QB Torey Morrison leads Booker T. Washington to state semis for first time since 2016

The sort of play has become routine, the expectation, for Booker T. Washington: At some point, Torey Morrison is going to find Jacorey Brooks in space and the star wide receiver is going to break off a long touchdown. More often than not in the postseason, the longest touchdowns have come in some of the biggest moments.

Brooks scored a 77-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against Gulliver Prep last Friday — plus a 10-yard game-winner —to get the Tornadoes to the Region 4-4A championship. On Friday, he scored another from 54 yards out in the final minutes to ice Booker T. Washington’s 31-21 win against Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale.

“That is the connection. We always have that connection,” Morrison said. “I can trust him, he can trust me with the ball, so we’re just going to make that happen.”

The 77-yard score against Gulliver last week came on a deep ball over the top of the Raiders’ defense. On Friday, it was a simple screen pass, and Brooks juked by one defender, then ran past another, found a seam and ran all the way to the end zone to put the Tornadoes (11-2) ahead 31-21 with 3:21 remaining at Dr. Bud Tight Field. A final drive for the Chiefs (10-3) stalled at Booker T. Washington’s 9-yard line before Cardinal Gibbons turned it over on downs. The Tornadoes knelt twice, then celebrated their first trip to the state semifinals since 2016.

Booker T. Washington will travel to St. Petersburg next week for the Class 4A semifinals against Lakewood. A win would send the Tornadoes to the state title game for the first time since 2015, when they capped a run of four consecutive state championships.

This one could be more unlikely than any one before it. Less than a month before the season began, legendary coach Tim “Ice” Harris suddenly departed to take over as the first coach at Florida Memorial University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program in Miami Gardens. Booker T. Washington was hit hard by players transferring out and the Tornadoes were placed in likely the toughest region in Florida.

“As you can see, we’ve been fighting through adversity. We’re going to keep fighting for it. We’re going to keep accountable to what Ice wanted to do and we’re going to keep that mission going,” Morrison said. “That’s the father of our program.”

None of it has fazed Booker T. Washington. The Tornadoes have won seven in a row since a loss to Bradenton IMG Academy in September. They began the postseason Nov. 8 with a win against perennial powerhouse Carol City and followed it up by handing Gulliver its first loss of the season. To get back to the state semifinals, they needed to knock off a defending state champion.

For the second straight week, Booker T. Washington went into halftime trailing. The Tornadoes turned the ball over on downs once at the Chiefs’ 1 and gifted Cardinal Gibbons another touchdown when Morrison fumbled near midfield and Chiefs defensive end Jah-Mal Williams returned it all the way to Booker T. Washington’s 9. Tajae Davis, orally committed to the UAB Blazers, scored one of his two touchdowns three plays later to put Cardinal Gibbons ahead 14-9 in the second quarter.

The two sides traded blows all throughout the first half. Chiefs quarterback Brody Palhegyi opened the game with a 1-yard touchdown run and Morrion opened with his own 1-yard score. The Tornadoes’ turnover on downs at the 1 immediately turned into a safety. Davis’ first touchdown was quickly answered with a touchdown pass from Torey Morrison to wide receiver Macho Arza, which was then answered by another Davis touchdown.

The Chiefs, however, missed a 31-yard field goal just before halftime. Booker T. Washington was only down 21-17 going into the break.

Cardinal Gibbons didn’t score again and missed another 23-yard field goal, which would have tied the game at 24-24 with 5:37 remaining.

“Our defense was playing well in the second half,” associate coach Ben Hanks said. “I trusted them and the guys came through for us.”

Right out of halftime, Morrison gave the Tornadoes all the cushion they’d need. Booker T. Washington got the ball to start and twice faced third-down situations. Both times, Morrison completed passes to move the chains, including a 40-yard completion to wide receiver Ternard Summerall.

The 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Theodore Richardson, who is orally committed to the FIU Panthers. Morrison went 5 of 5 for 66 yards and a touchdown on the drive, and finished 21 of 29 for 310 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus a rushing touchdown.

“At that size, he’s special. If you could put him in a 6-2 frame, he’d probably be recruited by every team in America,” Hanks said. “He throws the ball like he’s 6-5, but unfortunately he’s got short parents. ... You can’t measure his heart and he’s got the biggest heart on the field.”