Dolphins Bury Cardinals

     The Miami Dolphins dropped the Arizona Cardinals 34-31 at State Farm Stadium on Sunday. The Dolphins now have a winning record at the midway point of the 2020 regular season. 

     The Dolphins have their first four-game winning streak in four years. It was their first victory in Arizona since 1996. 

     Miami(5-3) had their defense score for the second straight game. Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah knocked the ball from quarterback Kyler Murray and defensive end Shaq Lawson returned the ball 36 yards for a touchdown at the 10:37 mark of the first quarter. 

     Arizona(5-3) responded and tied it up 7-7 at 6:51. Tight end Max Williams caught his first touchdown pass of the season as Murray tossed a four-yard pass to the left side. 

     The Dolphins regained the lead with 55 seconds left in the first. Running back Jordan Howard blasted through the right side of the line on a two-yard touchdown run. 

     The Cardinals matched it 14-14 just 37 seconds into the second quarter. Wide receiver Christian Kirk went on a fly pattern and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Murray in the middle of the field. 

     It became 21-14 for the Fins at the 10:18 mark. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sent the ball to the right hash marks and wide receiver Preston Williams leaped into the end zone on a nine-yard pass play. 

     Both teams traded field goals late in the first half. Zane Gonzalez kicked a 37-yard field goal with 5:10 to go for the Cards and Jason Sanders nailed a 56-yard field goal with nine seconds left. 

     In the third quarter, Arizona evened it 24-24 at 12:!3. Murray angled a 21-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darrell Daniels on the right side of the end zone. 

     Murray gave the Cardinals a 31-24 lead with 2:34 remaining in the third. He scrambles out of the pocket and down the left hash marks from 12 yards away. 

     The Fins made it 31-31 at 11:24 of the fourth quarter. Tagovailoa released an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Mack Hollins for a touchdown. 

     Miami pulled ahead 34-31 with 3:30 remaining as Sanders booted a 50-yard field goal. He set a Dolphins franchise record with his 20th consecutive field goal made. The Cardinals had a chance to tie, however Gonzalez missed a 49-yard field goal with 1:53 left. 

Inter Miami CF Make MLS Playoffs

     Inter Miami CF played their regular season finale of the 2020 campaign as they edged FC Cincinnati 2-1 at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The club will make the MLS Playoffs in their inaugural season. 

     They finished in ninth place among teams in the Eastern Conference. Inter Miami CF will visit and take on Nashville SC on November 20 in a first-round game. 

     Inter Miami CF waited until the 19th minute to take the lead 1-0. They took a corner kick and eventually Mikey Ambrose blasted a left-footed, half-volley shot from 25 yards out into the low right corner of the cage. 

     They got a two-goal margin during the 23rd minute. Lewis Morgan booted a corner kick from the left side and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez  put in a header high into the net from seven high away. 

     In the second half, FC Cincinnati closed the gap to 2-1. Joseph-Claude Gyau nailed a left-footed shot in the 66th minute of play. 

Zack Duarte On Dolphins Radio Pregame Show

     Zack Duarte co-hosted the Miami Dolphins Radio Network pregame show alongside Channing Crowder on Sunday afternoon. He substituted for Chris Wittyngham who was working as the audio play-by-play announcer for the Inter Miami CF MLS game against FC Cincinnati. Wittyngham will be back on the Miami Dolphins Radio Network next week. 

     Duarte has been noticed in the last couple of months on 560 The Joe WQAM-AM. He has worked as the postgame studio host on the Miami Dolphins Radio Network and University of Miami Hurricanes Radio Network. Duarte was part of the job cuts made by Entercom Communications back in April when he occupied the evening host position at Sports Talk 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM. 

NBA Season Returns December 22

     The National Basketball Association and the NBAPA have agreed on a starting date for the start of the 2020-21 regular season. It will begin on December 22. 

     The end the recent NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles happened on October 11. It will be one of shortest offseason breaks in league history. The NBA will start their regular season before the National Hockey League, who have targeted January 1. 

St. Thomas Aquinas Holds Off American Heritage

     The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders handled the American Heritage Patriots 33-23 at Brain Piccolo Stadium on Friday night in Fort Lauderdale. There are now no private high schools in Broward County that are undefeated. 

     St. Thomas Aquinas(3-1) lost the ball on downs at the Patriots one-yard line. Raiders linebacker Christian Gonzalez then recovered a fumble in the end zone as the Patriots tried to advance the ball at 7:02 for a 6-0 lead. 

