Miami Central Roars Back to Beat American Heritage

Plantation, FL- The Miami Central Rockets remain undefeated after a strong come-from-behind effort, beating American Heritage 31-21 on the road.  Senior Rocket quarterback, Anthony McQueen threw two touchdown passes to fellow classmate Joshua Joseph and ran another in for a score to pace Miami Central in their come from behind effort at American Heritage.  The host Patriots got a strong effort from Miami Northwestern transfer QB, Leon Strawder, who accounted for three touchdowns in his debut spelling the injured five-star quarterback Dia Bell (out for the season due to injury) but it wasn’t enough.  

American Heritage got on the board first as a busted coverage allowed Leon Strawder to hit Jeffar Jean-Noel in stride for a touchdown.  The Miami Central corner broke on an underneath route and allowed Jean-Noel to run right by him. Strawder had his first passing touchdown as a Patriot and a 7-0 lead.

Next, trouble for American Heritage as a punt backed them up deep into their own endzone and a stout rush by the Miami Central Rockets defense netted a safety. Senior defensive lineman Cameron McCrea was credited with the points. The score was now 7-2. 

On the ensuing punt after safety kickoff, Jayden Ford, the FIU commit to a kick return back for a Rockets touchdown and Central took the lead for the first time, 9-7.

That lead was short lived as Strawder began to find his stride and the Rockets offense stalled.  The Patriots would score again as Strawder hit Jean-Noel for the second time and the score moved to 14-9 American Heritage.  Leon Strawder’s pass was perfectly placed between three defenders and Jean-Noel made a nice arm-extended grab for the score as the game went to halftime.

In the third quarter, Strawder would lead a drive down the field and run the ball in for a score, capping his three-touchdown performance (2 in the air and one on the ground). American Heritage took advantage of some Miami Central miscues and capitalized on a low offensive output to gain a two-score lead on the Rockets. 

But it was short-lived. The Rockets stormed back down 21-9 in the fourth quarter to score 22 points and grab a win.  Defensively the Rockets were lead by Karon Maycock, Demetrius Ingram and Damien Harvey. Strong running by senior Omari Hollis helped pace the Rockets scoring drives as Jayden Ford was special all night on both offense and special teams.