ORLANDO — After trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Miami Central HS (14-1) went on a 42-10 run to finish with a 42-27 victory over previously undefeated Dr. Phillips HS -Orlando (14-1) in the FHSAA class 6A championship game on a foggy Saturday night at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.
Playing in front of his future coach Jimbo Fisher, FSU verbal commit Devonta Freeman had a game that he will not soon forget. Freeman finished with 308 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 36 carries. He also added another 31 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Freeman was virtually unstoppable for a majority of the night. Most of his rushing yards came after first contact.
Miami Central quarterback Rakeem Cato was also very impressive. Cato completed 17-of-25 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Playing in front of his hometown fans, Michigan running back commit Dee Hart could only muster 39 yards rushing on 20 carries and no touchdowns. Teammate and Alabama safety commit Ha’sean Clinton-Dix had two catches for 55 yards on offense and accounted for five tackles and a tackle-for-loss on defense.
Dr. Phillips quarterback Nick Patti had a tough time against the stingy Miami Central defense. Patti completed 9-of-24 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two costly interceptions in the game.
GAME NOTES
– Dr. Phillips receiver Chris Gallon caught four passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Gallon’s biggest scholarship offer so far has been Memphis. I expect he will start getting more attention after this impressive performance.
– The attendance for the 6A game was 10,078 — the most of any of the 2010 state championship games.
– Miami Central out-gained Dr. Phillips 513 to 238 in total offense.
– Miami Central won the game despite having 18 penalties totaling 148 yards.