Ransom Everglades @ La Salle

WEEK 12 | 2024 SEASON

_{November 11, 2024}
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Royals Rule Over Raiders”

Florida Man Sports is back with more coverage of the South Florida high school football season. Tonight we had a makeup matchup between the Ransom Everglades Raiders and the Immaculata-La Salle Royal Lions. This game was supposed to take place about a month ago, but was rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton. Ransom came in at 6-2, off of a blowout victory last week against SmartEn Sports Academy. La Salle has had quite the impressive bounce back season, sitting at 8-1, coming off 5 straight victories with their only loss this season coming from a formidable Booker T. squad. The new “Battle of the Bay” rivalry series between these Coconut Grove schools was set to be a good one.

The game kicked off with a bang. On a squib kick, 2027 WR Tyrone Williams III bounced off a pile of defenders, cut it to the edge, and took it to the house. The first play of the game. As Ransom looked to respond, they were once again led by star 2028 QB Neimann Lawrence at the helm. And right away, he was locked and loaded. He found his sure-handed receiver in 2026 WR Rauli Matos right away, then tossed it over to 2026 RB Jack McCarron for another first down. Lawrence then got it to a wide open Matos in the endzone to knot the score at 7.

After a TFL by 2027 DL Jaiden Rosado and a subsequent punt by La Salle, Lawrence continued to build confidence. He had a first down dart to 2026 ATH Juan Velazco, and handed off to McCarron who ran hard for another first down. Lawrence on a couple of short down and distances used the QB sneak, once for a first down and then for a touchdown to give Ransom the lead.

La Salle looked to get something going on offense, and what better way than through a rushing attack of their own. 2025 ATH Terrance Smith Jr., in just his second game at RB, showed off his agility for a first down run. It appeared the Royals had to punt, but when the ball was snapped to 2026 S Keondre Ponton, he ran around the edge, embraced the contact, and gave La Salle a new set of downs. Smith Jr. ran for another first down, then converted DB, 2025 QB Dorian Mallary, found 2026 ATH Brandon Kinsey for a first down in which Kinsey fought through multiple tackles to get down to the goal line. Smith Jr. punctuated the drive with a short touchdown run, but the extra point was blocked by Velazco to keep the deficit at one.

Defense showed up a bit, with 2026 ATH Daniel Marin making plays for La Salle, 2025 LB Henry Jean-Simeon having a TFL, Velazco getting a TFL of his own for Ransom, and then 2025 DB Ron Donaldson Jr. having an INT off of an errant pass by Mallary. Right off of that Raiders interception, Lawrence locked back in with a touchdown pass to 2028 ATH Colton Smith. This play was impressive, as Lawrence audibled at the line of scrimmage and confused the defense to such an extent, that Smith was wide open and walked into the endzone.

Right then and there, Mallary put together an incredible drive before the half ended. The precision on his passes improved, with first down strikes to Williams III (on an incredible grab) and 2025 WR Joel Sallen. Mallary also used his legs (and athleticism) to scramble for a first down. Mallary delivered an absolutely perfect pass in the back of the endzone to Kinsey. Truly on the money coupled with a nice toe-tap by the back pylon. Mallary connected with a wide open Kinsey once again on the two-point conversion to knot this game at 21 heading into the half.

As the second half got kicked off, La Salle’s defense finally stepped up. Ponton laid out Raiders and Jean-Simeon had a sack. That energized the offense, as Mallary found Williams III for yet another first down. On an option play, the ball was pitched to Smith Jr. and he absolutely destroyed the Ransom defense with a few broken tackles, blazing into the endzone to give the Royals the lead right back. Mallary found Sallen for another two-point conversion to extend the La Salle lead to 8.

Lawrence needed to respond at this point, and he had a long drive prepared to do so. He locked right back in with Matos (twice) and Smith. He also used his legs to get a couple more first downs: once on a sneak and another on a scramble. After McCarron got another first down with his legs, the drive stalled out due to the efforts of Ponton (who forced back-to-back injury timeouts due to massive hits) and 2026 LB Jayden Noel. 2026 K Carlos Lavernia sunk a field goal that cut the lead to 29-24.

Unfortunately, Ransom’s defense just couldn’t stop Smith Jr. He took some early contact, made a nasty spin move, and got to the edge once again, flying into the endzone to get that lead back out to 11 points almost immediately. With that, the Royal Lions defense gained even more confidence. 2026 DB Tavarus Jones had a big tackle that electrified the crowd and 2027 DE Raul Alvarez had a sack that forced a punt. After that punt, it was closing time for La Salle. And boy, did they make it count.

Williams III and Mallary continued to make it work for two more first downs. Smith Jr. got yet another first of his own. And Mallary wanted to get in on the fun with a rushing touchdown, so he got to the edge and ran it in for a touchdown that put this game out of reach with just over two minutes left. And to top it off, Mallary found Smith Jr. on a wing pass for another two-point conversion. 2028 RB Noah Alce had a late touchdown run that had the final tally at 43-31, in favor of La Salle.

The La Salle Royal Lions finish the regular season at 9-1. What’s really impressive is that they have guys who used to play different positions as their signal caller and top dawg at running back. Mallary and Smith Jr. were so impressive tonight. Williams III, Sallen, and Kinsey all had moments of their own at receiver. Ponton is an absolute monster on the defensive end and was wreaking havoc on the Raiders all night. This team is dangerous, both today and in the future. Building blocks.

The Ransom Raiders had a much better showing than they did the last time we saw them play. Lawrence showed once again that he has some ridiculous potential, and even used his legs a little more tonight, showcasing his dual threat ability. McCarron was pretty impressive as well in the backfield, breaking tackles for some tough runs. Matos has a great pair of mitts on him, catching pretty much everything that comes his way. There just seems to be a bit of a talent and depth gap at times for this Ransom team, but there’s no question that the discipline is always there. This was a truly exciting affair. The “Battle of the Bay” lived up to the hype.

FINAL SCORE:
La Salle beats Ransom Everglades 43-31


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.