High School

Florida high school football upset: Homestead tops nationally ranked Columbus

Broncos pick off Explorers quarterback Alberto Mendoza four times in the victory

Andy Villamarzo

MIAMI, FLORIDA- Anything can happen in the 305. 

On a rare Saturday night game, the Homestead Broncos made believers of anyone doubting that they can make another run to states in Class 3M. 

The Broncos saw the social media trash talking all week long and answered emphatically with a dominating win. Behind the playmaking of the trio Joshua Townsend-Isaac Brown-Cortez Mills, Homestead soundly defeated No. 16-ranked nationally Columbus 32-16 at Tropical Park. 

With the win, the Broncos avenged a 21-6 loss to the Explorers last season. For first-year head coach Ronnie Thornton’s bunch, they took this game personally.

It looked like Columbus (6-1) would be just fine offensively if you based anything off of the first quarter as James Madison commitment Alberto Mendoza found wide receiver Bryce Fitzgerald on a 10-yard pass. 

Up 7-0, the Explorers would add onto their lead with a Robert Czeremcha field goal make to take a 10-0 advantage. From there, Homestead began to find its groove offensively. 

The Broncos (4-1) were jumpstarted by a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and that’s when things began to unravel for the Explorers. Turnovers were the primary culprit when it came to problems for Columbus, as Mendoza (18-of-26, 197 yards) was intercepted four times on the night. 

His counterpart Townsend was clearly hobbled, but made the best of it in the upset effort. The Broncos’ signal caller finished the night completing 11-of-19 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Townsend was joined by efforts all around him, with Brown (Louisville commitment) carrying the rock 16 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. 

Mills really got things rolling all the way around for the Broncos with his downfield threat ability. The wide receiver finished with four receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns of 11, 23.

Homestead took its first lead of the game on Townsend’s 11-yard strike to Mills to gives the Broncos a 13-10 advantage. From that moment on, the Broncos would never relinquish the lead to the Explorers. 

The Broncos would go into halftime with a commanding 19-10 lead after Townsend found Mills again for a touchdown. It would then come down to Thornton’s defense to hold strong against the potent Columbus offense. 

Keeping players like wide receiver Jose Leon and tight end Benjamin Blackburn in check was an assignment well done by players like cornerback James Randle and linebacker Santonio Wallace. 

The proverbial dagger that would seal the game up was when Brown capped it off with a 6-yard touchdown run to put Homestead ahead 26-10 with less than four minutes to go. Needing two touchdowns and 2-point conversions to go with them, it was an order too tall for Columbus. 

Columbus would add one more touchdown in the final minutes, with Mendoza finding Blackburn on a 6-yard pass. 

Both teams will now shift their focus to next week as Columbus will play host to Doral Academy and Homestead will welcome rival Southridge into town at Harris Park. 

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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