Cypress Bay @ Goleman
WEEK 6 | 2024 SEASON
September 30, 2024
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Gators Chomp Past Lightning”
Florida Man Sports is back with Week 6 South Florida high school football coverage! Tonight we had a Broward vs. Miami-Dade showdown between the Cypress Bay Lightning and the Goleman Gators. Cypress Bay was 2-1 coming into the game, off of a shutout victory against McArthur two weeks ago. Goleman was coming in at 3-1, and on a two-game winning streak courtesy of back-to-back comfortable victories against American and Hialeah Gardens.
As the game kicked off, the Lightning were tamed early after a tackle for loss by 2025 DL Trevor Darling. The engine of the Goleman offense was 2025 RB Kyjuan Taylor, finding the holes early and often, before bursting to the edge, tippy-toeing on the sideline and galloping to the endzone for an early 7-0 Gators lead.
But the Lightning struck back. They have a gamer of a quarterback in 2025 QB Jake Balanovich. He completed multiple first-down tosses, in and out of the pocket to 2025 WR Eain Hersh, 2027 TE Hunter Cullen and 2025 WR/DB Santi Paz. A couple of chunk runs were added by Paz on a gadget play and 2026 RB Jaylen Reid. On 4th down just outside of the redzone, Balanovich delivered a perfect ball on the run to Hersh, who dashed into the endzone. Unfortunately for the Lightning, the extra point was blocked and the deficit was still 1.
The Gators bit right back. 2027 QB Kingston Rust got his game going, delivering first-down passes to Taylor and 2026 WR Julian Prieto. Taylor got the Gators down the field with another first down tote. And then Rust took matters into his own hands and ran through a hole to get Goleman back up to an 8-point lead.
In need of a score heading into the half, Balanovich put his hard hat on and went to work. He broke through multiple tackles and fought through piles of defenders to run for some tough first downs. 2026 RB Elwood Higgs did the same on a first down carry of his own. Balanovich found Paz again for another first. With the clock running out, Cypress tried a trick play at the end of the half with a wide receiver pass, but it was snuffed out beautifully by 2026 LB Gabriel Pena who sacked Paz. With 6 seconds left in the half, it was 4th & long for the Lightning. A do-or-die play to gain momentum. Somehow, Balanovich got the job done. He rolled out and found Cullen, who broke a tackle and got into the endzone as time expired. Balanovich showed grit and toughness throughout. And as I already mentioned, the kid is a gamer. To close out the half, 2025 DE Rafael Baccala ran into the endzone on a two-point conversion, tying the game at 14 a piece.
Getting the ball out of the half, Goleman had to get their groove back. Taylor got them off on the right foot. He once again found those holes and got a couple more first downs. Rust found 2026 ATH and Florida State commit Darryl “Tre” Bell III for a first down. But as Rust looked for Bell again in the endzone, Bell slipped and an incredible play was made by Paz on the defensive side of the ball to pick it off. He does it both ways. More defense followed with a tackle for loss by 2025 DL Brando Gudino.
At this point it was time for the Gators to regain control of this game. How did they do it? With the use of a second member of the backfield tandem. The explosive 2026 RB Antwain Easterling took over on the next drive with a first-down carry followed by a brotherly connection between Rust and 2027 DB/WR Christian Rust. Taylor then came back in and booked a trip for 6 and boosted to the endzone to give Goleman their lead back.
Balanovich did his best, running for another first down. But when it was time for some more 4th down magic, it had disappeared this time around. Gudino and Pena made a huge stop to turn the ball over on downs. After this, 2026 WR Adrian Atoa took a jet sweep for a first down, and Easterling essentially iced the game with a scamper into the endzone with not a whole lot of time left.
On a last gasp drive, Balanovich found Paz (twice) and Higgs for first-down chunks, and then eventually scored his third touchdown of the game (on a run this time). But on the onside kick, the ball was easily recovered by 2026 WR Jovani Obando, and Rust downed the ball a couple times to finish the proceedings. Final score: Goleman 28, Cypress Bay 22.
This was a good battle between a couple of underrated teams. Goleman is now 4-1 on the season. The engine is clearly running through Taylor. They’ve got a great tandem in him and Easterling. Rust kept his composure and made the necessary plays throughout the game and most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over. Bell is some kind of playmaker at the safety position, laying out some thumps and breaking up passes. Gudino, Pena, and Darling made multiple big plays throughout the second half. Also credit to that offensive line for opening up holes all day for this great rushing attack. This team has grown a lot over the last year and it truly shows. They will face off against Cardinal Newman in what should be an uphill battle next Friday.
As for the Cypress Bay Lightning, this was a competitive effort. Balanovich is tough as nails and the man can take a hit. Paz is a player on both sides of the ball. Hersh is reliable as heck as a receiver. They’ve still got some work to do on that defensive side of the ball and they were not consistently winning their matchups against the offensive line for the majority of the night. But overall they looked like a solid team. They will go up against Flanagan in what will be a competitive one next Friday.
FINAL SCORE:
Goleman beats Cypress Bay 28-22
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.
