Brazerol’s punt block a key play in IMG Academy’s victory over Miami Central

With countless Division-I college football prospects all over the field, which brought at least five college recruiters (two from Clemson, two from Texas and one from Minnesota), the player with no college offers that earned his way onto IMG Academy’s Blue team for his senior season ended up making the biggest play Friday.

Backup wide receiver Ryker Brazerol, who mainly plays special teams, burned the wing on a Miami Central punt attempt at the perfect time for the Ascenders.

His block came late in the third quarter and injected life into an IMG Academy team that eventually outlasted Central, 24-15, in a battle of two top-five nationally ranked programs.

“Just coming out here my senior year, giving it my all and getting a block,” Brazerol said. “It just all comes together.”

In the first quarter, Brazerol had his first chance to block a Central punt. But he didn’t execute it quite right.

During halftime, with the Ascenders trailing 9-3 and seeing a chance at a mythical national title slip away, head coach Kevin Wright and the coaching staff said they had a few things to tell the entire group.

“We felt like we could block kicks,” Wright said. “We had two golden opportunities and didn’t. It was just a lack of focus to detail. So that was part of the halftime message. Not just to him, specifically, but just to the whole team.”

When Brazerol received his second chance to deliver on the “Pro One” play call, he made the most of it. His block came when Central was pinned deep in their own territory, and IMG’s Xavier Thomas recovered it for a touchdown to take a one-point lead.

“I had to recover (from earlier in the game),” Brazerol said.

It was the second time Brazerol has delivered on special teams this season. Against Chandler (Ariz.), Brazerol recovered a punt block for a touchdown.

It’s a big push to get noticed for a player without any college football offers.

“He’s definitely a college football player,” Wright said.

The touchdown Brazerol caused, though, didn’t equate to the game-winning score.

Miami Central’s stable of Division-I caliber running backs, led by James Cook - the younger brother of former Florida State star and current Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook - kept the Rockets going.

Cook, who peeled off a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, led Central with 79 rushing yards. Willie Davis, who finished with 74 rushing yards, cranked out a 42-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-inches play early in the fourth quarter against IMG’s blitzing defense.

That gave Central a 15-10 lead, but IMG’s Trey Sanders produced his own big play with a 65-yard touchdown run to swing the lead back to the Ascenders.

Backup quarterback Zack Annexstad set up the clinching score later with a 9-yard sneak that saw Central commit a personal foul penalty.

That set the Ascenders (3-0) up with a first down in the red zone and Noah Cain punched in a 1-yard score followed by a two-point conversion for the game’s final points.

The game was delayed for 1 hour, 49 minutes due to lightning, and the two sides combined for 33 penalties for 285 yards.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 1:49 AM with the headline "Brazerol’s punt block a key play in IMG Academy’s victory over Miami Central."