True North football finishes off Archbishop Carroll to secure district title
True North always knew the goal was to be playing its best football at this point.
That’s why it didn’t matter that it endured two tough losses to open the season.
Or had to wait until past the final week of the regular season to secure a district championship.
As long as the Titans were primed for what they hope is a serious playoff push, that’s all they cared about.
True North played like such a team on Monday night when it routed Archbishop Carroll 49-20 at Milander Park in the resumption of a game that had been suspended due to inclement weather in late September.
The postponement forced True North to play two games in a span of four days as the Titans also beat Miami Westminster Christian last week.
“It’s been a long and then quick turnaround playing two district games in four days, but anytime you can win in November it’s good,” True North coach Greg Laffere said. “With (Carroll), it’s gonna be physical every time.”
The Titans (8-2) won their eighth consecutive game and secured the District 15-1A championship, positioning themselves as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region 4-1A playoffs behind only four-time reigning state champion Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna.
True North projects to host No. 7 seed Miami Palmer Trinity in the first round of the playoffs. The official playoff bracket will be announced by the FHSAA on Thursday.
Monday’s game resumed at the start of the second quarter with the Titans leading 21-7.
On the first play following a Carroll punt, running back Cecil Smith broke loose for a 74-yard touchdown run to extend the Titans’ lead.
On their ensuing drive, Smith would break free for another 70-yard gain that would eventually set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Mason Hernandez to Malik Penson to push the lead to 35-7.
Carroll (7-2-1), which projects to make the playoffs as either a No. 5 or 6 seed despite the loss, battled back with a pair of second-half touchdowns including a 1-yarder by sophomore Dylan Galadza to cut its deficit to 35-20.
But then Penson answered by returning the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Penson, an FIU commit, also returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game back in September, and finished with four catches for 80 yards and two receiving touchdowns overall.
Smith totaled 140 yards on just two carries while eighth-grader Gregory Florence had 85 yards on five carries and senior Kemari Morrison had six carries for 20 yards and a late touchdown.
Sophomore Ricky Carter posted 19 tackles including two for loss while senior Duane Johnson had 18 tackles including one for loss. Senior Brandon Jeudi had 13 tackles and a sack and junior George Harris had 11 tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Dominic Turnbull had three rackles and returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown, and senior Miguel Martinez had 11 tackles and a sack.
“I think we’re starting to figure some things out in all three phases and it’s more consistent,” Laffere said. “Not as many missed assignments or busted deals, so I feel really positive about where we’re going and we just have to keep them healthy and moving forward.”
The Titans opened the season with a pair of losses to Sarasota Cardinal Mooney and Fort Myers Bishop Verot. True North has outscored its opponents 310-73 during its past eight games.
“Those were two really good football teams and we didn’t play very well,” Laffere said. “It’s been beneficial to us playing some good opponents early and it highlighted a lot of the things we needed to get way better at. The players listened and took to heart what they needed to get better at.”
