WEEK 8 STANDOUTS: Northwestern Wins Epic Battle

When all is said and done, finding two more talented public high school football programs in the country than Miami’s Northwestern and Central would be impossible. Once again on Friday night, these two football powerhouses got together at The “Mecca” – Traz Powell Stadium for yet another classic. <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-64959" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/10/Florida-Player-Spotlight-5-300x188.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="188" />While Northwestern came up with a 21-14 win in the season opener for both teams, the three-time defending 5A state champion Bulls and defending 6A state champion Rockets showed a limited crowd watching live and thousands viewing online that these are two of the nation’s best public school programs. What has made the Miami-Dade County region of the nation so special throughout the years is how public schools have dominated the landscape in the 305. This game featured some of the most promising prospects in Florida – and on the biggest stage in south Florida, both showed why they are easily the top two teams in Florida – not named IMG Academy. For head coach <strong>Max Edwards</strong> and the Bulls, it was about big plays and a solid defense that paved the way for the win. Because of Coid-19 precautions, limited fans were allowed in a game that is annually sold out, but that did not temper the enthusiasm. Big play athletes for the Bulls included linebacker <strong>Carlton Thomas</strong>, who was all over the field, defensive tackle <strong>Michael Marshall</strong>, outside linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32678" first="Patrick" last="Payton"]</strong>, who is orally committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32632" first="Kamren" last="Kinchens"]</strong>, who is orally committed to the Miami Hurricanes, sophomore quarterback <strong>Taron Dickens</strong>, who finished 12 of 19 for 146 yards and star wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32631" first="Romello" last="Brinson"]</strong>, also committed to Miami. Other standouts for the Bulls included senior running back <strong>Siddiq Jackson</strong> found a hole on the right side of Central’s defense and burst through it for a 46-yard touchdown and an offensive line who opened holes and provided protection. The Rockets, under the direction of veteran head coach <strong>Roland Smith</strong>, rode the legs of senior standout running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32660" first="Amari" last="Daniels"]</strong>, who finish with 146 yards on 15 carries, sophomore quarterback <strong>Keyone Jenkins</strong>, who finished 18 of 27 for 185 yards, sophomore wide receiver <strong>Lamar Seymore</strong>, junior wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50079" first="Zaylan" last="Reese"]</strong> and sophomore wide receiver <strong>Robert McMinn</strong>. Both the Bulls and Rockets have opted in to play for state titles – and a word of warning to the other programs in Florida: “You better bring your ‘A’ game against these two powers. <strong>THE STATE WAS JUMPING</strong> In addition to the Northwestern-Central matchup, there were some other amazing performances this past week. Niceville QB <strong>Trey Wainwright</strong> fired touchdowns to <strong>Dramarian “Juice” McNulty</strong> and <strong>Roland Clay</strong> in a 35-0 win over Pensacola Catholic. Trenton senior <strong>Preston Blankenship</strong> kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Trenton a 40-38 win over Williston. <strong>Adrian Sermons</strong>, <strong>Jacarree Kelly</strong> and <strong>Quandarius Smith</strong> Sparked Gainesville Buchholz over Fleming Island, 24-21. Plant City senior quarterback <strong>Nicholas Felice</strong> finished 8 of 14 for 146 yards with two touchdown strikes, one to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32614" first="Mario" last="Williams"]</strong> for 28 yards and the second to <strong>Reagan Early</strong> for 40 yards in a 35-13 win over Lakeland Kathleen. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32790" first="Jaison" last="Patterson"] </strong>rushed for both touchdowns to lead Jacksonville Ed White past visiting Ribault, 12-0. <strong>Westley Madison</strong> recorded 11 tackles and three sacks to lead a punishing defense for the Commanders. <strong>Carson Crawford</strong> rushed for 157 yards and passed for 109 more to lead Baker County past West Nassau, 28-12. <strong>Scooby Graham </strong>added 97 rushing yards on 14 carries. <strong>Jaquez Moore</strong> connected with <strong>Wesley Jones </strong>for the go-ahead score in a 14-0 win against Ponte Vedra. <strong>Malachi Graham</strong> also scored for Suwannee, which has shut out its last three opponents. <strong>Al’Querious Ray</strong> rushed for 283 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries, as Green Cove Springs Clay rolled over Middleburg, 56-28. Ray cleared the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season. Clay’s <strong>Tre Griner </strong>passed for 154 yards and rushed for 83. <strong>JoJo Restall</strong> led the ground game again with two touchdowns in a 28-14 win against Gainesville Eastside. <strong>Ericksen McConnell </strong>intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble for Orange Park <strong>Erric Smith</strong> rushed for two touchdowns and <strong>Dayviontae Thompson</strong> recovered a fumble as Starke Bradford County beat Palatka, 36-6. <strong>Ty Baxter</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32818" first="Dequan" last="Stanley"]</strong> caught scoring passes from <strong>Sam Edwards</strong> as St. Augustine rolled past Nease, 49-16. Edwards passed for 147 yards and was 9 of 14 passing. Baxter finished the game with 117 yards on 14 carries. <strong>Jacob Corley</strong> rushed for 95 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns to power First Coast to a 21-16 come-from-behind victory over Jacksonville Atlantic Coast. Ocala West Port junior receiver <strong>JyLique Barnes</strong> caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in overtime and the Wolf Pack defense made a goal-line stand to preserve a hard-fought 19-13 win over Forest. With quarterback <strong>Josh Siplin</strong> throwing two touchdowns and his rushing attack grinding out more than 200 yards, the Palmetto Tigers rolled to a 38-12 win over Bradenton Southeast. Siplin had scoring throws of 6 yards to running back <strong>Sagel Hickson</strong>, who also added a game-high 130 yards on 10 carries, and 12 yards to <strong>Zorian Geathers</strong>. Punta Gorda Charlotte senior QB <strong>John Busha </strong>ran for 196 yards and 3 TDs – and completed 12 passes for 272 yards and a TD in a win. Miami Belen Jesuit receiver <strong>Caco Iglesias</strong> caught 8 balls for 166 yards in a tough loss. Ocala Forest standout RB <strong>Antonio Crim</strong> had 174 yards on 24 carries in OT loss to West Port Ocala West Port RB <strong>Elijah Hopkins, Jr.</strong> had 121 yards on 20 carries in OT defeat of Forest. Dunnellon QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50179" first="Trent" last="Townsend"]</strong> completed a 15-yard TD pass to <strong>L.J. Fitzpatrick</strong> on third-and-10 on the final play of the game to defeat Ocala Vanguard. Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="32927" first="Jack" last="O’Keeffe"]</strong> had 9 tackles, 1 strip, sack 1 tfl, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass deflection in a win over No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas. Mitchell WR <strong>Maguire Anderson</strong> caught 4 balls for 70 yards and 3 touchdowns in a win. Miami Westminster senior receiver <strong>Jayden Higgins</strong> had 6 catches for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win over Coral Shores. <strong><em>You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: <a href="mailto:Foridakids1@aol.com">Foridakids1@aol.com</a>. We are also on Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.</em></strong>