Killian rallies to beat Carol City to move on to regional semis; Edison advances

It didn’t matter that, despite being the No. 3 seed that they had to travel and play the No. 6 seed on its home field.

As far as Miami Killian football coach Rudy Trevino is concerned, his Cougars have become road warriors during the second half of the season anyway so what was one more hurdle to clear.

And it was a hurdle Killian easily cleared on Friday night as the Cougars handily dispatched Miami Carol City in impressive fashion 38-21 in a Region 4-2A quarterfinal at the Betty T. Ferguson Sports Complex in Miami Gardens. It was the Cougars’ first playoff win since 2021.

“At the end of the day, we’ve been through this all season,” Trevino said. “Once we blew a 20-point lead and lost to Gulliver last month, we’ve been on a playoff run ever since and been on the road every week. So every week for us over the last four or five weeks has been nothing but a playoff mentality and you saw that out there tonight. Our kids showed up and were ready to play.”

And the Cougars, who were forced to travel to Carol City because the Chiefs won their district and Killian did not, will gas up the buses and head north again next week.

Killian (8-3) will travel to Fort Lauderdale where they will challenge No. 2-seed Cardinal Gibbons in a Region 4-2A semifinal after Gibbons easily defeated Monsignor Pace in the opposite quarterfinal.

After yielding the early momentum to Carol City and falling behind 7-0, the Cougars, led by dynamic quarterback Kymani Corbett, proceeded to score 32 unanswered points over the next two-and-a-half quarters to turn what many thought might be a close game into a rout.

Corbett was nearly unstoppable as he torched the Carol City secondary completing 26-of-36 passes for 302 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers.

“It’s all about win or go home so we prepared all week for this game tonight with that mentality,” Corbett said. “We came out here and executed in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams. That’s what Miami Killian football is all about. It’s not about anybody’s stats, it’s about just getting out there and doing whatever it takes as a team to win.”

After Carol City quarterback Russell Britton found Ishmael McNichols for a 22-yard touchdown pass to complete a 9-play, 80-yard drive to open the game, Corbett and his offense had an answer. A big one.

Two plays into their next drive, he dropped back and tossed a deep ball to the far sideline that Carol City safety Marquise Knighton appeared to have in his sights. But he mistimed his jump and the ball wound up in the hands of Willie Scott who then turned and took off down the sidelines for an 84-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

If there was one play the Chiefs would like to have back and one that could have really put the Cougars in an early hole, it was the one right before the Corbett-Scott hookup.

Corbett made his only poor throw of the night, underthrowing a pass in the right flat to Corey Swint. Carol City linebacker Dan Robinson Jr. was there to jump in front of it for what would’ve been an easy 20-yard pick-six touchdown and a 14-0 Chiefs lead. But he couldn’t handle the ball and the pass fell incomplete.

Still trailing 7-6 midway through the second quarter (Killian’s extra point following the first touchdown was blocked), the Cougars took the lead for good when a Carol City punt from its own end zone only went 10 yards giving Corbett the ball at the Chiefs 12. Four plays later he found Jayden Smoak wide open in the right flat for a 4-yard touchdown and 12-7 lead at the half following a failed two-point conversion.

Killian then took the second-half kickoff and drove 70 yards in 10 plays with Corbett finding a wide open Anton Smith down the middle for a 49-yard touchdown. It came one play after the two had hooked up for a 39-yard score only to have it wiped out by a holding penalty.

Carol City fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Killian recovered at the CC 28, the Cougars were in the end zone six plays later as Corbett found Shanye Festa wide open in the right flat for a two-yard score, and it was 25-7 with 4:40 left in the third.

With 11 minutes left in the game, Corbett led the Cougars on another long, sustained drive (12 plays, 83 yards) and tossed touchdown pass number five, this time to Swint from 10 yards out to make it 32-7 with 4:02 left.

Once Corbett’s night was done, backup Jerimiah Lee, tossed a short pass to Swint, who turned it into a 61-yard touchdown to complete the Cougar scoring barrage.

“Kymani is one of the most hidden gems in South Florida,” said Trevino of his star quarterback. “The kid was injured last year and now I think he’s thrown for nearly 3,000 yards this season, maybe 25 touchdowns to just five interceptions, What more can you ask of the young man. Just a great athlete who has come in to his own and turned in to a leader on this team.”

Region 4-1A quarterfinal - Miami Edison 50, Miami Westminster Christian 7: Mikael Gachelin returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown just three minutes into the game and the rout was on Friday afternoon at Traz Powell Stadium. Quarterback Michael Clayton tossed a pair of touchdown passes, 10 yards to John Jones, and 28 yards to Victwon Miller and Victor Santino had a 60 yard TD run as the Red Raiders built a 28-0 halftime lead. Santino then scored from 30 yards out midway through the third quarter to get the running clock going. Edison’s reward for the win will be a daunting one, a trip to Hollywood to take on 4-time reigning state champion Chaminade Madonna in a Region 4-1A semifinal next Friday.

This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM.