The Patriots dominated the Miami Dolphins. Three Broward County natives led the charge

Sony Michel picked a fitting day and a fitting opponent to have the best game of his young NFL career.

The former Plantation American Heritage running back and New England Patriots first-round pick rushed for a career-high 112 yards and added a fourth-quarter touchdown — the first of his career — in New England’s 38-7 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Prior to the game, Michel had just 84 total rushing yards in two games.

Michel, the 31st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Georgia, became the first Patriots rookie running back to record a 100-yard rushing game in six years.

“He ran really hard and broke some runs out there,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said, according to the Boston Herald. “That’s a stout defense, and we needed the run game to break some of those.”

He wasn’t alone. Michel is one of three Broward County natives who played a pivotal role for the Patriots’ offense against the Dolphins on Sunday and accounted for four of New England’s five touchdowns.

Joining Michel in the back field was James White, the former Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas standout who scored the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl 51. White finished Sunday’s game with 112 yards of total offense (44 rushing yards on eight carries and a game-high 68 receiving yards on eight catches) and a pair of touchdowns.

“We wanted to come out, start fast, get the run game started,” White told reporters. “Sony [Michel] was running hard, the offensive line opened up good holes and we just wanted to start fast and play a four-quarter football game. I think we did that pretty well today.”

Wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, another St. Thomas alumnus who was a first-round pick in 2015 out of the University of Miami, caught four passes for 55 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown pass late in the first half. Dorsett has served as the Patriots’ primary wide receiver during the first quarter of the season while Julian Edelman served a four-game suspension. Dorsett has 16 catches for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns this year.

This story was originally published October 1, 2018 at 11:10 AM.