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Chris Perkins: Dolphins’ special teams do their (game-winning) thing in season-opening victory
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders won’t be strutting around South Florida, sticking his chest out, telling everybody how clutch he’s been the past few years.
But he’d be justified if he opted for that type of behavior.
Sanders, who has kicked the Dolphins into the playoffs each of the past two years, hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired Sunday to deliver the Dolphins’ 20-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season opener at Hard Rock Stadium.
Earlier in the game Sanders uncharacteristically hooked a 42-yard field goal attempt wide left. Way, way, way wide left.
“It was just good to get one back after the miss,” Sanders, in his typical humble fashion, said of the game winner.
Here’s the thing, though.
Sanders’ game-winner was just one of a few outstanding special teams plays by the Dolphins on Sunday.
“We don’t win that game without them,” coach Mike McDaniel said of his special teams.
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I’m a guy who likes to follow special teams.
I like talking to the special teams guys.
I like watching them in practice.
I like watching them in games.
So it made me happy to see Sanders, punter Jake Bailey, long snapper Blake Ferguson, safety Elijah Campbell and a host of others turn in strong performances.
While we’re at it, let’s also give credit to special teams coordinator Danny Crossman.
He had his guys playing at a high level in the opener.
Take Campbell as an example.
Campbell forced a fumble on a kickoff return right after wide receiver Tyreek Hill scored on that 80-yard touchdown reception that cut Dolphins’ deficit to 17-14.
The Dolphins didn’t recover the fumble, but the play kept crucial momentum going and seemed to contribute to the Jaguars’ second-half struggles.
On its ensuing possession, Jacksonville went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 32-yard line. Running back Travis Etienne was stopped for a 2-yard loss.
“The strip,” Campbell said of his play on the kickoff, “it was just a ball player making plays, man.”
In reality, it was special teams making yet another big play.
It seemed as though everybody did something good.
Punter Jake Bailey was magical.
He had four punts for an average of 49.5 yards. He successfully flipped the field each time he put his foot on the ball.
His first punt went to the Jaguars’ 4-yard line.
His second punt traveled 57 yards to the Jags’ 12-yard line.
His third punt was a 51-yarder.
And his final punt nailed the Jags at their own 3-yard line.
His final act of the game?
Hugging Sanders.
“Anytime I’ve got a kicker that makes a game-winner, I’m giving him a hug,” Bailey said.
Long snapper Blake Ferguson, who was also flawless, sprinted downfield after Sanders’ kick sailed through the uprights and grabbed the ball.
He wasn’t sure of the ball’s exact location after the game.
“I got back in the locker room and Jason didn’t have it,” Ferguson said, “so I don’t know.”
Sanders, of course, made the game-winning 50-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in 2002 to deliver the Dolphins an 11-6 victory over the New York Jets that ended a five-game losing streak and secured their playoff berth.
Last season, it was Sanders who kicked five field goals, including the game-winning 29-yarder as time expired, to deliver a 22-20 victory that secured a playoff berth.
On a Dolphins team that’s headlined by big offensive plays, don’t sleep on special teams and its big plays.
Those big plays were essential to the victory on Sunday.
And considering it was Sanders who won the game, you could maintain special teams won the game for the Dolphins.
“I don’t want to say special teams won the game,” Campbell said. “It was an all around team win.”
But special teams played a huge role in the victory.
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Today in History: September 8, Ford pardons Nixon
Today is Sunday, Sept. 8, the 252nd day of 2024. There are 114 days left in the year.
Today in history:On Sept. 8, 1974, one month after taking office, President Gerald R. Ford granted a “full, free, and absolute pardon” to former President Richard Nixon for any crimes committed during Nixon’s presidency.
Also on this date:In 1504, Michelangelo’s towering marble statue of David was unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.
In 1565, a Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Florida.
In 1664, the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.
In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed an estimated 8,000 people; it remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
In 1935, Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., was fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building.
In 1941, the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.
In 1951, a peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.
In 1964, public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, reopened after being closed for five years by officials attempting to prevent court-ordered racial desegregation.
In 1986, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” began the first of 25 seasons in national syndication.
In 2016, California and federal regulators fined Wells Fargo a combined $185 million, alleging the bank’s employees illegally opened millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals.
