Miami Central QB passes way to yet another record

Central (Miami) quarterback Rakeem Cato has laid claim as the most prolific passer in Miami-Dade County history.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Cato added another record to his resume last Friday when he threw for three touchdowns in a 42-0 rout of Hialeah. That gives him 89 career touchdown passes, surpassing the previous Miami-Dade County record of 87 established by former Northwestern (Miami) and current University of Miami quarterback Jacory Harris.

Earlier this season, Cato set all-time county records for passing yardage and completions, surpassing previous record-holder and former Central quarterback Jeff Godfrey. He completed 19 of 28 passes for 285 yards in Central’s win against Hialeah that clinched the second district title in three years for the Rockets (6-1).

“It feels pretty good because both (Harris and Godfrey) are some of the best to ever play the position in Dade County,” Cato told the Miami Herald after his latest record-setting game. “I’ve just tried to be patient and let everything come to me.”

Said Central head coach Telly Lockette: “Cato’s biggest intangible in the pocket is his patience. He reminds me more of Jacory in the sense that he knows when to break away and make a big play, but he knows how to make good decisions. He’s got a lot of charisma out there.”

Florida International is the only school so far that has offered Cato a scholarship.

2. Record-setting performances, Part II: Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) teammates Jerrard Randall and Curt Evans entered their names into the Broward County record book in Chaminade’s 42-41 win against district rival Archbishop Carroll (Miami) last Friday. Randall, who made an early verbal commitment to Oregon, completed 20 of 23 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns, which ties former North Broward Prep quarterback Matt Werksman for most passing yards in a game in the past 10 years. Randall’s only incomplete passes were interceptions. Evans had 11 catches for 301 yards, the second-most receiving yards in county history behind the record 324 yards that Kyle Whitley of Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale) set last year. Randall and Evans teamed up on a 41-yard touchdown pass that was the game-winning score against Archbishop Carroll. The teams combined for 974 yards of offense and 40 first downs.

3. Aerial attack: Junior quarterback Edward (Dalton) Easton passed for a career-high 491 yards to lead Gulliver Prep (Miami) to a 28-20 win against district rival LaSalle (Miami). Easton passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score.

4. Three-headed rushing attack: Braddock (Miami) has a running game that gives opposing defensive coordinators headaches, as Varela (Miami) coaches can attest. Jarvon Anderson, Billy Kinsey and Jordan Vance teamed up to lead Braddock to a 35-13 victory against Varela as the Bulldogs remained undefeated at 6-0. Anderson rushed for 156 yards on 14 carries, Kinsey ran for 120 yards on nine carries and Vance chipped in 112 yards on 15 carries. Each one had a touchdown.

5. One-man show: North Miami Beach quarterback Richy Desir was a beast on both sides of the ball in the Chargers’ 50-7 win against crosstown rival North Miami. Desir accounted for three touchdowns on offense and returned one of his two interceptions on defense for a touchdown. North Miami’s defense recorded eight sacks and forced four fumbles in the game.

RECRUITING NEWS
Curt Maggitt, the outstanding 6-4, 215-pound senior defensive end for nationally ranked Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) is denying reports that Florida is the leading program in the recruiting battle for him. “I’m wide open right now,” Maggitt told the Palm Beach Post after returning from a visit to Wisconsin in which he witnessed the Badgers’ 31-18 upset win of then No. 1-ranked Ohio State. Maggitt said he loved the atmosphere in Madison and that one thing that plays in the Badgers’ favor is the fact that the Madison campus is not too far from Iowa State where his older brother, Roosevelt Maggitt, is a redshirt sophomore defensive end. “If I could play close to him, that would be good,” Maggitt said. “It’d make things better. I don’t see him enough, at all.” Maggitt has two official visits remaining. His next planned visit is to LSU on Nov. 6 when the Tigers play Alabama, which also is rated high on Maggitt’s recruiting short list.

Kelvin Benjamin, the highly touted wide receiver at state power Glades Central (Belle Glade), played his final high school game in the Raiders’ 53-0 win against Boynton Beach last Friday night. Benjamin this week will exceed the Florida High School Athletic Association age limit of 19 years, 9 months, and therefore will be ineligible for the remainder of his senior season. The 6-foot-6 Benjamin is being recruited by several major Division I schools, including Florida, Florida State and Miami. He caught 30 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns in eight games this season.

THIS WEEK’S MARQUEE MATCHUPS
* Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale) vs. University (Fort Lauderdale): Undefeated University puts its unprecedented perfect season on the line Thursday night when the Suns face Pine Crest’s Traveon Henry, Broward County’s leading rusher who enters the game with 1,166 yards and 16 touchdowns. Pine Crest has not made the playoffs since 1998 and needs to win this game to stay in contention for a playoff berth, but will face one of South Florida’s top quarterbacks in University’s Douglas Cook, who has passed for 1,655 yards and 16 touchdowns.

* Prattville (Ala.) vs. Miami Central: Prattville is the third quality out-of-state opponent that Miami Central has faced this season. Central, the No. 3-ranked team in the Miami Herald’s poll, has Miami-Dade County’s all-time leading passer in Rakeem Cato (see note above) and the Rockets’ defense has been outstanding against the pass this season.

* Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.) vs. Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee): Seminole Ridge is 7-0 for the first time in the program’s history and will lock up its first district title with a win against Park Vista, which was the preseason District 8, Class 6A favorite, but faces possible playoff elimination with a loss to Seminole Ridge. Park Vista has one of the region’s top running backs in senior Tre Mason, who is the Palm Beach County big-schools rushing leader with 993 yards and 15 touchdowns.

DORSEY’S DIGS
A tip of the hat to the Forest Hill (West Palm Beach) Falcons, who won their first game last week when Luis Betancourt nailed a 45-yard field goal with 5:43 remaining to lift the Falcons to a 17-14 win against winless Spanish River. Forest Hill’s program has struggled for several years and in fact owns two of the Sunshine State’s five all-time longest losing streaks. ... On a sadder note, the Pahokee Blue Devils lost their fifth consecutive game — 28-12 to Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale) — and have been eliminated from playoff contention, the first time the Blue Devils have not made the playoffs in 10 years. Despite its small enrollment, Pahokee has been a state power for most of the past decade. Fans in the Glades area take their high school football seriously, so naturally there’s been much criticism on chat boards of head coach Blaze Thompson and the Blue Devils’ coaching staff for the losing season. Those critics need to be reminded that Thompson was either the head coach or an assistant on all five state championship Pahokee teams that went to the state finals six consecutive years from 2003-08.

Steve Dorsey, who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps.com, is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach. He has covered the South Florida high school sports scene for the past 29 years. He also is a contributing writer for American Football Monthly and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.