MIAMI – Senior Night at Tropical Park was a special moment for the Miami Killian Cougars.
Many of them played a contributing role in their latest win of the season this past Saturday night (Oct. 9), a 46-7 drubbing over the Key West Conchs.
In addition to this one being a night to highlight the Class of 2022, it was a District 16-5A matchup that neither team could afford to lose. This is especially important in a four-team district that also features the Miami Jackson Generals and the St. Brendan Sabres.
With the victory, Miami Killian (2-0 in 15-6A; 7-0 overall) has essentially won the District 15-6A title.
Here’s how:
•Key West (1-1 in District 15-6A; 3-3 overall) just lost to Miami Killian, 46-7
•Miami Jackson (1-1 in District 15-6A; 2-4 overall) lost to Miami Killian in Week 4, 40-0
•St. Brendan (0-2 in District 15-6A; 0-6 overall) just lost to Miami Jackson, 25-12 and lost to Key West in Week 4, 55-0
The next and final District 16-5A for all four teams will be in Week 8, when St. Brendan hosts Miami Killian (Oct. 15; 3:30 p.m. kickoff) and Miami Jackson hosts Key West (Oct. 15; 7:30 p.m. kickoff).
So with that said, not many were even aware of the fact there was a district title on the line this past Saturday night.
KILLIAN GAINS WITH FOUR AREA SENIORS
We have a foursome from Palm Beach County who decided to transfer together for their respective senior seasons to Miami Killian.
Safety Justin Doll (Wellington transfer), cornerback Derayon Williams (Palm Beach Central transfer), defensive end Justin Wallace (Palm Beach Central transfer), and defensive back Blake Volcy (St. Thomas Aquinas transfer) have a great bond with each other. This could be one reason why they made their collective choice to play for Killian this past summer.
For Williams, it was something more.
“The football environment in Dade County is very different from Palm Beach,” Williams said. “The vibe, atmosphere, a lot of competition. We have a lot of fans down here with a lot of passion. We get it back at home, but in Dade County, we’re playing in stadiums now.”
Williams has been grateful for his rapid level of gains made in short order.
“It’s a pretty solid season for me,” Williams said. “I have been developing a lot. This is my second season playing football. I appreciate all the growth I have been experience since I came to Miami Killian.”
Doll, who had four tackles and two tackles for loss against Key West, is certainly enjoying his senior season experience at Killian.
“I really like the football environment because it feels like everyone takes it seriously,” said Doll, who has offers from Penn State, Maryland, UCF, UAB, and FAU. “We’re always locked in. There are no days off here. I’m getting a lot of exposure opportunities now.”
Wallace has played in four games this season for Killian. In his most recent one against Key West, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end had seven tackles (three tackles for loss), one sack, and one quarterback hurry.
“We knew coming into the game, they would be a run-heavy team,” said Wallace, who has offers right now from Maryland, Wake Forest, Marshall, FAU, FIU, and UAB. “So we had to play with a heavy front and just get off the ball fast.”
Williams chimed in.
“When they tried to throw the ball my way, I was in coverage,” said Williams, who recorded one tackle against Key West. “I had zero passes caught on me in coverage.”
Volcy recorded two tackles against Key West.
“I was playing at nickel,” Volcy said. “They ran like a Wing-T offense. They ran down the middle a lot. But our defensive line, linebackers, and secondary played good. They put up seven points on the board. But it shouldn’t have happened. We’re just going to work on it and get better.”
Volcy has been more like the glue that keeps everyone together. He spoke on his own experience over the past few months.
“We all came here at the same time,” said Volcy, who played in his second game this season against Key West. “It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s good for us right now. I think we all made the right decision to play here together at Miami Killian. We’re 7-0 now. We’re just going to finish strong here and have a good ending to this season.”
Miami Killian head coach Derrick Gibson spoke on his team’s overall success at this point.
“As a team, we gotta take it one game at a time, one play at a time,” Gibson said. “I think we’ll be fine…We just have to finish out games. We’ll start out fast in the first half, and then in the second half, we’ll act like we’re happy to be in the game. We gotta get that killer mentality. Once we do that, I think we’re going to be hell for anybody that we face this year.”
