BOCA RATON, FL — Miami Carol City couldn't have asked for a better opponent — and test — in their kickoff classic. West Boca Raton has won back-to-back state titles in one of Florida high school football's biggest and toughest classifications and gave the Chiefs all they could handle on Friday night, Aug. 14, in Palm Beach County. How did the Chiefs, ranked 20th in USA TODAY Sports preseason Super 25 rankings, fare against the Bulls?
Miami commit, 5-star WR Nick Lennear saves the day If it weren't for Nick Lennear in crunch time, the Chiefs may not have been in position to do damage. On the first play of overtime, the Miami commit made it known he wanted the ball. Sophomore quarterback Malik Leonard made it happen. Leonard put it in a spot where only Lennear could grab it, somehow getting two feet down to take a 24-17 lead in the first possession of overtime. "I told the coach to put the game in my hands," said Lennear, a second-teamer on USA TODAY Sports Southeast Region ALL-USA team. "I'm gonna come down with it every time. Coach gave me a shot, and I came down with it."
On the ensuing drive, West Boca did find the end zone on third-and-goal thanks to a QB keeper from Trey Moran to make it 24-23. After scoring on fourth-and-goal twice inside the 5-yard line on two separate occasions, Bulls coach Dylan Potts rolled the dice, deciding to go for two and the win. An inside run was snuffed out by Carol City, leading to elation on the field for the Chiefs and head coach Toro Wallace, who scored his first win after serving as Chaminade-Madonna's OC earlier this decade, coaching Ohio State wide receiver and soon-to-be first round pick Jeremiah Smith.
"West Boca's a championship program," Wallace, who won multiple state titles with Chaminade-Madonna, said. "That's what we're striving to be. If you wanna be a champion, you've got to beat champions along the way. We wanna play in hostile environments, when we get to playoff time, our kids don't waver and they're used to it. West Boca provided the hostile environment we were looking for, we appreciate them for taking the game. Hopefully we can do it again in the future." Lennear was targeted four times on the opening drive, grabbing a pair of catches for seven yards. He was quiet in the second and third quarters, entering the fourth with the aforementioned two catches, along with a rush for a yard. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Lennear had four catches for 41 yards and the game-winning score. Early look at Miami Carol City shows offensive line could be problematic West Boca, which does boast 3-star Georgia Tech commit Jamar Thompson and 3-star EDGE Javion Harrington among others, was giving Carol City's offensive line and Leonard some issues in the pocket, often generating pressure on dropbacks, which either resulted in the pressure getting home, or Leonard's internal clock being sped up, forcing him to try and make things happen early on in plays. Despite the shortcomings at times from the offensive line, Leonard gutted through a physical night in the pocket despite taking multiple shots from West Boca's front seven, two of which saw his helmet come off on nasty blows. "I ain't learn nothing new," Wallace said of Leonard. "That's what we expect from Malik. Malik's a winner. He's got grit, and he doesn't fold under the pressure in these tight situations. He's gonna show up and make plays. He did it for us in the past, and he's gonna continue to do it for us in the future. That's our guy we rolling with. We love Malik. Miami Carol City's Super 25 implications
Don't get it twisted, a road win over a two-time defending state champion in the Sunshine State is a quality win, especially one that was in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,000-plus and with a team that is comprised of transfers from South Florida all the way to California. Expect this game to help the Chiefs moving forward, especially with back-to-back road trips to start the season against Mainland (FL) and Lee County (GA). Carol City will also get tested come October, taking on a Grayson (GA) team that entered the year ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Super 25, but fell 37-22 to North Gwinnett (GA). "It wasn't clean," Wallace said. "It wasn't our best game. But it was good enough to win. It's something to build off of moving forward, and we're going to continue to build." Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: amartin@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow @usatodayhss on Instagram and X. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No. 20 Carol City (FL) outlasts West Boca in OT. Was this a Super 25 statement?