ORLANDO – The biggest question mark heading into the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 6A state football championship was whether or not a DeLand defense that had recorded eight shutouts over the course of the season could handle the spread attack of the Miramar Patriots.
Courtesy of Miramar’s Dynamic Duo of quarterback Ryan Williams and wide receiver Ivan McCartney, the answer was a resounding “No!”
Williams shredded the opposition for 254 yards and a championship-game record of five touchdowns passes –three to McCartney – as the Patriots rolled to their first state title with a 42-20 victory at the Florida Citrus Bowl Saturday night.
“When Ryan first came over he was a little slow. The speed difference between the school he came from and Miramar was huge,” McCartney explained on the field following the game. “For him to be where he’s at today is a big step for him. That shows to colleges what kind of work ethic he has.”
Completing 18 of 21 passes against DeLand, Williams’ pass-completion percentage of 85.7 broke another old mark held by Coy Campbell of Glades Day, who completed 11 of 13 passes in the 1986 Class A final against Century, a completion percentage of 84.6 percent.
“He’s an unbelievable player,” McCartney added. “Nobody had faith in Ryan but the team.”
One of the top wide receiver prospects in the country, McCartney tied a championship-game record with three touchdown receptions. He would total five receptions for 86 yards on the night.
Following the game, McCartney noted that he still has no college on top in the race for his services. He will visit Miami the weekend of Jan. 29 and also plans to take another visit in addition to trips he has already taken to Oregon, West Virginia and Florida.
McCartney added that he enjoyed all three official visits he has already been on, and all four schools are still “in the mix” to sign him. He is expected to make a decision on or close to National Signing Day.
On the other side of the ball, Florida Class of 2011 commitment De’Ante “Pop” Saunders struggled a bit while dealing with a right ankle injury that he said left him at “75 percent” for the game. Saunders managed just two rushing yards on two carries and also missed on all four of his passing attempts.
“I’ve got to take care of my ankle injury,” Saunders said in the aftermath of DeLand’s defeat. “Then I need to get bigger, stronger and faster.”
While Saunders dealt with a nagging injury, Miramar senior linebacker Jamaal Bass had to deal with something a little more serious. Bass went down with a severe injury that was reported as a dislocated ankle following the game. Play was stopped for several minutes so trainers could retrieve a stretcher to carry Bass off the field. At the time, the Patriots were up 21-0 but Miramar was determined not to let the departure of one of the senior leaders derail their title hopes.
“When we went in at halftime, the focus was to win this not only for coach Cogdell, but for our fallen teammate Jamaal Bass,” McCartney said of the incident.
A bright spot for DeLand on the evening was the play of freshman running back Joseph Kemp, who rushed for 89 yards on eight attempts and provided the final score of the night when he took it in from 35 yards out with 2:35 to play in the game.
However, at the end of the day, it would be Miramar, the surprise representative from the South which would bring the trophy back home in the state’s largest classification of football.
“My heart right now is at the bottom of my toes,” McCartney exclaimed. “I’m speechless.”
So, too, are the Miramar fans who celebrate the school’s first-ever trip to the top of the football chain in the state of Florida.
CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP
MIRAMAR 42, DeLAND 20
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 at Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Score by quarters 1 2 3 4—Final
DeLand 0 7 0 13—20
Miramar 14 14 14 0—42
First quarter
MIR—Ivan McCartney 9 pass from Ryan Williams (Julian Garcia kick good) at 6:07. Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 4 first downs, 2:15 time elapsed following DeLand punt. Score: Miramar 7, DeLand 0.
MIR—McCartney 33 pass from Williams (Garcia kick good) at 5:53. Drive: 1 play, 33 yards, 1 first down, 0:08 time elapsed following onside kick recovery. Score: Miramar 14, DeLand 0.
Second quarter
MIR—Jeremiah Hicks 44 run (Garcia kick good) at 8:10. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 4 first downs, 1:54 time elapsed following DeLand punt. Score: Miramar 21, DeLand 0.
DEL—Achim Johnson 3 run (Taylor Church kick good) at 3:32. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 3 first downs, 2:06 time elapsed following Mark Joyce’s recovery of fumbled punt return. Score: Miramar 21, DeLand 7.
MIR—Dante Chambers 20 pass from Williams (Garcia kick good) at 0:03. Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 4 first downs, 3:20 time elapsed following DeLand kickoff. Score: Miramar 28, DeLand 7.