In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, who spent more than seven decades on the British throne, died at age 96; her 73-year-old son became King Charles III.
Today’s Birthdays:- Former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., is 86.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is 83.
- Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis is 74.
- Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges is 70.
- Author Terry Tempest Williams is 69.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks is 68.
- Actor Heather Thomas is 67.
- Singer Aimee Mann is 64.
- Actor Thomas Kretschmann is 62.
- Alternative country singer Neko (NEE’-koh) Case is 54.
- TV personality Brooke Burke is 53.
- Actor Martin Freeman is 53.
- Actor David Arquette is 53.
- TV-radio personality Kennedy is 52.
- Actor Larenz Tate is 49.
- Singer-songwriter Pink is 45.
- Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas is 43.
- Rapper Wiz Khalifa is 37.
- MLB pitcher Gerrit Cole is 34.
- Actor Gaten Matarazzo (TV: “Stranger Things”) is 22.
Republicans at the Hard Rock: Raising money, rallying party faithful, bashing the Democrats
Florida Republicans are supremely confident about victory in November — and wary of the perils of overconfidence.
Party activists, candidates and elected officials who gathered Saturday in Hollywood for a major Republican Party of Florida fundraiser predicted widespread wins.
“If anybody thinks we’re going to lose, if anybody thinks in any way that Donald Trump is going to lose Florida, they’re crazy,” said U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. “The turnout in Florida all across the state for Republicans is incredible. We’re going to have a great year.”
Scott, especially, hopes that’s the case. He’s up for reelection this year, and some public opinion polls have shown a close race.
(An Emerson College/The Hill poll on Friday showed Scott with 46% to 45% for his Democratic challenger, former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.)
Attempting to keep party activists and donors motivated in the final stretch of the campaign season, speaker after speaker brought up a powerful motivator: the specter of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the presidency.
There was at least as much, if not more, condemnation of Harris as there was praise for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
“We have the most radical ticket on the Democrat side in my lifetime,” Scott declared. “She’s a complete socialist.”
State Attorney General Ashley Moody said “everyone’s heads are spinning” at the Harris candidacy.
“I have never seen a candidate running on such thin air, smoke and fumes,” she said. “There is no substance. No substance at all.”
Moody said Harris will offer a “word salad,” will “cackle,” and “will be who you want her to be, she will say what you want her to say” to win — and become different and dangerous if she is inaugurated president.
The Trump campaign dispatched Kimberly Guilfoyle as its surrogate to the event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News personality, longtime fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., and host of a show on the right-wing video platform Rumble.
Guilfoyle warned about “America-last madness” and “extreme left-wing rule” from the Democrats.
“Americans today walk out their door in the morning with less money in their pocket, with less safety on their streets, less sanity in their schools and with less confidence that the country that we all love and hold dear to our hearts can reach its full potential,” she said. “Why? Because of Kamala Harris.”
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Guilfoyle asserted that the vice president’s “radicalism is all too real. Pay attention to it. And her obsessive, reckless pursuit of power at all costs would take this nation down the path it may never recover from…. But the good news is that Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, has a plan to get this country back on track.”
She later came back to more criticism of the Democratic nominee. “Kamala Harris wants Americans to feel like the enemy in their own country.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, delivering the keynote address, said Florida during his time in office has “led the way” on issue after issue. “We have delivered over and over again.”
He touted more funding for schools, infrastructure and Everglades restoration. And he highlighted some of the culture war social issues that have been a hallmark of his administration.
“We believe schools should educate, not indoctrinate, our kids. It was wrong to try to jam gender ideology into elementary school classrooms. It’s wrong to distort history and try to make Founding Fathers villains,” he said.
And he proudly pointed to the tough response at Florida state universities to pro-Palestinian protests, which he called pro-Hamas. “We’re not going to let the inmates run the asylum. We’re going to have order in the court.”
“We said that Florida is where woke goes to die and I can report to you that the woke ideology is dead in the state of Florida,” he said.
DeSantis also repeated his strong opposition to two referendums on the November ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults and enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
Both would be “really bad for the state of Florida.”
Evan Power, chair of the state Republican Party said in an interview that party activists are “excited and fired up.”
