The next title is always the best title for Miami Central as it aims to make more history

For Jube Joseph, being Miami Central’s football coach is more than just about running a team.

Joseph and his staff make being part of their program a reflection of what kids will face in the real world.

“In life you always have to work with somebody. An uncoachable kid is an unemployable adult,” Joseph said. “We try to put them in job settings or career settings at that point where if they have adverse situations, you have to work with others to meet a common goal. If you do that in a corporation, you will excel.

“So we do similar things here at Central. We just teach those principles and values and when the kids see what kind of success that brings, it brings them that much more together.”

An abundance of talent year in and year out obviously helps.

So does having a consistent core of coaches for over a decade.

But that selfless team concept may be the separator that has elevated the Rockets over the past decade from being a very good program to one of the all-time greats.

It’s why it’s hard to see Central not adding another historic milestone to its already-long list of accomplishments this season as the Rockets are one of two teams (St. Thomas Aquinas) vying to become the first in state history to win five consecutive state titles in the playoff era (since 1963).

It’s why even as Central’s players were hoisting the state championship trophy after beating Plantation American Heritage last December, the chants echoed across the field of “Drive for Five.”

“We had maybe a month (off) and then we were back at it,” said Central senior wide receiver Lawayne McCoy, a Florida State commitment.

The Rockets, who enter the season on a 26-game winning streak, can also become the first Miami-Dade team since Coral Gables in 1967-68 to be voted a national champion in consecutive seasons.

“You never know you’re making history until you’re in it,” Joseph said. “(At Central) That’s the standard and the expectation. It’s like Tom Brady always said, his favorite ring was the next one.”

Joseph, who was an assistant coach for three years under former Central coach Roland Smith, is entering his second season at the head of the program.

His no-nonsense approach was infectious from the start both among players and coaches alike. And it’s been a reason Central has been able to gel as a team even with new faces entering the program from other schools - and even other states - as happened once again this offseason.

“We’re hard workers and if you don’t like that, then Central is not for you,” junior linebacker E.J. Marcelin said. “This past summer (the work) was 30 times harder than the summer before and that just gets us ready for the games.”

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Marcelin is one of the mainstays on a roster that appears to be stronger than a year ago despite the departure of several key players such as former defensive end Rueben Bain (a freshman at the University of Miami) and starting quarterback Keyone Jenkins (a freshman at FIU).

Marcelin spent the past couple of seasons learning about Central’s team-first culture and carrying on the team’s tradition from Bain and fellow former Rocket and current UM linebacker Wesley Bissainthe.

“I grew up with Rueben and he’s my best friend,” Marcelin said. “He helped me through the recruiting process and also the ‘Rocket Way’ on the field and now I’m one of those leaders on the field. Wesley really taught me how to be the best linebacker in the state, how to pick up formations. We watched film religiously and over time I just started to pick things up faster and faster.”

Even with Bain recording a staggering 28 sacks a year ago, Marcelin finished with seven of his own and totaled 79 tackles.

He leads a defense that added major talent such as defensive end Armondo Blount, a junior and transfer from Dillard who is ranked the top overall recruit in the state for the class of 2025. The Rockets also added senior defensive end T.A. Cunningham, a 6-6, 275-pound transfer from Los Alamitos, California, ranked No. 34 overall nationally by 247Sports, linebacker Vincent Shavers, a transfer from Monsignor Pace, and defensive tackle Anthony Smith from Dillard.

On offense, Central’s quarterback room might be one of its deepest ever in terms of talent as the Rockets have three new signal-callers vying to succeed Jenkins as the starter.

Senior A.J. Smith, a transfer from Miami Killian, is in competition with 6-4, 205-pound senior JC Evans, a transfer from San Antonio Brandeis in Texas and 6-5, 182-pound junior Bekkem Kritza, a transfer from Santa Margarita Catholic in California.

“They’re doing a great job learning the system and advocating to players what they want to do in their own specific ways,” Joseph said.

Joseph, however, said he’s relying on his core of mainstays like McCoy, junior defensive back Amari Wallace, senior offensive lineman Albert Jones, junior wide receiver Anjuan Coleman and junior defensive tackle Randy Adirika to show the newcomers “the Rocket Way” and keep the ship on course toward another championship.

“This ain’t for everybody. Not everyone can play at Central because not everyone can put themselves through the demands the program demands of you to be successful. You have guys who have been here and know how to be winners,” Joseph said.

“Team sports is a dying sport because society has become so individual-based. We take an old school approach where nobody is bigger than the program and the kids buy into that. They’ll say to each other, ‘what have you done for the Rockets lately?’ If you want to go fast you go alone, if you want to go far, we go together.”