Third quarter
MIR—Hicks 29 pass from Williams (Garcia kick good) at 8:38. Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 4 first downs, 3:11 time elapsed following second-half kickoff. Score: Miramar 35, DeLand 7.
MIR—McCartney 15 pass from Williams (Garcia kick good) at 0:28. Drive: 3 plays, 59 yards, 3 first downs, 1:14 time elapsed following Markies Hall’s recovery of DeLand fumble. Score: Miramar 42, DeLand 7.
Fourth quarter
DEL—Cameron Poole 7 fumble return (Church kick good) at 8:09. Play: Eldrick Bright sacked Ryan Williams, who fumbled, and Poole picked the ball up and ran it in for touchdown. Score: Miramar 42, DeLand 14.
DEL—Joseph Kemp 35 run (Colton Robinson pass failed) at 2:35. Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards, 3 first downs, 2:35 time elapsed following Miramar punt. Score: Miramar 42, DeLand 20.
GAME SUMMARY
A—8,803.
Kickoff: 7:07 p.m. End of game: 9:54 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:47.
Weather: Clear, 57 degrees, winds from W at 7 miles per hour.
Officials: Bernard Arnette, referee; Cory Gottsegen, umpire; Jim Whittington, head linesman; Eric Hartman, line judge; Michael Arnette, back judge; Jeff Brown, field judge; Michael Apolaro, side judge; Matt Repchak, scorer.
Records: DeLand 13-2, Miramar 14-1.
TEAM STATISTICS
DEL MIR
FIRST DOWNS 10 20
RUSHES-YARDAGE 40-164 24-100
PASSING YARDAGE 36 254
Passes (C-A-I) 2-7-0 18-21-0
TOTAL OFFENSE 47-200 45-354
Return yardage 18 1
Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-3
Punts-average 5-34 4-33
Penalties-yards 7-65 10-58
Time of possession 25:18 22:42
Third-down conversions 3-11 3-7
Fourth-down conversions 1-3 0-0
Red-zone offense 1-2 2-2
Sacks by: 3-21 1-4
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: DeLand, Joseph Kemp 8-89, Achim Johnson 9-44, S. Johnson 20-33, De’Ante Saunders 2-2, Ben DeNoyer 1-minus 4.
Miramar, Jeremiah Hicks 9-85, D’Vontis Arnold 7-13, Kadeem McMorris 2-4, Mark Rucker 1-2, Ryan Williams 5-minus 4.
PASSING: DeLand, De’Ante Saunders 0-4-0, 0 yards, 0 touchdowns; Ben DeNoyer 2-3-0, 36 yards, 0 touchdowns.
Miramar, Ryan Williams 18-21-0, 254 yards, 5 touchdowns.
RECEIVING: DeLand, Draymon Grady 1-26, Achim Johnson 1-10.
Miramar, Ivan McCartney 5-86, Dante Chambers 5-53, Denzel McCullum 4-66, Rashad Gholston 2-9, Jeremiah Hicks 1-29, Malcolm Lewis 1-11.
PUNTING: DeLand, Ryan Rodwell 5-170, 34.0 average.
Miramar, Sylval Taylor 1-27, 27.0 average; Derius Silas 3-105, 35.0 average.
TACKLES (UA-A): DeLand, Draymon Grady 5-0, A. Gutierrez 4-1, Dentrell Pete 4-1, Shawn Willis 4-0, Eldrick Bright 4-0, Maroa White 3-2.
Miramar, Markies Hall 5-5, Trevon Griffin 4-2, S. Blissett 2-3, Dominick 1-5, Jordan Burdi 2-2, Sir C. Gordon 2-2.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: DeLand, Eldrick Bright 2.0-15 (sack 2.0-15), Dentrell Pate 1.0-6 (sack), Maroa White 1.0-1, A. Gutierrez 1.0-1.
Miramar, Derion Pittman 1.0-6, Jermaine Archer 1.0-4 (sack), Markies Hall 1.0-2, Dominick Bryan 1.0-2, Jordan Burdi 0.5-0, Donald Jackson 0.5-0.
INTERCEPTIONS: DeLand, none.
Miramar, none.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: DeLand, Cameron Poole 1-7, Mark Joyce 1-0, Paris Hayden 1-0.
Miramar, Markies Hall 1-0.