Palmetto unlocks offense in rout of South Dade to secure key district victory
Palmetto spent all offseason thinking about the way last year ended because it felt so familiar.
The Panthers’ defense gave them every chance to win and yet their offense could hardly find the end zone, stalling out time after time in Western territory with a trip to a region championship on the line.
On Friday, Palmetto might have hit on one solution. In the second half, the Panthers made things simple: They snapped the ball directly to Ethan Lopez and let everyone else clear the way. The running back scored three touchdowns and Palmetto pulled away for a 34-6 rout of South Dade at Harris Field in Homestead.
“That’s something we’ve missed over the last few years,” Panthers coach Mike Manasco said. “When you get in the red zone, we’ve got to be efficient and if we’re not efficient, then that’s on us as coaches.
“That’s a great sign because now we have something.”
After rushing for just 7 yards and no scores on four carries in the first half, Lopez finished with 16 carries for 52 yards and three touchdowns, with all three scores coming off direct snaps.
The red zone has been Palmetto’s nemesis for too long—“it’s been our weakness lately, for the last three years,” Lopez said—and finally the Panthers (4-2) cracked it against a quality opponent this week, scoring touchdowns on five of their six trips inside the Buccaneers’ 20-yard line.
Lopez did the bulk of the work in the red zone. The senior scored on a tush push to put Palmetto up 21-0 in the third quarter, then on one direct snap to make it 28-0 on the last play of the third and finally put an exclamation point on the win with a 10-yard run off a direct snap on the Panthers’ final possession in the fourth.
He was not the only one, though. Palmetto also got a spectacular, 13-yard contested touchdown catch from star wide receiver Cameron Sapp in the second quarter, scored on a 10-yard throwback to running back Varian Terry and even perfectly executed a Statue of Liberty play to spark a mostly stagnant offense in the first half.
On one scoring drive after an interception gave Palmetto the ball at South Dade’s 31, the Panthers went: Statue of Liberty, then Wildcat formation and then throwback to go up 14-0 with 59 seconds left before halftime.
“That’s what high school football’s supposed to be about,” Manasco said, “and the more multiple we can be, it puts people in binds.”
The two-score lead was too much for the Buccaneers (2-4) to overcome, too. South Dade breezed down the field on its first drive—hitting long passes to Florida State commit Tedarius Hughes, athlete Jean Calixte and running back Jakari Blackman—only to fumble away possession at the Panthers’ 1.
Offensive miscues became a theme for the Buccaneers and kept them from ever being able to keep up with Palmetto. South Dade’s second possession ended with a fumble, too, and an interception late in the second quarter set up the Panthers for their second touchdown.
Even when they finally got on the board with a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback X’zayvion Clayton to Blackman to cut Palmetto’s lead to 27-6 early in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers wasted their slim chance at a comeback. South Dade followed up the touchdown with a stop, only to muff the ensuing punt and give possession right back to the Panthers in the red zone.