Last year ESS had the opportunity to watch South Dade play against Coral Reef. In less than a year they are a much improved football team. Tonight South Dade showed how much they improved by taking one of the top teams in Dade County to the wire. In what most felt would be an easy game for Columbus high school became a struggle to the end. With less than 30 seconds left in the game Jakhari Gore punched it in from the 2 yard line for his third rushing touchdown to give the Explorers the win. South Dade fought hard all the way to the end until Columbus put the game away with Gore go ahead touchdown. Both teams had plenty of stars but in the end the MVP of the game was Gore. He finished with 26 carries, 239 yards and three touchdowns. For South Dade their stars were on both sides of the football. ESS will break down the game and give you insight into how these teams should fare the rest of the season.

For the Explorers as we said it was the Jakhari Gore show. Late in the 2nd half he kept asking for the ball and Gore did not disappoint. He showed great toughness, balance, power and speed. His is extremely quick and not easy to bring down. Gore did not shy away from contact and got the best of the South Dade defense most of the night. He deserves a ton of credit but so do the guys up front. 

The defense for Columbus struggled in the first half but their coaches made the adjustments that were needed. In the 2nd half the Bucs did not have as much success. Led by Anthony Rabassa and Tommy Heffernan the Explorers defense did a good job at slowing the Bucs down. Overall the defense did enough to keep Columbus in the game. They had a huge stop on 4th and 2 from their 40 late in the 4th quarter. It was that stop that allowed them to get the ball with less than 4 minutes left and win the game.

For South Dade they showed toughness and a ton of heart. Before the game not many outside of their football program gave them much of a shot to win. If South Dade converts the 4th down late in the game they would have left Harris field with the win. South Dade showed enough talent on both sides of the football to make believers out of us. They were led but an improved rushing attack. The stars of that rushing attack were Jorrell Miller who caught a screen pass that looked to be the go ahead touchdown, Jeremy Hill and Torry Clayton. All three give the Bucs one of the best backfields in Dade County this season. Watch out for Clayton as he is only a sophomore. Clayton has two more seasons and we expect him to end up improving between now and his senior season.

The guy handing these backs the ball is Jovani McCray. The 2011 signal caller gives South Dade a great athlete at the quarterback position. He made plays with both his arm and legs. McCray gives South Dade balance on offense because his ability to beat a defense with his arm. He also can take off and run with the football if all else fails. Add in a great rushing attack and McCray is tough to stop. Outside of a few throws here and there, McCray made plenty of good decisions with the ball.

On the defensive side of the football Korey Jackson had a solid night. The 2010 safety is a very good prospect and one of the better defensive backs in Dade County. He also made a couple of catches on offense.

The player that really caught our eye was JJ Worton. The talented receiver had over 100 yards and was open all night long. He runs real nice routes and Worton can catch the football. Someone is going to get a very good receiver at the next level. Not only does Worton get it done on the field, he excels off it as well. He carries a 3.86 GPA and scored a 990 on the SAT. He will take the test again to improve his score. Look for Worton to draw interest this season from D1 programs.

Final Thoughts: Columbus got a scare tonight after performing well in their past two games. Most felt Columbus would have no problems with South Dade. This is the type of game that should make Columbus tougher as they have to play against teams like Northwestern later in the year. They had to come from behind against a very good South Dade football team. Look for Columbus to give Northwestern a much better game than last years playoff win for the Bulls. Their best chance of winning is to continue giving Gore the football.

For South Dade they are a much better team this year. We expect them to contend with Southridge for the district crown. That would be a great turnaround for a football team that only won three games a year ago. They just need to continue to pound the football with their improved rushing attack and win with their defense. If they do that this is a team that can make a nice run in the playoffs.

 

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