Tag: Miami Central

Highlights: Chaminade-Madonna takes down Miami Central in fight of top-5 teams

Chaminade-Madonna football staved off Miami Central in a game with explosive first-half offenses and then dominant second-half defenses.

The high school football scheduling overlords blessed us early in the season with heavy hitters facing off on Thursday, a national matchup between two top-5 teams in the Super 25 as No. 3 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) took on cross-town Miami Central (Fla.)

The Chaminade-Madonna Lions staved off the Central Rockets with a 31-28 that consisted of a high-powered offensive dual in the first half, defensive dominance from both sides in the second, and a weather delay that forced a pause of almost two hours.

The teams combined for 52 points in the first half as Chaminade-Madonna quarterback Cedrick Bailey, a North Carolina State commit, passed for four touchdowns, two of which were caught by five-star Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith. On the other hand, the Rockets went to the ground, as three players rushed for touchdowns. At one point, Central held the lead but finished the half trailing 31-21.

Central shut out Chaminade-Madonna in the second half. The team could barely make up any ground because the Lions’ defense matched them step-for-step, trading interceptions and punishing offensive players.

The Rockets managed a third-quarter touchdown, but neither team scored in the fourth quarter and Central spoiled the chance to tie with a missed 26-yard field goal attempt.

In the end, after an explosive first half, the defense sealed the game. Three-star Chaminade-Madonna safety Curtis Janiver, a Florida Atlantic commit, had two interceptions, including one with less than a minute and a half remaining to put the game away.

Chaminade-Madonna maintained its spot as the best team in Florida and improved its record to 5-0 as Central fell to a 1-2 record that completely misses the mark on how good of a team it is — its two losses are both to top-3 teams, with this three-point defeat at the hands of the Lions and a four-point loss to No. 2 Bishop Gorman.

Central’s schedule is brutal. Chaminade-Madonna made a case as not just a top-3 team but maybe a top-2 or top-1. Once again, thank you to the schedule overseers for putting this rotation together.

SCORES:

National

Super 25

USA TODAY Sports Super 25 Regional Football Watchlist: Southeast region

Keep an eye on these teams in the Southeast region…

The 2023 high school football season has arrived, with teams kicking off across the country in August.

That means the first USA TODAY Sports Super 25 is nearing, which marks another start to an iconic franchise that began back in 1982.

Last year’s Super 25 was one of the tightest races of all time, as St. John Bosco (Calif.) narrowly won out over Mater Dei (Calif.) and Bishop Gorman (Nev.), as well as Texas power Duncanville and Miami Central (Fla.).

How will things stack up this season? Ahead of the opening Super 25, USA TODAY HSS is looking around the country at the five regions we use to create the national rankings:

Next up is the Southeast region, which includes schools from the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Florida State ‘early front-runner’ for Miami Central 5-star DE Armondo Blount

They’re also looking good for at least one elite recruit from the class of 2025.

After a slow start, Florida State is coming on strong in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Over the weekend, they snagged a commitment from five-star safety KJ Bolden, when they weren’t even supposed to be in the race. Now the Seminoles are in the top five in the 2024 national recruiting rankings. They’re also looking good for at least one elite recruit from the class of 2025.

According to Adam Gorney at Rivals.com, Florida State is the early front-runner for Miami Central (Fla.) 2025 five-star DE Armondo Blount.

“Florida State has been the early front-runner for the 2025 five-star defensive end from Miami (Fla.) Central and a trip back to Tallahassee recently really stood out. Blount spent a lot of time with position coach Odell Haggins and even took notes of what Haggins was saying to remember for later. Miami and Florida are two other early ones to watch, but the Seminoles definitely stand out most.”

Blount (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) is ranked first overall in Florida, second at his position, and fifth nationally in the class of 2025, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

The Seminoles might be the favorites for now, but Blount has offers from 28 other schools, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Miami. Also, only some agree FSU is in the lead. On3’s prediction model has Florida as the favorite at 39.2%, followed by Miami at 20.8% and FSU at 6.3%.

For the moment, Florida State has a pair of three-star recruits committed to their class of 2025: Mandarin (Fla.) quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. and Eau Gallie (Fla.) wide receiver DL Hardison.

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Florida State gets a surprise commitment from 5-star KJ Bolden

Penn State making ‘biggest push’ for 4-star DT T.A. Cunningham

He has a top five list, but Penn State is making the biggest push for his commitment.

Recruiting high school football talent is always a battle that continues all year, but the competition for interior defensive linemen in the class of 2024 is particularly fierce right now. A prospect to watch who will soon be making a decision is Miami Central (Fla.) four-star defensive lineman T.A. Cunningham.

So far, Cunningham has received a stunning 62 college offers. According to Adam Gorney at Rivals he has a top-five list, but Penn State is making the biggest push for his commitment.

“Settled now at Miami (Fla.) Central after a tumultuous recruitment and high school experience, Cunningham now has a top five of Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami, Texas A&M and Michigan but one program is “definitely recruiting me the hardest out of anyone,” he said. The Nittany Lions are making the biggest push for Cunningham, who is originally from Georgia, transferred to a school in California and is now in Miami. A decision could be coming soon, too.”

