Bulls get big lift from Mount Vernon

For about five painful minutes Thursday night, the inside of Miami Northwestern's locker room felt a lot more like the waiting area in a dentist's office.

Players sat motionless on benches, staring off into space as if the answer to their 14-2 deficit against rival Central was going to walk in through the door and drill it into them.

Then, Godzilla stormed in.

``All I heard was somebody go in there and start yelling and screaming, knocking things over, breaking things,'' said Northwestern coach Billy Rolle, who along with his assistants were in the next room diagraming plays to slow down Rockets quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey from killing them.

``I sent one my guys over there to check it out and he came back saying, 'Coach it's Vernon.' I said `Ok. Did he piss them off?' Good. Now, let's go get 'em.''

Mount Vernon -- known to the rest of us as Dolphins offensive tackle Vernon Carey -- came out of his fiery five minute speech with his former high school team looking like a different man.

The white t-shirt he was wearing on the Bulls sideline was now grapefruit purple, the same color of the Gatorade cooler he flipped over and tossed to startle the room full of teenagers he invaded.

The Bulls? They got the lift they were looking for.

``Big Vern scared the hell out of me,'' said Todd Chandler, a 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle. ``He said 'Rarrrrrr.' I was like 'Ok Big Vern, whatever you say.' I was kind of scared. I just backed up out of his way. But I thank Vernon Carey for giving us what we needed. He came in and let us know what it means to be a Bull.''

Northwestern stampeded right past the Rockets with 20 unanswered points in the second half. Bulls quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and receiver Michaelee Harris played catch up and down the field while a defense led by Chandler, a future Hurricane, harassed and bullied Godfrey, the county's leading passer. It was Northwestern football once again at its finest.

Carey wasn't the only 'West alumnus to provide a lift. The Bulls who won the mythical national title in 2007 and now live down in Coral Gables were all back on the sideline, too.

Quarterback Jacory Harris was coaching up Bridgewater. Aldarius Johnson and Tommy Streeter were talking to the receivers and defensive backs. Brandon Washington and Todd Chandler were teaching the offensive linemen who replaced them how to handle the Rockets' tough defense.

Say what you want about Northwestern, what they have in tradition has become pretty special.

Last week, after Harris led UM to its biggest victory under Randy Shannon by beating the visiting Oklahoma Sooner, he was told his beloved Bulls had lost to Booker T. Washington.

``You're lying,'' he shouted to a room full of reporters. ``You just ruined my whole weekend.''

Northwestern alumns -- who haven't seen its favorite football team lose back-to-back games in five -- can rest easy for now.

Order in the neighborhood has been restored.



(miamiherald.com)