Miami Central Handles Dwyer

    The defending FHSAA Class 6A champion Miami Central Rockets came away with a 44-13 rout of the Dwyer Panthers in a kickoff classic at Blum Stadium on Saturday night. Miami Central, who is ranked first nationally, will start the regular season on the road in Plantation against the American Heritage Patriots next week. Dwyer will travel to Bell Glade and challenge their Palm Beach County arch-rival the Glades Central Raiders.
    Miami Central started their first possession in good position following a bad punt at the Panthers 35-yard line. They were held out of the end zone as Beymar Piraquive kicked a 32-yard field goal at 6:19 of the first quarter.
    Dwyer quarterback Daniel Parr had a pass intercepted by linebacker Donovan Thompson and returned it to the Rockets 30-yard line. On the first play of the drive, wide receiver Da'vante Phillips caught a ball on a fly pattern from quarterback Keith Reed and ran down the field untouched for a 70-yard touchdown with 4:36 left in the first to make it 10-0.
    The Panthers climbed back into the game late in the first quarter and closed the gap to 10-7. Shawun Lurry scored on a 50-yard punt return with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter as he got a wall of blockers that led him down the right sideline.
    The Rockets added a pair of field goals during the second quarter as Piraquive converted a 34-yard field goal at 9:20 and a 37-yard field goal at 2:06. Just before the end of the first half, running back Dalvin Cook extended the Rockets lead to 23-7 as he returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown with 7.3 seconds to go.
    Miami Central began the second half on the 50-yard line after they made a fair catch on an attempted on-side kick. Running back Joseph Yearby finished the drive as he went around the right end and scored on a ten-yard carry with 9:51 left in the third quarter. Officials stopped the game when that play ended due to a lightning storm that lasted thirty minutes. When play resumed, Piraquive made the extra point for a 30-7 lead.
    On the Rockets following possession. wide receiver Tavius Brown Jr. caught a pass from Reed and ran by the Dwyer secondary for a 75-yard touchdown with 5:52 remaining in the third to bring it up to 37-7.
    Parr threw another interception in the red zone as cornerback Deatrick Nichols returned the ball to the Panthers 12-yard line. Several plays later, Cook made it 44-7 on a one-yard touchdown run at 3:23.
    Dwyer scored on their next possession as Parr connected with wide receiver Ezra Saffold on a 26-yard corner route with 1:27 to go in the third quarter to close the margin to 44-13.