Last week’s district title showdown featuring American High and Mater Academy lived up to its billing, as the two top defenses in Miami-Dade kept the game close until the end.
But the Patriots escaped with a 10-6 victory, giving head coach Anthony White a district title in his first year at American and the school’s fourth consecutive district championship.
The Lions’ defense focused on their number one target, running back Jeremiah Pierce-Johnson, and forced him out of the game in the first quarter after the standout injured his ankle.
The Patriots’ penurious defense kept Mater Academy at bay, giving the struggling offense a chance to get on the scoreboard, when quarterback Cinque Sweeting ran for a one-yard touchdown before half-time to give his team a 7-3 lead.
The Lions kicked another field goal in the third quarter to cut the lead, 7-6, and American’s place-kicker Diego Arcon drilled a 41-yarder through uprights with 5:43 remaining to seal the game and the district championship.
The Patriots (8-1, 6-0 in district), dominated their 7A-16 district opponents and never missed a beat following the departure of former head coach Corey Bell, who is coaching college football.
Two weeks ago, American clobbered Alonso and Tracy Mourning, 66-0, and ran all over Miami Springs, 33-14, to take the district lead from the Golden Hawks.
The Patriots’ only loss was at the hands of defending state champion South Dade in September.
In other local football action:
Miami Springs bounced back following two consecutive district losses, defeating Alonso and Tracy Mourning, 42-2, last week at North Miami Stadium.
The Golden Hawks dominated the game and led 21-2 at half-time after quarterback Gerald Anderson connected with wide receiver David Bradley for a 56-yard touchdown pass.
Bradley recorded 135 yards and two touchdown on three catches.
Anderson threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Darryel Bethune Jr. ran for 133 yards and two scores.
The Sharks got on the board when Miami Springs was flagged for a holding penalty in the end zone after Mourning punter Gregory Popovin pinned the Hawks on the 1-yard line following a 36-yard punt.
Three weeks ago, Miami Springs (7-2, 4-2) was tied with American High for the 16-7A district lead but lost to the Patriots in a showdown, and the Golden Hawks were upset by Mater Academy to fall to third place in the division.
Ronald Reagan High School was resilient following back-to-back district losses by shutting out Hialeah Gardens, 24-0, in a District 13-8A game.
Hialeah Miami Lakes defeated district rival Barbara Goleman, 41-34, in a wild game in which neither team punted. HML quarterback Isiah Small had two touchdowns late in the game to propel his team to victory.
The Trojans improved to 4-5, 3-3 in district pla, while the Gators fell to 3-7, 2-4 for the year.
Gulliver Prep (5-4, 3-1) blanked Pace, 22-0, to drop the Spartans to 2-7 and 0-3 in district play. Pace quarterback Eric Walker threw for 239 yards but had three interceptions.