Miami, FL
Lakeland sends resounding message with upset at Miami Central
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MIAMI GARDENS– As back-to-back state champions, the Lakeland Dreadnaughts certainly rank among the top programs in Florida.
After what Lakeland accomplished on Friday night, the Dreadnaughts just raised their profile on the national stage.
Playing mistake-free on offense, while being opportunistic on defense, Lakeland grinded out an impressive 16-8 victory over traditional national power Miami Central at Traz Powell Stadium.
The Rockets entered ranked 20th in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Top 25 national rankings.
“We knew what it was,” Lakeland coach Marvin Frazier said. “We knew that was the big, bad wolf. We just had to show that we were one too. I’m really proud of these guys for showing it, and putting it on display. We knew what we had the opportunity to do. Saturday morning, everybody will be talking about Lakeland.”
If Lakeland wasn’t recognized on a national scale before, it promises to be now.
“Dade County is a special county,” Frazier said. “This is the Mecca. To all those schools down here. The Northwesterns, the Norlands. All those guys. St. Thomas is up there in Broward. I mean, Chaminade! All those guys. Listen, it’s the Mecca. In Lakeland, we respect them, but we wanted to beat them. We wanted to conquer them. That’s just what it is. We want to conquer them, because they are so respected. To be the best in the country, you’ve got to get it down here, and beat these guys. Much respect to everybody down here, and we’re going to continue to grind and go wherever the Lord takes us.”
In a game defensively dominated game, Lakeland kicker Calum Muldoon booted three close range (less than 30 yards) field goals.
Arguably, the player of the game, was linebacker Malik Morris, who stood out on defense, while also recording a momentum-turning blocked punt in the third quarter.
At the goal-line, Morris entered at running back, and powered his way in for a 2-yard decisive touchdown run, which put Lakeland ahead, 16-6, with 10:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We did pretty good, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” Morris said. “It’s a long season ahead. We hope to be playing into December.”
Morris also came up big in the closing minutes as part of Lakeland’s goal-line stand. Central, trailing 16-6, had the ball on the 1-year line. But Lakeland stuffed successive quarterback sneaks by Bekkam Kritza, and the Rockets turned the ball over on downs with 3:02 left.
“Shout out to Miami,” Morris said. “A bunch of NFL legions [are from Miami-Dade County]. You don’t see many people coming from Lakeland like that. I feel like, for us to be from there, hey, we did a tremendous job. We represented our city well.”
Central struggled to manufacture much offensive.
In the second quarter, however, the Rockets did connect on a big play. Kritza hooked up with Nae’shaun Montgomery on a 56-yard touchdown pass. But the extra point was missed.
Still, Central led, 6-3. But a couple of field goals by Muldoon gave Lakeland a 9-6 lead at halftime.
“They did some different things that they haven’t really done on film,” Central coach Jube Joseph said. “It kind of confused us early on. Once we settled down, we made some big plays. There’s a lot of plays left out on that field that we felt like we should have connected on. But some things happened, execution wise.”
In the second half, Central showed some life after taking the kickoff. But the game was delayed about 40 minutes due to lightning in the area.
In the closing minutes, Central’s final points came on a safety, making it an eight-point game. But the Rockets final drive was halted at the Lakeland 22-yard line with 1:26 left.
“I think we picked it up in the second half,” Joseph said. “They’ve got to understand, we play four quarters of football.”
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Miami, FL
CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy nominee West Broward High’s Joshua Moore
![CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy nominee West Broward High’s Joshua Moore CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy nominee West Broward High’s Joshua Moore](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/24/5a3abffc-d7b4-4711-be57-cd7fdc41a27c/thumbnail/1200x630/a318678d31cc4a0ca742b4ec3d55e24d/06f06b6e3f6e44cd3a2136c7175fd0f7.jpg?v=29ebd300d9a3cd24077d945a46991f72)
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Miami, FL
Woman says social media model ‘destroyed’ family by killing brother in Miami crash
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MIAMI – You could feel the pain through the screen Friday as Silvia Molina Cruz spoke to Local 10 News from Nicaragua.
She never got to say goodbye to her brother, Abraham Ismael. He and his friend were killed in a crash on Aug. 10 that Miami police said was the result of a speeding social media model who said she was a time-traveler, high on a party drug known as “pink cocaine.”
“My heart is break(ing) because I couldn’t say goodbye,” Molina Cruz said.
Ismael was on his way to work that morning with his fiancee, Juanita Hernandez, and his friend, Jesus Rubio.
Police said Maecee Marie Lathers, 24, of Miami Gardens, put her foot on the gas at “100% acceleration,” driving nearly 80 mph on North Miami Avenue when she blew the red light at Eighth Street and slammed into a black Range Rover, which then slammed into Ismael’s car.
Ismael and Rubio would later die, while Hernandez would come out alive, but badly hurt. Ismael leaves behind a 16-year-old.