On3’s prediction model agrees that the Nittany Lions are the team to beat in Cunningham’s recruitment. They’re a dominant favorite at 84.5%, while the second-best odds belong to Georgia at just 2.1%.

Both On3 and 247Sports have Cunningham ranked No. 28 at his position. ESPN (No. 16) and Rivals (No. 12) have him considerably higher, though. Nationally, ESPN has him at No. 116 overall.

Cunningham reportedly plans to make his college commitment public this Saturday, July 22.

More football stories

Alabama rises to No. 5 nationally with another 4-star commitment

Georgia has ‘made a surge’ in recruiting 5-star LB Justin Williams

Miami Central getting 3 big transfers from California

Three high school football players from California are transferring to Florida powerhouse Miami Central.

Three high school players from Southern California are moving cross-country and transferring to Miami Central, a Florida powerhouse school that finished the 2022-23 season No. 4 in our final football Super 25.

According to a report by Rivals recruiting analyst Frank Tucker, the three players are Los Alamitos defensive end T.A. Cunningham, his younger brother, and teammate, defensive end T.K. Cunningham, plus Santa Margarita Catholic quarterback Bekkem Kritza.

Kritza (6-foot-4, 180 pounds) is a four-star quarterback who is ranked No. 9 at his position and No. 16 overall in California. He’s in the class of 2025. Kritza has offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas, Miami, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M.

T.A. Cunningham (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) has a four-star rating and is ranked No. 13 among defensive linemen in the class of 2024. He’s one of the most highly-recruited players in the country, with offers from 61 schools. According to On3’s prediction model, Miami is the favorite to get his commitment at 76.1%.

His younger brother T.K. Cunningham (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) is in the class of 2027 and is as yet unranked. However, he already has offers from 19 different programs, including Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Michigan and USC.

That’s three serious new pieces for the Rockets, who went 14-0 last season, including a win over American Heritage for their fourth consecutive state championship.

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Miami Central upsets IMG Academy in a game that included controversial pick-six

Miami Central’s upset of IMG Academy is shadowed by a questionable pick-six.

Miami Central’s win over IMG Academy had the national high school football scene abuzz on Friday night, one of the first notable upsets of the 2022 season’s national powerhouse group.

It was a defensive masterpiece from the Rockets, who didn’t allow the home team to score in the second half— a rarity for IMG, a team that has been near the top of the Super 25 rankings for the past few years, regardless if they are home or away.

(IMG’s four-star quarterback Jayden Bradford leaving after one play due to an apparent wrist injury certainly did not help matters either.)

When the clock struck zero, it was Miami Central: 20, IMG Academy: 14. The comeback was complete after heading to halftime down 14-6.

It’s a massive win and adds more national credibility to an already strong program in Miami Central, which never hurts in such an enormous landscape of top teams.

But… the victory didn’t come without a bit of controversy—a possible missed call that might have decided the outcome.

The pick-six by Lawayne McCoy in the opening part of the fourth quarter would stand as the eventual game-winner.

However, after watching the replay, it looks as though he might have celebrated the score a tad early.

Take a look:

Too soon?

Too close to call?

The broadcast pretty much answers the question—Oy!

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Texas high school team banned from State Championships for 2 years

Live-Stream Florida High School Football:

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St. John Bosco kicks off 2021 season with win over Miami Central

St. John Bosco defeated Miami Central in a battle of national powerhouses on Friday night.

St. John Bosco returned to the field on Friday night and announced its presence with authority, scoring three touchdowns in the first six minutes of a 35-12 win over Miami Central in a battle of national powerhouses.

Three-star senior running back Jabari Bates scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes and tacked on another in the fourth quarter as St. John Bosco throttled Miami Central throughout the night. Bates kicked off the scoring with a touchdown after a Miami Central fumble. He then found paydirt from 31 yards out after a Miami Central three-and-out to quickly put the Braves up 14-0. Four-star junior quarterback Pierce Clarkson then tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 midway through the first quarter.

St. John Bosco’s early lead was ultimately too much for Miami Central to overcome, but the Rockets did not roll over easily. Miami Central held St. John Bosco scoreless for the remainder of the first half after its six-minute onslaught and cut its lead to 13 with a pair of field goals. The Rockets missed a golden opportunity to cut St. John Bosco’s lead to one possession after a Caleb McKenzie interception took them down inside of the Bosco 20, though, as they fumbled inside of the five-yard line.

Bates scored on a 31-yard touchdown with 11 minutes to go to make it 28-6 before Miami Central notched its first touchdown of the night to cut the lead to 28-12. Clarkson put the icing on the cake with a late 55-yard touchdown pass to Chedon James.

Next up for St. John Bosco is a matchup with Bishop Alemany next weekend. Miami Central has a bye week before returning to the west coast to take on Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman.

RELATED: Top 25 Class of 2022 high school football players from California