earlier than we have,” Dunn said.
He points to their 23-19 win over Northwestern, a game in which the Explorers needed three consecutive defensive stops in the fourth quarter to pull away with the win.
There was also last week’s 21-6 win over Homestead, a game in which Columbus lost two fumbles, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs three times but held its own due to a stifling effort from the defense.
Dunn even cited the Explorers’ one real miscue on Friday: An Alberto Mendoza first-quarter interception after Columbus marched 70 yards down the field to get to the Doral 5.
“You’d probably like to see us capitalize on those opportunities,” Dunn said.
Interception aside, Columbus capitalized on Friday as it continues to pave its way to being the top team in the state in Class 4M.
Mendoza threw four touchdown passes and Ahmere Foster returned an interception for a touchdown to lead Columbus’ rout of Doral Academy. The Explorers have outscored their opponents 278-99 this season and have yet to allow more than 20 points in any given game.
“We’re firing on all cylinders,” Mendoza said.
It paves the way for what could be the biggest game of the season in Miami-Dade County next week: 8-0 Columbus, ranked No. 31 nationally by MaxPreps, against 7-0 Miami Central, the third-ranked team in the country.
“That’s going to be a big task for us,” said Foster, the only player remaining on Columbus’ roster who was part of that 2019 state championship team. “That’s going to show how mature of a team we are.”
Foster’s pick-six, a play in which he jumped the route on the far sideline near midfield and ran unopposed to the end zone, put Columbus up 21-0 and was part of a three-touchdown second quarter for the Explorers. It was the highlight reel play from a defense that limited Doral Academy’s opportunities all night.
The Firebirds scored their only points Friday on a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jorge Rodriguez at the end of the third quarter to cap an eight-play, 25-yard drive that followed a long kickoff return from Tobias Gonzalez. That was the only time Doral (5-3) made it into Columbus territory.
“We came into this game pumped,” Foster said. “We were locked in and we came out with a W.”
Mendoza threw two touchdowns to junior Jose Leon in the second quarter and one apiece to JJ Gomez in the first quarter and Darriel Harper in the third, with Harper’s 55-yard catch-and-run on the second play of the second half putting Columbus up 35-0 and starting the running clock. Mendoza has 19 touchdown passes against five interceptions this season.
“His decision-making has been really good,” Dunn said. “He makes the occasional mistake. ... He’s got a really high football IQ. A lot of times, we’ll make decisions at the line of scrimmage and I’d say 90 percent of the time, he getting us into what we want to be in.”
Mendoza thrives with his supporting cast as well. He has a one-two punch in the backfield between senior Sedrick Irvin and junior Edward Bandy, both of whom made big plays to set up touchdown drives. Bandy, specifically, ran the ball eight times on Columbus’ 12-play, 49-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Mendoza’s first touchdown pass to Leon.
Leon, who has eight touchdowns this season, is his go-to option in the air but he also has three other receivers — Harper, AJ Arellano and Fadrelle Andrus — who have double-digit catches and over 200 receiving yards apiece. His offensive line gives him time to make plays develop.
“The run game was there. The pass game was there. Everything was there,” Mendoza said. “They couldn’t stop us.”
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