Police said Lathers had to be kept from walking away from the scene by bystanders and later told officers she was high on “tusi,” a party drug also known as “pink cocaine.”
Tusi, or 2C, is described in a 2023 medical journal article as “a new ketamine concoction” also known as “pink cocaine.” That same year, Local 10 News produced a special report on the “nightclub narcotic,” said at the time to be the number one drug seized at Miami International Airport.
Authorities said Lathers also claimed to have a “crystal ball” and that she was “from the future.”
Molina Cruz had a pointed message for the model, who faces a multitude of charges, including two counts of reckless vehicular homicide.
“It took part of our life. You broke (our) family,” Molina Cruz said. “You (took) the only love we have. You destroyed (our) family.”
Ismael’s family is trying to raise money for his funeral. They have set up a GoFundMe page to help with final expenses.
Lathers is set to be arraigned Sept. 3. Prosecutors have said the upstate New York native will likely face DUI manslaughter charges pending the results of a toxicology test.
Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Miami, FL
Ten Players to Watch in Preseason Finale
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The Miami Dolphins will close their preseason schedule against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ramond James Stadium on Friday night, giving roster bubble players one last chance to make their case to the coaching staff.
Those players who won’t dress for that first game for non-injury reasons pretty much are the locks to make the 53-player roster, and conversely those in the lineup either will be trying to offer more evidence they should be on the 2024 team or at the very least get a bigger role on offense or defense.
With that in mind, here is our list of 10 players to watch in that preseason finale against the Buccaneers:
QB SKYLAR THOMPSON
Because we’re talking about quarterbacks, the battle for the No. 2 job behind Tua Tagovailoa might have been the most scrutinized of training camp. Thompson has gotten the call ahead of Mike White in each of the first two preseason games, which might or might not signal he’s ahead in the competition. If he is, it’s probably not by a large margin and Thompson could solidify that No. 2 spot (if he currently has it) or at the very least his spot on the roster with a good outing against Tampa Bay.
QB MIKE WHTE
When head coach Mike McDaniel talked this week about putting his backup quarterbacks in unfavorable situations to see how they would respond, that’s applied more to White than Thompson in preseason games because he closed out the first two games. Another factor to consider when it comes to White is the Dolphins could save $3.5 million of cap space if they decide to go with Thompson as the backup and release White. This clearly is a big game for him as well.
TE TANNER CONNER
It’s unclear how many tight ends the Dolphins will keep on the 53-man roster and Conner could convince the Dolphins they need to keep him around if he can have another performance like he had in the preseason opener before he was sidelined by a midsection injury.
OL JACK DRISCOLL
This isn’t about a roster spot, but rather a potential starting opportunity for Driscoll based on McDaniel’s comment before practice in Tampa on Wednesday when he said there still was competition going on the offensive line. Driscoll’s performance in training camp was solid all the way through and he’s also done the job in the preseason games, and maybe another good outing could be the last push he needs.
OL LESTER COTTON
If Driscoll does end up winning a starting job, it’s Cotton who appears the most vulnerable. He started at right guard in the two preseason games after Liam Eichenberg moved to center in the wake of Aaron Brewer’s hand injury but hasn’t necessarily done anything to cement his spot in the starting lineup.
DT BRANDON PILI
As we discussed in our fourth 53-man roster projection, the Dolphins have a lot of question marks on their defensive line beyond Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell and Pili is right in the mix. He’s made some plays in camp and the preseason and already might have locked up his roster spot, though another good outing wouldn’t hurt.
DT ISAIAH MACK
Mack lacks the ideal bulk for the interior of the defensive line, but he has been active along the defensive line, to the point where he’s put himself in the conversation for a roster spot. But he’s still a long shot, one who needs a big outing against Tampa Bay to push his way in.
LB CHANNING TINDALL
Yes, we’re mentioning Tindall again. While we’re thinking he’s got a spot on the roster because of his special teams work, it might be a stretch to say he’s a lock or that he couldn’t benefit from a good preseason finale. If nothing else, a strong performance maybe could give his defensive coaches more confidence to put him in the lineup.
CB NIK NEEDHAM
It’s difficult to think of a more household name among players who appear on the roster bubble than Needham, who has been with the team since 2019, longer than anybody outside of Durham Smythe and Jason Sanders. Needham finds himself in a logjam in the secondary, whether the Dolphins decide to consider him as a safety or cornerback, or even both. A big preseason finale could be what Needham needs to secure his roster spot.
S MARK PERRY
Perry is at the other end of the spectrum, a rookie free agent who’s put himself in position to be considered for a roster spot but still needs a strong finishing push. We could have mentioned the three rookie free agent cornerbacks here — Jason Maitre, Storm Duck and Isaiah Johnson — but we’e already highlighted them and now it’s time for Perry to get his due respect.
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