Miami Hurricanes commit Hyppolite leads NMB football to win over Miami Springs

As North Miami Beach quarterback/athlete and University of Miami commit Andre Hyppolite was being interviewed after the game, NMB head coach Jeff Bertani shouted out “and he’s been here all four years!!”

Read more Details on Dolphins Saturday roster moves. And news on Willis, new cornerback

One of the last true “old school” coaches left, Bertani watched his star player, along with plenty of other talented players, deliver their best effort of the season so far as the Chargers ran out to a 19-point halftime lead and hung on to knock off Miami Springs 26-19 in a key District 16-3A showdown at Traz Powell Stadium.

Bertani’s words sounded prideful. The longest-tenured high school head coach in South Florida (and third longest in the state having coached the NMB program since 1997), has always believed in building a small, but loyal roster of kids who resist running off to higher-profile programs.

And Hyppolite is a prime example.

He tore up the Springs defense for a good portion of the day with his feet on option keepers and his arm as he threw for more than 200 yards and fired a pair of touchdown passes. He wound up with over 100 yards rushing including a 36-yard option keeper score in the second quarter and he would’ve wound up with over 200 yards on the ground had his 90 yard third quarter touchdown run not been nullified by a holding call.

“Springs was undefeated for a reason,” Bertani said. “Our kids knew coming in how much this team was improved over past years and played a great first half. They might’ve gotten a little complacent in the second half and thought it was going to be easier than it was but credit to Springs, they kept fighting and made it tough for us.”

The Chargers improved to 4-1 while Springs, off to its best start since 1998 under the guidance of new head coach and former NFL star T.Y. Hilton, came in undefeated and fell to 4-1.

“We worked hard all week because we knew this was a big game for us and felt a little bit like the underdog,” said Hyppolite, who plays the free safety position on defense.

“Even though we got a little sloppy and careless in the second half, having a great first half turned out to be enough for us. Now we feel pretty good moving on from here.”

It was a year ago that the Chargers finished ninth in their region just barely missing a berth in the state playoffs (top 8 qualify) but took advantage of the state’s new Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) which allowed other similar teams from around the state to compete in a second-tier tournament. Bertani and his players took maximum advantage of the opportunity by advancing all the way to championship game before losing a close contest to Dunnellon in the final.

“Going to the state FIT championship last year was nice and a good experience but we’ve got bigger plans this year,” Hyppolite said. “We want to be playing in the big tournament and see what we can do with that.”

Hyppolite got his team off to a lightning quick start as NMB led 13-0 after the first quarter on a 3 yard touchdown run by Yariel Santos (one play after Hyppolite found Aiden Spivey on a 33-yard pass play on third-and-12) and an 11-yard scoring run by Hyppolite capping off a 55-yard, 10 play drive.

Read more Ten days that changed the course of AI

After Springs sliced its deficit to 13-7 on a 65-yard Marcus Smith-to-Tyrell Johnson touchdown pass early in the second quarter, the Chargers dominated the rest of the first half. They immediately answered Springs’ score with a quick two-play, 64-yard drive when Hyppolite found Ty Hays for a 24 yard gain and once again, fooled the Springs defense on the next play with an option keeper that turned into a 36-yard touchdown 5:02 before the half.

After Isaiah Charles (who recorded a pair of interceptions on the day) picked off a Smith pass and returned it 60 yards to the Springs 10, the Chargers took advantage of the short field and, on fourth-and-goal at the six, Hyppolite found Hays wide open over the middle in the end zone 24 seconds before halftime staking NMB to its big 26-7 advantage at the half.

But the Golden Hawks, led by Smith who also threw for more than 200 yards, came storming back by dominating the third quarter. A long kickoff return to open the half led to a quick 34-yard scoring toss to Kyammarri Pierre and one possession later, Smith found Victwon Miller Jr. for a 35-yard strike to make it 26-19 (both PATs failed) midway through the third quarter.

When the Hawks pulled off a successful onside kick following the Miller touchdown, all the momentum was on their side.

Eventually they found themselves at the NMB 3 with a fourth-and-goal but were pushed back to the eight following a delay of game penalty, something that plagued them all day as they were flagged seven different times for it. The lost yardage mattered as Smith tried a quarterback draw but NMB linebacker Josh Labissiere was there to make the tackle at the four ending the Springs threat.

The Hawks had three more possessions in the fourth quarter but never threatened the NMB red zone.

“Our kids have handled adversity because they’ve had to deal with adversity,” Bertani said. “They haven’t jumped to any super stacked teams or anything like that and stayed where they are. We’ve got a loyal group led by Andre. That kid has been offered the world to go other big-time programs but he’s stayed with us because he believes in us and we believe in him. We’re going to ride or die with OUR kids. Hopefully it takes us where we want to go but at the end of the day we stick with our kids no matter what.”

MORE SCORES

Thursday: 3. Carol City 58, Edison 0; True North 28, 19. Southridge 21; American 41, Hialeah 9; Blanche Ely 6, Deerfield Beach 0; Cooper City 42, Pembroke Pines Charter 28; Coral Glades 26, Nova 25; Homestead 46, Southwest 7; Plantation 40, Northeast 0; Pine Crest 21, Oxbridge Academy 12; Ransom Everglades 39, Somerset Academy 14; Reagan 21, Varela 12; Somerset Silver Palms 10, North Palm Beach Benjamin 7; South Broward 49, Coral Springs 0; South Miami 34, Hialeah-Miami Lakes 20; Stranahan 20, Hollywood Hills 16; Sunset 22, Coral Park 14; West Broward 47, Doral Academy 7.

Friday: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas 40, 12. Archbishop McCarthy 7; 2. Columbus 45, South Dade 7; Lakeland 21, 8. American Heritage 16; 6. Palmetto 28, Coral Gables 6; Sunrise Piper 36, 9. Monarch 34; 10. Dillard 34, 14. McArthur 27; 11. Coconut Creek 55, Boyd Anderson 12; 16. Cypress Bay 50, Stoneman Douglas 0; Boca Raton St. Andrews 34, North Broward 14; Coral Springs Charter 37, Pompano Beach 0; Florida Christian 47, Inlet Grove 14; Goleman 47, Hialeah Gardens 0; Key West 58, St. Brendan 7; Mater Academy 21, Monsignor Pace 7; Miami Beach 56, Braddock 12; Miramar 36, Flanagan 12; North Miami Beach 26, Miami Springs 19; Palmer Trinity 35, St. Frances Episcopal 20; South Plantation 12, Boca Raton 7; Westminster Academy 48, Vero Beach Masters Academy 0; Westminster Christian 35, Belen 14.

Read more President John F. Kennedy’s secret bunker in Palm Beach County could reopen