Southridge: District Champs Again
By Rudy Rodriguez-Chomat
October 24, 2003

Southridge started the 2003 season with one goal.

 

To win the district championship.

 

After a one-year playoff hiatus, things are back to normal at Southridge (7-1, 4-0) as the Spartans clinched the District 14-6A championship in a convincing 28-7 thumping of rival South Dade (4-4, 1-2) before 2,000 at Harris Field.

 

A dominant running game and a defensive wall keyed the victory that eliminated South Dade from playoff contention.

 

Running back Kevin Smith led the charge rushing 19 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns as Southridge took a 28-0 lead before the Bucs finally cracked the scoreboard with just over three minutes to play.

 

The Spartans buried South Dade behind a ground game that amassed 293 yards total on 50 carries. The offensive line of Justin Kutz, Dominic Desir, Emmanuel Dejesus, Alberto Curiel and Cliff McCray brutalized an overmatched Bucs front seven that could not slow Smith and company.

 

“We turned this around because of the kids and the coaches,” Rodgers. “The kids turned it around and the assistant coaches turned it around. Winning the district was our goal from January when we went into off-season workouts. The kids believed, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

 

The scoring started for the Spartans on their first possession. There was one constant on the drive. Hand the ball to Smith. He carried the entire drive 6 times for 55 yards, capping it on a 30-yard touchdown run. He followed that with a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that capped a 10-play, 85-yard drive.

 

Even more impressive was the Spartans defense that forced South Dade to punt on its first seven possessions.

 

The Southridge defense recorded four sacks and limited South Dade’s heralded running back Charlie Jones to 16 carries for 77 yards. If that was not bad enough for the Bucs, two of their starting offensive linemen were converted wide receivers who only weigh 160 pounds each.

 

They were simply no match for Roosevelt Lawson and his defensive front seven which limited South Dade to 197 total yards, more than half of them coming in the final 4 minutes against the second unit.

 

“I am so proud of these kids,” Rodgers. “They took a lot of flack in the neighborhood how people told them they were sorry and no good and they turned around and showed everyone.”

 

With two games left on the schedule, Rodgers simply wants his team to continue to get better and strive for perfection and his players follow his personality.

 

“Last year, it was real hard because we had a lot of young people on the team,” Smith said. “This year we have a lot of leaders. We work hard in practice and get the job done on the field.”