Rueben Bain’s last-ditch fumble recovery clinches 4th straight state title for Central
While the crowd roared around him and his teammates hopped around in jubilation, Rueben Bain pinned the football to his chest and curled his limbs all around it like he’d never let it go. Even when some teammates started to try to lift him up into the celebration, he plopped his way back to the ground. He wasn’t giving it away for anyone.
It was one part heads-up play and one part twist of fate, and — of course — the ball found its way into hands of the star defensive lineman when Miami Central needed it most. With a 21-point lead on the verge of vanishing, a fumble — forced by Ezekiel Marcelin and recovered by the soon-to-be Miami Hurricane — with 1:17 left saved Central’s 38-31 win against Plantation American Heritage, a fourth straight state championship and perhaps a national championship.
“I had to,” Bain said after finally letting the ball go and waiting to receive his fourth gold medal, “to make sure that we got it.”
It was a picture-perfect ending for one of the best Rockets ever. Last year, Bain set the school record with 29 1/2 sacks. This year, he came up one short when his lone sack in the Class 2M championship Friday gave him 29, but it was something he’d trade for coming up with the biggest moment of the title game.
It also turned into a pass-the-torch moment for the Central dynasty. Bain, now with four straight state championships and already a three-time first-team all-county selection by the Miami Herald, is the Rockets’ present. Marcelin, already with more than half a dozen scholarship offers and two state titles as a staring linebacker, is their future.
They combined to make history in Fort Lauderdale.
“All the coaches — they said we need one more stop,” said Marcelin, a sophomore. “We’re going to be national champs the rest of our lives, we’re going to be legendary, we’re going to be immortal.”
Central (14-0) entered the game as the No. 3 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps. American Heritage (13-2) was No. 10. The Rockets believe a win should be enough to vault them past a pair of one-loss teams from California and to a national title.
They made it more stressful than they would’ve liked, though. A 21-point lead in the second quarter was down to 17 at halftime, then 10 straight points — and two straight stops — in the fourth gave the Patriots the ball at their own 37-yard line, down 38-31 with 3:01 left. They quickly got to Central’s 40 with three straight throws to star wide receiver Brandon Inniss and were back within range of a stunning comeback.
All year, the Rockets’ defense made the timely plays, though. When Central pulled off its season-opening upset of then-No. 4 Bradenton IMG Academy back in August in Bradenton, Rockets defensive back Amari Wallace grabbed an interception in the final minute to seal the win. When Central fended off a furious rally from now-No. 23 Columbus in October in Miami, star linebacker Stanquan Clark forced a fumble in the last two minutes to seal the win.
Once again, the Rockets’ defense did it. Star quarterback Blake Murphy threw a short pass to Toney and the freshman cut up field, with the ball held out too far away from his body. Marcelin flew in and tried to swipe at it — in the chaos of the moment, he admitted he wasn’t even sure if he actually knocked it out — and the ball wound up on the grass. It bounced around for a moment and Bain pounced.
Central could run out the clock.
“He was kind of like in and out, rough moments and he fought through,” Rockets coach Jube Joseph said of Marcelin, who logged 14 tackles, but wasn’t entirely pleased with his performance. “That’s just like the fabric of our team. That shows the infrastructure of how he is as a person.”
As for Bain, the first-year coach’s praise was even higher after the senior finished his career with five tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and one pass defended.
“Generational talent,” said Joseph, who spent the previous three seasons as Central’s defensive coordinator.
While the Rockets celebrated inside DRV PNK Stadium and crowd about why they deserve to be national champions, a link the past stood along the periphery.
Wesley Bissainthe, now a linebacker for the Hurricanes and the key defensive anchor for Central’s previous three state titles, stood next to Marcelin while the star of the future talked about his game-saving play.
It’s easy to see how Central keeps doing it.
“Wesley kind of rubbed off on him last year,” star quarterback Keyone Jenkins said.
The Rockets, as always, are in good hands.
“For a guy like that,” Bain said, “that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:42 PM.