Killian Rolls to District Championship
By Rudy Rodriguez-Chomat
November 1, 2003

Killian left nothing to chance.

A South Miami win would have caused havoc in the District 14-6A race forcing a three-way tie, but it was not to be as Killian blanked the Cobras 21-0 to clinch the district championship before 300 at Tropical Park.

The Killian win knocked South Miami out of the playoff race and clinched the district runner-up spot for Varela.

Killian (7-2, 4-0) led 7-0 when coach Billy Rolle took a big chance late in the first half that took the wind out of South Miami’s (4-5, 2-2) sails.

Having just blocked a South Miami punt with seven seconds to play in the first half, Killian took possession at the Cobras’ 13-yard line. With no timeouts left, Rolle decided to send his offense out for one shot at the end zone before trying a field goal.

Killian quarterback Nick Orsini hit Richard Christie in the back of the end zone on a 13-yard fade rout to give the Cougars a 14-0 lead heading into the half.

“We saw something we didn’t do the last time we got down there,” Rolle said. “That was real big for us. It definitely made a difference being up 14-0 instead of 7-0 going into the half.”

Killian running back Bobby Washington pushed the lead to 21-0 on a 60-yard run on the second play of the third quarter. He finished with 24 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard run in the second quarter to give Killian a 7-0 lead.

“I saw the linebacker coming to the left, so I cut back,” Washington said. “The only thing I saw after that was the end zone.”

The defense took care of the rest forcing four turnovers, including three interceptions, two by Demetrice Morley.

They also held South Miami to only 93 yards of total offense.

“We stress that defense wins championship no matter what kind of championship it is,” Rolle said. “This one happens to be the district championship. They had us on our heals for a minute there, but the defense stood up and came out with the shutout.”