Booker T. Washington & Miami Central don’t lose very often. In fact, seeing them lose on the exact same day is just as rare as a finding a treasure chest.
Maybe not that rare, but it doesn’t happen very often. Matter fact, it might not have happened ever before (more hyperbole). But on Friday night, the joy of Miami’s powerhouse high school football programs both lost nationally ranked games on the same day. To make matters worse, they each lost playing in nationally televised games.
The good news is that it’s not a sign of things to come.
Before the 35-3 loss to the defending class 7A state champions, St. Thomas Aquinas, Booker T. was on a 41 game winning streak. On paper many people didn’t expect them to win since St. Thomas has a pleothra of future NCAA division one football players on its roster. Some of these names include Nick Bosa, Ed Alexander, Sam Bruce, Michael Irvin, Cameron Dantzler and Dontye Carriere-Williams, all of which will be playing on a major college football roster next fall.
.@STA_Football defeats Booker T. Washington 35 to 3; snaps Booker T's 41-game winning streak. http://t.co/CWCgXrIyjx
— 7 Sports Xtra (@7SportsXtra) August 29, 2015
With their incredible winning streak gone out the window, Booker T. Washington won’t have much time to look back at their achievement. Instead, their next task to focus on will be to get ready for their next upcoming opponents. It won’t be an easy task either since their competition is of similar strength as St. Thomas Aquinas. Booker T. will face off against Miami Central, Gulliver Prep, and Columbus later during the season.
As for Miami Central, it was a huge surprise seeing the way they got handled against DeMatha Catholic. Miami Central came into the game as the winners of the last three Florida 6A championships, and also as winners of the last four 6A state titles. DeMatha put a beating on Miami Central as they defeated them 38-14. Furthermore, they got off to a blazing start as they took a huge 31-0 lead early. The defense of DeMatha looked dominating, a normal description for Miami Central.
2015-8-29 Miami Central (FL) at DeMatha (MD) | DeMatha | https://t.co/ZoO9VoYWGQ
— Daniel Coggin (@gaweqagyryl) August 31, 2015
However, not all is lost for these two teams. Booker T. Washington still has the advantage with their schedule. Even though they’ll face some steep competition later in the year, they still play plenty of games where they’ll be able to get their mojo back. Also, their confidence shouldn’t falter too much because they still have the honor as being the defending state champions. Besides, because of their coach, Tim Harris Jr., Booker T. will be more than prepared to play on Fridays as the championship program they’ve developed into.
In the case of Miami Central, the game against DeMatha Catholic was a measuring stick to see how great their program is and how it can compete with the other schools across the country. Miami Central might have been let down because of the way they got dismantled on national television, but their loss doesn’t diminish the greatness of their program. The game was a true test to get ready for yet another state championship run.
Miami Central will have to face off against Booker T. Washington, First Coast (Jacksonville, FL), Miami Northwestern and Miami Jackson.
Even though these programs don’t lose often, it shouldn’t cause too much concern. The Earth might have stood still for a day with the shocking news, but it’s not the end of the world.
D’Joumbarey A. Moreau covers sports in Miami-Dade & Broward County. You can follow him on Twitter @DJoumbarey.
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