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Miami, FL — Rebooting after winning a state title is no easy task. So is the task this year for 6A state champion Miami Northwestern and 5A state champion Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale). Both met Friday night in an intriguing Dade County Vs. Broward County matchup at Traz Powell Stadium to kick off their quests to repeat as champions. The Bulls shutout the Chiefs 32-0 Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium as their run for three straight championships begins. The Bulls scored three touchdowns from three turnovers and had a total of four takeaways on the night.
“The defense came to play,” said Head Coach Max Edwards. “They showed they practiced a little more and they brought it to the field.”
Northwestern got on the scoreboard first with a pick-six from Ronald Delancey III. The senior seemed to read the play the entire time, jumped the route and stepped over the goal line from about five yards out.
Ronald Delancey III, DB, Miami Northwestern
The Bulls, however, struggled on offense for most of the game. Several holding penalties killed drives and frustrated the blue and gold sideline. The Bulls committed seven penalties for 76 yards in the first half alone.
“I attest the [amount of penalties] to the way we practiced,” said Edwards. “It caught up with us. If we keep doing that it will hurt us.”
Last year, Miami Northwestern completed the task of repeating as champions with a different quarterback than the previous year. This year, if they are going to complete a three-peat, they will have to do it again with a different QB. The Bulls started the game with the senior Kemani Brown and ended the game with freshman Taron Dickson.
Kemani Brown, QB, Miami Northwestern
Dickson entered the game in the second quarter and continued the quarterback duties for the rest of the game. Brown went 4 of 6 for 71 yards while Dickson went 6 of 8 for 84 yards with one touchdown and a fumble lost.
Taron Dickson, QB, Miami Northwestern
“We changed quarterbacks to see if we could do better [on offense],” said Edwards. “It is what it is.”
Cardinal Gibbons, is now in Class 4A and for the third year in a row took on a Dade County power in their opening game. Gibbons defeated Miami Southridge in the first matchup two years ago and lost last year to Miami Central. In this game, Gibbons never got into an offensive flow that their fans are accustomed to seeing in recent years. Mistakes killed any chances of Gibbons making a come back in the game and none were more critical than just before the half with four seconds to go. The Chiefs lined up for a punt in their own end zone and tried to hurry up and catch the Bulls in transition with substitutions. They caught the Bulls with only seven players on the field but unfortunately had their punt blocked. Senior Wati Huggins recovered the ball in the endzone and the Bulls took a 13-0 lead into halftime.
Wati Huggins, DE, Miami Northwestern
In the second half, it was more of Northwestern taking advantage of Gibbon’s mistakes. The Bulls jumped on a muffed punt in the third quarter and converted the ensuing drive with a Nate Noel one-yard score. Later in the half, junior Kamren Kinchens (pictured in featured photo) got his second interception of the game which led to their final score. Miami commit Romello Brinson caught a short pass from Dickson and spun out of a tackle in route to the endzone.
.@CanesFootball commit Romello Brinson spins out of the tackle and scores a touchdown for @MNW_Bulls1955. Score 32-0 with under four minutes to go. @SportsCenter Top 10 nominee @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/xJeWuMPxUr
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 24, 2019
There were some questions about Northwestern repeating as champions due to a surprise loss to Atlantic (Delray) in the Spring, but a strong showing last week against Palm Beach Central (36-6) in their preseason kickoff classic gave us indications that all is well in Liberty City. Tonight proved that point further but Coach Edwards says there is much to improve on for the upcoming weeks.
Look who is also with @Jumpman23. Take a look at the footwear for @MNW_Bulls1955. #spacejams @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/pyklhB9MRr
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 24, 2019
“I’m disappointed the way the offense played but when you play a hard team like Cardinal Gibbons I can understand why this would happen. It’s just the first week of the season, so I expected those type of mistakes. I will enjoy this victory because I’ll take it any way I get it.”
The 6A state champion Bulls are now in 5A in a much lighter district than years past with the new alignment. In previous years, rivals Miami Carol City, Miami Central, and Miami Norland all played in the same district. Carol City is now down to 4A while Central and Norland remain in 6A.
The Bulls of @MNW_Bulls1955 shutout @GibbonsFootball 32-0 to start the regular season in best of Broward Vs. Dade Game. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/JHTFfAGgOj
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) August 24, 2019
Last year, all four Dade County powers made it to the playoffs and had to get through each other to make it to the state title game. Northwestern was the last team standing and hoisted the state title trophy for the sixth time in school history. ‘The West’ will still play Miami Carol City and Miami Central this season.
Miami Northwestern returns to Traz for a battle with rival Miami Carol City Saturday night while it does not get any easier next week for Cardinal Gibbons as they host Miami Palmetto.
