Taron Dickens makes history as Miami Northwestern blows out LaSalle

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – Miami Northwestern celebrated a historical homecoming night on Saturday.

Along with breezing past LaSalle, 44-0, at Nathaniel Traz Powell Stadium, Northwestern senior quarterback Taron Dickens set the Miami-Dade County career passing yardage record.

The timing of Dickens’ achievement is fitting because he put his name in the record book on a night the Bulls’ seniors were honored.

Dickens threw for three touchdowns and 281 yards, and he unofficially now has 10,076 career passing yards.

The previous mark was 10,020 set three years ago by Torrey Morrison of Miami Booker T. Washinton. Morrison currently is a redshirt freshman wide receiver at Tennessee State.

“He’s been with me for four years,” Northwestern coach Max Edwards said. “We’re proud of him for that accomplishment. He worked hard for it, so we’re happy to see him get it.”

Dickens moved up the career passing list in the second quarter. When he was at 225 yards, play was stopped momentarily, and the announcement was made from the press box that the 10,020 milestone had been eclipsed.

The ball was presented to Dickens, who gave it to his mother.

“That’s a blessing to me,” Dickens said. “That record probably won’t be beaten for the next 10 years. God blessed me with the talent.”

And Dickens had the desire to be great as a small child, when he grew up with Northwestern “Bulls Pride.” At an early age, he dreamed of becoming the best quarterback in school history.

Northwestern has a rich football history. Former University of Miami quarterback, Jacory Harris, played there.

“I think this was important for him for his career,” Edwards said. “It was important for him and for Northwestern to have this type of leader, and this type of talent. It was important that he got the record.”

Northwestern (5-4, 4-0) had previously clinched 2M District 14, and now is gearing up for the playoffs. LaSalle fell to 4-5, and 0-4 in district.

For Dickens, he entered the night focused on individual and team success. The fact he got the record out of the way before halftime was a relief.

“My coaches told me to just enjoy the process and just play my game,” Dickens said. “It was going to happen sooner or later. I just played my game. I didn’t try to rush anything. I took it step by step, play by play.”

Dickens has received interest from Jackson State, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Western Carolina, and more. He’s planning on making an announcement regarding his college plans in the second round of the playoffs.

Don’t let the record fool you. The Bulls hadn’t been healthy all season, and now they’re getting key players back.

Dickens was among the key players who missed time with injury earlier in the year.

“I took a big lick in Week 5 against Columbus,” Dickens said. “That kind of messed up my season a little bit. AC sprain. Missed two games. We’re going to be back bigger and stronger.”

Speedster, running back Jamari Ford, dealt with a shoulder injury. Ford, too, is back. The explosive back capped the scoring on Saturday with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“We’re trying to get healthy at the right time,” Edwards said. “We’ve had guys out all through the year, so hopefully we can go through the playoffs healthy, and see what we can do.”

As lopsided as the final score was, Northwestern got off to a slow start. The lone points in the first quarter came on Derek Fletes’ 35-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, the Bulls put three touchdowns on the board, and went into halftime up, 24-0.

Dickens connected with Elijah Hardy on a 20-yard touchdown pass play, and PJ Paulk returned an interception 40 yards to make it 17-0.

Marlin Cochran’s 13-yard touchdown reception made it 24-0 at the break.

During that scoring drive is when Dickens set the county passing mark.

“Every year, he has gotten better with his reads and understanding leading the team,” Edwards said. “As he’s gotten older, he’s matured and he started understanding the game a little more. The game is starting to slow down for him more.”

When healthy, Dickens also is capable of making plays with his legs.

“I think right now he’s healthy, so making plays with his legs is another threat,” Edwards said. “It’s another threat that we can use. I’m excited to see when we’re healthy what we can do.”

The Bulls gave a glimpse of what they can be in the playoffs with Dickens and Ford coming up big. So did Cochran, who added a 34-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to make it 30-0.

Dickens’ final touchdown pass was for 16 yards to Adam Moore.

Ford’s electrifying punt return, where he twisted and turned, and dodged would-be tacklers, was the most entertaining play of the night.

“After next week, everybody is 0-0,” Dickens said. “We’re going into the playoffs with that mindset that everybody is 0-0 and anybody can get it. We haven’t had a healthy team since the first week. Now everybody is getting back healthy. We can be scary in the playoffs.”