     STA extended their lead to 13-0 with 1:13 left in the first. Quarterback Zion Turner scrambled to the right zone and leaped into the end zone from three yards away. 

     The Raiders made it a 20-point margin 17 seconds into the second quarter. Defensive lineman Kylan Stephens intercepted a pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. 

     American Heritage(5-2) broke the shutout on their next possession. Running back Mark Fletcher sprinted down the left hash marks and scored from 58 yards out at the 9:15 mark. 

     The Patriots continued to chop and the deficit late in the first half. Fletcher got an option pitchout to the right side and raced in for a 12-yard touchdown with 1:10 remaining in the second. 

     In the third quarter, American Heritage still had the momentum. Chris Maron converted on a 23-yard field goal at the 6:37 mark and they were down 20-17. 

     St. Thomas Aquinas woke up and made it 26-17 with 3:36 to go in the third. Running back Anthony Hankerson bounced out to the right side and went in untouched from 21 yards. 

     The Raiders rallied with another touchdown on a turnover, their third of the contest, on the first play of the fourth quarter and increased their lead to 33-17. Linebacker Derrien Craig picked up the ball and ran it back 23 yards. 

     The Patriots blocked a punt at midfield and took over deep in Raiders territory. Davis ran the ball in the wildcat formation and went around the right end with 3:20 remaining and they trailed 33-23. 

Hurricanes Overtake North Carolina State

     The University of Miami Hurricanes came back on the North Carolina State University Wolfpack 44-41 on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. The contest involved two schools that do not play in the same division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

     North Carolina State(4-3, 4-3) scored on their first possession at the 12:44 mark of the first quarter. Quarterback Bailey Hockman received a pass from running back Thayer Thomas and raced down the left sideline from 31 yards away. 

     Miami(6-1, 5-1) answered back on their drive with a touchdown at 9:21. Quarterback D'Erq King tossed a three-yard pass to tight end Will Mallory to tie it 7-7. 

     The Wolfpack reclaimed the lead with 6:31 left in the first. Hockman fired an 11-yard pass to wide receiver Devin Carter on the left side of the end zone. 

     The Canes evened it up 14-14 with 3:11 remaining in the opening quarter. Wide receiver Dee Wiggins caught a 39-yard touchdown pass on the left sideline from King. 

     In the second quarter, the Hurricanes moved ahead 21-14 at 13:34. King found wide receiver Mike Harley on a 20-yard strike in the back right corner of the end zone. 

     N.C. State closed the gap to 21-17 at the 9:35 mark. Christopher Dunn was able to boot a 42-yard field goal. 

     North Carolina State regained the lead 24-21 with 2:49 left in the second. Hockman released a nine-yard pass up the middle to tight end Cary Angeline. 

     Miami got the first opportunity to score in the second half. Jose Borregales kicked a 36-yard field goal at 11:26 to make it 24-24. 

     The Wolfpack came back and took the lead 31-24 at the 7:17 mark. Running back Zonovan Knight marched through the left side of the line from one yard out. 

     Both teams exchanged scores later in the quarter. Wide receiver Mark Pope caught a 17-yard touchdown pass for the Canes with 5:00 left while Knight retuned a kickoff 100 yards for N.C. State 15 seconds later. Both squads also put out field goal in the first four of minutes in the fourth and Wolfpack still led 41-34. 

     The Hurricanes got the ball to the Wolfpack one-yard line midway through the fourth. They had to settle with a Borregales 22-yard field goal at 6:12 and trailed 41-37. 

     The U pulled ahead 44-41 with 2:43 remaining. King launched a 54-yard touchdown pass to Harley for his fifth of the game.

Miami Northwestern Tops Miami Palmetto

     The Miami Northwestern Bulls got by the Palmetto Panthers 17-7 on Thursday night at Traz Powell Stadium. Both defensive squads performed well in this low-scoring contest. 

     Miami Palmetto(2-1) got their only points of the game on the first play of the game. Mike Jackson returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. 

     Miami Northwestern(2-1) make it 7-3 at the 6:10 mark of the first quarter. They were able to kick a 37-yard field goal. 

     In the second quarter, the Bulls overtook the Panthers for their first lead 10-7. Defensive end Pat Payton intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. It was the second time in three games this season that he made an interception and reached the end zone.

     The Bulls expanded it to 17-7 with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter. Running back Zuberi Mobley blasted through the middle and scored from three yards away.