‘It means everything’: Dr. Krop holds off Belen Jesuit for first playoff win since 2009

Tommy Caporale’s voice trembled as he talked through all the reasons this win — Dr. Krop’s first in the postseason since 2009 — was so important to him, his players and the school.

His quarterback was 3 the last time the Lightning won in the playoffs. Some of his assistant coaches were still in middle school. In his first season as an assistant coach in Ives Estates, Caporale and Dr. Krop won just one game and it took until Year 4—last season—for the Lightning to end a nine-year playoff drought.

On Friday, Dr. Krop got to host a Region 4-Class 3M quarterfinal at Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens and toppled Belen Jesuit, 23-17, for its biggest win in a generation.

“It means everything, man,” Caporale said. “This is what you take to get over the hump as a program.”

The Lightning (7-4) fell behind 7-0, but then took a 10-7 lead into halftime and never trailed again.

It does not mean it was easy.

The game came down to one final two-minute drill for the Wolverines and they made it all the way to Dr. Krop’s 18-yard line — from as far back as their own 3 after a fumbled snap to start the drvie — before Belen Jesuit quarterback Andres Miyares’ final fourth-down pass fell incomplete with less than 30 seconds left.

Dr. Krop essentially had to win the game twice. The Lightning started to celebrate with 45 seconds remaining when Stefan Borrero made a fourth-down catch right at the first-down marker. The officials initially signaled the Wolverines wide receiver was short of the marker before a long discussion — and some heated arguing from Belen Jesuit’s sideline, yielding a 15-yard penalty — led them to move the ball up a few feet and give the Wolverines (5-6) a first down.

The penalty, however, backed Belen Jesuit into a first-and-25 at Dr. Krop’s 45. One 27-yard pass from Miyares to Wolverines athlete Bryce Fitzgerald got Belen Jesuit into the red zone, but a spike and three more incomplete passes let the Lightning escape.

“They told me, Coach, don’t worry about it. Get off the field. We’re going to win it,” Caporale said. “It’s just those kids, man. They poured everything into this and to come back out and have to stop them again after like, Oh, we’re giving them an opportunity. At the end of the day, they made the plays.”

The plays always seemed to come whenever Dr. Krop needed them most. After Wolverines quarterback Michael Musi put Belen Jesuit ahead 7-0 on a sneak in the second quarter, Lightning dual-threat quarterback Jamaal Haggins answered with his own touchdown run 3:01 later to tie the game.

A field goal right before halftime gave Dr. Krop the lead and then Haggins hit Lightning wide receiver Ronald Towns for a 67-yard touchdown pass on Dr. Krop’s first drive of the second half to go up 16-7.

“We had talked to each other in the huddle. Coach said I can run this,” Haggins said. “I started running my own plays. He trusted me to do what I had to do.”

The Wolverines answered with their best drive of the game — ending with a 5-yard touchdown run by Belen Jesuit slotback Anthony Rubio — to cut the Lighting’s lead to 16-14, but Dr. Krop had a quick response again.

The Wolverines tried a squib kick and it didn’t work. Lightning athlete Frank Valbowtin scooped up the bouncing ball and raced into the end zone for the decisive touchdown.

It was a stark contrast from those early years for Caporale at Dr. Krop. Those Lightning teams, he said, were scared because those players didn’t no any better after years and years of losing. A team like Belen Jesuit — led by high-level recruits such as defensive linemen Gavench Marcelin and Davion Dixon — would have intimidated Dr. Krop.

This Lightning team never flinched and it was validating for Caporale.

“I hate people who say, Oh, you can’t win at Krop. You can’t do this. You can’t do that. I said, OK, we’ll I’m going to show y’all, and these guys just proved it for me,” Caporale said. “My first year, we were scared. Those kids were scared. These kids — we ain’t scared. I’ll walk up against any football team. Whether we win or lose, I know they ain’t going to be afraid and rise to the occasion, and that’s what they did tonight. They rose to the occasion. It was a beautiful thing to watch.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 10:32 PM.