Still, he said during his speech that the party faithful should not assume the results will go their way without work. “We take nothing for granted. We must run like we’re 10 points behind. There is no room for complacency in the Republican Party of Florida.”
One big advantage for Republicans, cited by DeSantis and several others on Saturday: the party’s 1 million advantage over the Democrats in registered voters. When DeSantis was elected governor and Scott was first elected to the Senate in 2018, Democrats had more registered voters than Republicans.
DeSantis said the elections can’t be taken for granted, “but with numbers like that, that’s a big layup for Republican candidates.”
State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis attributed much of the change to people moving to Florida
“Never did I think Florida would be a solid red state,” Patronis siad. “The ones we’re getting are the ones we want. They’re fleeing the deep blue states. They’re fleeing the high-tax hellholes they’re coming from.”
Money is another Republican advantage. Power said the state Republican Party has outraised the Democrats 7:1.
Saturday night’s event may end up bringing in $1 million, he said. Making the night more profitable: the Hard Rock donated the event venue. Power thanked the Seminole Tribe of Florida more than once for its support, and Patronis thanked its leaders.
The donated venue wasn’t the only reason for holding the event in Broward, the most Democratic county in Florida. The state Republican Party, Power said, has lots of donors in the region.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
Gators stomp Samford behind UF freshman QB DJ Lagway’s record-setting night
GAINESVILLE — Billy Napier could breathe a little easier following a rough week that culminated with a much-needed and morale-boosting 45-7 win against Samford on Saturday night in the Swamp.
Napier’s prospects still appear bleak at UF, which led just 14-0 at halftime against a 38.5-point underdog on the Gators’ home field. But Florida’s future is bright with true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway
The nation’s top quarterback recruit in 2024 replaced injured veteran Graham Mertz (concussion) during last week’s 41-17 season-opening no-show against resurgent Miami. This week Lagway took charge from the jump and set a UF true freshman record with 456 passing yards, the ninth-most ever at a school with three Heisman-winning signal-callers.
“It was different,” Lagway said. “I was really nervous. I’ve never been put in a situation like this before, but it was a blessing. I learned a lot.”
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway surveys the field during the Gators win against Samford Sept. 7 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)A statue might not be in his future. Lagway did, however, make a case for a much larger role, if not a starting one, when the Gators host Texas A&M (1-1) on Saturday to open SEC play.
“We have a good young quarterback,” Napier said. “And we have a incredible veteran quarterback as well.”
With a reported crowd of 89,295 looking on, UF (1-1) took care of business against Samford (0-2) behind the 19-year-old from Willis, Texas, to snap a six-game skid dating to an Oct. 28 loss to top-ranked Georgia.
Much more formidable opponents await following a one-week reprieve. But in Lagway, Gators may have found someone to help them navigate the nation’s toughest schedule.
A week after Florida did not complete a pass of even 20 yards, Lagway completed six throws longer than 35 yards.
“He brings a different element to our team,” Napier said.
Lagway’s personal favorite was a 36-yarder for his first career touchdown to true freshman speedster Tank Hawkins to give UF a 21-0 edge less than two minutes into the second half.
“That’s one of my best friends here,” Lagway said. “So it was a real moment to get our first touchdown together. That was pretty cool.”
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway warms up before the Gators’ 45-7 win against the Samford Bulldogs Sept. 7 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)After Samford cut the lead to 21-7, the Gators answered with a 41-yard strike from Lagway to sophomore Aidan Mizell of Orlando. Lagway moved to his right and jumped near the line of scrimmage as he threw a strike to a streaking Mizell blanketed by a Bulldogs defender.
Lagway set the tone with his second completion of the night, a 77-yard strike to Elijhah Badger. The Arizona State transfer caught the ball along the sideline after it traveled 50 yards in the air and then juked his way to the Samford 3 to set up a touchdown by Montrell Johnson Jr. for a 7-0 lead.
UF’s freshman QB finished 18 of 25 and three touchdowns as UF racked up 632 yards against the Bulldogs, who received $525,000 for their efforts. Badger’s 123 yards came on just three catches while Tre Wilson’s 141 yards on six grabs were a career high, highlighted by an 85-yard score following a Lagway shovel pass.
