Miami Norland @ Miami Southridge
WEEK 3 | 2023 SEASON
September 7, 2023
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Vikings Pillage Spartans in One-Sided Clash”
Florida Man Sports is back with more Week 3 high school football action, bringing you a Friday night showdown between the #26 nationally ranked Miami Norland Vikings and the Miami Southridge Spartans. Both teams came into the game 2-0, so there were many attentive eyes on this battle.
The Vikings stormed right through the gates as 2025 QB Ennio “EJay” Yapoor led his guys right down the field and delivered two quick precision passes to 2024 WR Isaiah Scott — the second resulting in a touchdown just under a minute into the game.
The Spartans’ response was not ideal as one pass into their own offensive series, 2027 QB James Perrone threw a pass right into the hands of Maryland commit 2024 DB Larry Tarver Jr. who took it right to the house and got the Vikings out to a 14-0 lead with 10:41 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Southridge responded this time, as Perrone chucked up a 60-yard bomb to a wide-open 2024 WR Jayquan Reid, kick-starting a drive that was capped off by a nice over-the-shoulder pass to 2025 WR Darius Clements for a touchdown to cut the lead down to 14-6. (This would be Southridge’s only score of the ballgame.)
From this point forward, Norland absolutely dominated this game. The Spartans were completely outmatched on the front lines, and the Vikings drove right down the field the following drive. Norland’s up-tempo no-huddle offense caught the Spartans off-guard all night long. This drive culminated with an easy outside touchdown run by 2024 RB Roger Adam.
The Vikings defense was absolutely dominant, both in the trenches and in coverage. There were huge hits by 2024 LB Anthony Mattison and 2024 DB Jahmari Howard that pulverized and demoralized the Spartans. The pressure brought from Pittsburgh commit 2024 LB Jeremiah Marcelin and Auburn commit 2024 DL Dimitry Nichols had Southridge’s Perrone in disarray all half.
Norland took complete control of the game early in the 2nd quarter, as Yapoor made it look easy again with an outstanding touchdown pass to 2025 ATH Jade Card, who in his own right made a fantastic catch adjusting to the back shoulder dime. Have to add that Card delivered soul-crushing crackbacks onto Spartans defenders on multiple occasions throughout the night.
The Vikings came humming again on the defensive side, as once again Tarver picked off Perrone and took it right to the house for a nearly identical pick-six that got Norland out to a 35-6 lead. That very next Southridge drive, Howard and Rutgers commit 2024 DE Tycoolhill Luman combined for a sack in the endzone for a safety to make it 37-6.
Yapoor and the Viking offense basically put the game away after the safety. 2024 RB Marquise Blocker blew through a hole and set the offense up for an easy goal-line opportunity in which Yapoor just walked in for a rushing touchdown on a zone read.
To make matters even worse for Southridge, the 1st half ended with yet another pick-six when 2024 DB Kaleb Lawrence jumped the route and flew down the sideline for a deflating touchdown against the Spartans as the half expired. The score was a whopping 51-6 at half.
Backups came in for a large portion of the second half. 2026 K Noah Sidan got another 3 points on the board for Norland early in the 4th quarter. The final score was a shellacking at 54-6 in favor of the Vikings.
The Norland Vikings are on the fast track to compete for a state championship this year. They have a Division 1 defense and a composed and calm QB in Yapoor who is never afraid to take hits either. The energy was there from them all night and they are ready for a deep run this year to get to the promised land. As for the Southridge Spartans, it was an extremely disappointing performance from a team that was expected to perform at least slightly better in this battle. They need to establish a potent rushing attack behind their veteran offensive line to take some pressure off of their freshman quarterback. They also need to get their defensive issues sorted out, as a lack of discipline shown from the offsides penalties, and an inability to put much pressure on Yapoor showed tonight in a disastrous effort.
FINAL SCORE:
Miami Norland beats Miami Southridge 54-6
About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.
