Miami Central struggles to find offensive rhythm in season-opening loss to Lakeland
The Miami Central football team’s redemption season didn’t get off to the start the Rockets hoped it would on Friday night.
Despite amassing over 300 yards on offense, Central struggled to find any rhythm on that side throughout a frustrating 16-8 loss to state powerhouse Lakeland at Traz Powell Stadium.
The Rockets (0-1), who entered the game ranked No. 15 nationally by MaxPreps, found the end zone once and were stopped on downs twice in the fourth quarter including a goal line stand by Lakeland’s defense with 3:01 left in the game.
“We had a lot of mistakes and lapses,” Central coach Jube Joseph said. “We run an offense that’s based on execution and we really didn’t execute. Everything looked great on the board, but not on the field. Lakeland did a few things on defense that they didn’t do on film. We left a lot of plays on that field.”
Fresh off having its four-year streak of state championships snapped by Miami Norland, Central is aiming to start a new title run this season.
It will need much better and balanced performances from its offense to make that goal happen.
Quarterback Bekkem Kritza passed for over 250 yards and threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Nae’Shaun Montgomery in the second quarter, which gave the Rockets their only lead at 6-3.
The Dreadnaughts (1-0), ranked 48th nationally, responded with a pair of field goals from kicker Callum Moldoon before halftime to take the lead for good.
Malik Morris’ 1-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter extended Lakeland’s lead to 16-6.
The Rockets did not run the football consistently until the final period after being held to 25 yards on the ground over the first three quarters.
But two consecutive quarterback dives from Kritza from the 1-yard line were stifled by the Dreadnaughts late in the game.
Central’s defense, which was led by Otis Guyton’s two sacks, produced a safety on the next play to make it a one-possession game.
The Rockets’ final drive advanced into Lakeland territory, before a run on third-and-1 was stopped for no gain and a Kritza pass on fourth-and-1 was knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
Central appeared to have some momentum to open the second half until a lightning delay with 8:47 left in the third quarter halted the game for 40 minutes. Once play resumed, the Rockets were forced to punt after advancing to midfield.
“They have to understand we play four quarters. We have to start fast and finish strong,” Joseph said. “It comes down to willpower. It’s an inch and we have to get those. We have to refocus and minimize mistakes.”
