Sting Football Is Back

After years of hardships, Miami High’s football team is back. They began this season undefeated, beat long time rival Coral Gables for the first time in four years, and came within two points of defeating district powerhouse Columbus.

This year the Stings are under the direction of head coach and former Miami High football player Sedrick Irvin, who was named the Miami Herald’s 1996 Male Athlete of the Year. After graduating from Miami High, Coach Irvin went on to play college ball at Michigan State University. He later played in the NFL until some injuries forced him to retire. He went on to coach at different schools, but now he’s back at Miami High.

On October 2, the Stings defeated the Coral Gables Cavaliers by a score of 55-48. The win wasn’t easy, as they game went into five overtimes. Assistant head coach Mr. Helder said that after coming off a district defeat four days before against Columbus, the Stings couldn’t have taken a second loss.

Facing lot of adversity, he said that everyone stepped up during the Gables game, which helped the Stings grow as a team. While Miami High was able to score a defensive touchdown in their previous five games, they were not able to do against the Cavaliers.

In the Gables victory, Coach Helder gives special recognition to senior running back Johnny Ford, quarterback senior Isaias Castellon, sophomore wide receiver Marcus Fleming, sophomore Roscoe Parrish, senior wide receiver Lamont Finnie, and senior Keython Drayton.

The Stings took their first loss of the season, on September 28, against the Columbus Explorers with a final score of 20-21. For the first time in seven years, the Stings scored a touchdown against the Explorers. Coach Helder said that the game was a collective effort, and a lot of players stood out during the game. He does credit both the defensive and offensive lines for their hard work.

Earlier in the season, the Stingarees beat Edison 48-6 on September 22 and defeated Krop 35-14 on August 31.

The season kicked off with a bang on August 24th, when the Stings won their first game 49-23 against North Miami.  Head coach Mr. Sedrick Irvin joins his other coaches in recognizing the team’s outstanding players in the first two games: running back Johnny Ford, senior safety Andrew Reese Jr., senior defensive end Isaiah McDonald, senior linebacker Antquan Kinsey, junior linebacker Lesile Smith, and sophomore Marcus Fleming.

This year the team has lots of new players, majority coming from other high schools. When asked why did he transfer, junior Dontae Lucus said that Miami High has a better environment and also there’s a new football coach.