Lagway started 7 of 7 for 202 yards until an incompletion with 26 seconds to go in the first half. Two minutes earlier, Lagway absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit from Samford linebacker Malik Gather. Lagway reached for his facemask as he tumbled to the ground. He soon gathered himself, returned and following halftime continued to put on a show.
A week after allowing 529 yards to Miami, UF’s defense held Samford to 205 yards.
Florida receiver Elijhah Badger hauls in a pass from DJ Lagway for a 77-yard gain for the Gators Sept. 7 against Samford in the Swamp. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)The performance was far from complete. The Gators turned the ball over on downs and fumbled at the goal line during two of their first three drives. Meanwhile, the defense committed two personal fouls on the Bulldogs’ scoring drive.
Napier will take it.
The Miami loss supercharged hot-seat chatter and feelings that the end is near just 27 games into his tenure in Gainesville. Napier’s off-the-cuff remark dismissing criticism from some guy “living in a basement in rural Central Florida” went over like a lead balloon.
But against Samford, a freshman quarterback rose to the occasion to give Gator Nation a reason to smile.
“It was awesome in there; we gave them a little bit more to cheer about,” Napier said. “That’s a good step in the right direction. We all understand the level of competition — better teams and better opponents are coming.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
UCF storms past Sam Houston St. to start season 2-0
In what is quickly becoming a familiar theme for UCF, the Knights relied on a dominant ground game and a stingy defense to manhandle visiting Sam Houston State 45-14 on Saturday night.
UCF (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) entered the game with the top rushing offense in the nation and looked the part against the Bearkats, running for 384 yards and 6 touchdowns.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said coach Gus Malzahn. “It was a convincing win against a quality opponent. It was a good measuring stick of where our guys are.”
RJ Harvey finished with a game-high 126 yards — his fourth straight 100-yard performance — and 4 rushing touchdowns. It was the first time the preseason Doak Walker Award candidate scored four rushing touchdowns in a game, and it tied a school record held by several players, including Isaiah Bowser against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 11, 2021.
Eight of UCF’s 17 rushing attempts in the first quarter went for 10 yards or longer.
“We go at each other at every practice,” Harvey said. “We’re pushing each other hard every day. I’m so grateful for them because they push me and make me a better running back.”
The game started at 7:02 after a 30-minute lightning delay that cleared FBC Mortgage Stadium before warmups. Both teams took to the field at 6:10 to allow for a 50-minute warmup period after showers drenched the field.
Quarterback KJ Jefferson rebounded from a slow start last week against New Hampshire by completing seven of his first eight pass attempts, finishing 12 of 15 for 169 yards. The 6-4, 250-pound fifth-year senior also accounted for 50 rushing yards.
Receiver Kobe Hudson led all receivers with 104 yards on 5 catches, highlighted by a 53-yard catch in the second half. It was Hudson’s first 100-yard receiving game since totaling 138 yards against Kansas State on Sept. 23, 2023.
Sam Houston (1-1, 0-0 CUSA) relied on some trickery to get on the scoreboard when receiver Noah Smith took a pitch from quarterback Hunter Watson before lofting a perfect pass to a wide-open Simeon Evans, who raced 64 yards for a touchdown.
It was Smith’s third touchdown pass of his career and the first touchdown the Knights have allowed this season.
UCF amassed more than 500 yards of offense for the second consecutive game while holding Sam Houston to under 300 yards.
After registering two turnovers last week against New Hampshire, UCF’s defense forced two more against the Bearkats as safety Sheldon Arnold and cornerback Mac McWilliams intercepted passes by Watson.
UCF finds the right balance with helmet communication
The Knights have four interceptions through two games and didn’t have that many until Game 4 against Kansas State last season.
Defensive end Nyjalk Kelly secured the team’s first sack of the season when he brought down Watson in the second quarter.
“It felt good getting a sack after being injured last year and only playing in five games,” said Kelly, who finished with 6 tackles, “getting back out there with my teammates and the coaches believing in me.”
UCF improved to 2-0 to open a season for the second consecutive year, with the Knights winning five straight regular-season non-conference games.
UCF opens its Big 12 slate with a road trip to Fort Worth to face TCU on Saturday (7:30 p.m., FOX). The Knights were 1-4 on the road in their first season in the conference.
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com
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