Notre Dame commit Dallas Golden’s key TD reception lifts Berkeley Prep to victory

TAMPA — Sarasota (Fla.) Booker‘s (1-1) defensive scheme was as simple as it gets — stack the box, man coverage on the outside and have a single high safety to help in pass protection and to stop long runs. The plan was clear: stop the Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep (1-1) rushing attack.

But the Berkeley Buccaneers — a team predicted to win 41-7 by the Massey Ratings — continued to pound the rock with little success. Berkeley Prep took an early lead on a pass down the seam, and a blocked punt set the Buccaneers in great field position to take a 14-0 lead. But from there, Berkeley went a long stretch without putting any points on the board. And Booker went on a 21-point unanswered stretch.

Notre Dame commit and Berkeley Prep star Dallas Golden couldn’t get much going early on in game. In an interesting role as an offset running back in the I-formation, Golden struggled to break any runs up the gut or bouncing it outside. He caught a couple passes from his slot and outside receiver positions, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. Golden played cornerback on third and fourth downs but wasn’t tested.

That was until the Berkeley staff took a shot to Golden, who, again, was on an island all game long. And it paid off.

Golden easily beat the press man coverage and ran up the seam before snapping his head and body to the corner. His quarterback, 2027 prospect Cooper Hayes, delivered the pass where only Golden could haul it in, and the four-star prospect made a leaping reception with the cornerback trying to make a play on the ball behind him.

View the play in the tweet embedded below. (If the tweet is not showing up properly, refresh the page and try again.)

When it doubt, throw the ball to Notre Dame commit @DallasGolden8. It’s been a struggle for the Berkeley Prep offense tonight, but good things happen when you get Golden the ball.

21-21 tie game late in the 3rd.https://t.co/nRQhUXg4DM pic.twitter.com/CiLbKzci6x

— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) August 31, 2024

That highlight reel play tied the game up at 21-21 late in the third quarter, and it was all Berkeley Prep from there. It was Golden’s last reception on the night, but he found more success in the rushing attack as Berkeley closed out the game. Temple running back commit JoJo Troupe scored the go-ahead rushing score, and the Buccaneers won the contest 28-21.

“It felt great; it was a great team win,” Golden told Blue & Gold after the game. “We started off slow and had to pick it back up. [Berkeley head] coach [Dominick] Ciao gave us a halftime talk to give us an extra kick.”

Stats were not available for Golden at the time of posting, but our guess for his total yardage between rushing and receiving was around 80. Despite struggles early, Golden kept his chin up.

“I wasn’t frustrated. I knew it was all going to play out well for us,” Golden said. “You run the ball the majority of the game and keep working it, then it’s going to pop.”

Golden, who ranks as the No. 80 overall player and No. 9 safety in America according to the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking, has been committed to Notre Dame since late April. He’s expected to start out playing cornerback for Notre Dame, a position that he looked good at in minimal action defensively. His athleticism is off the charts and could truly be an impact player offensively if he were to move to that side of the ball in college. But Notre Dame believes his upside is highest at corner.

More on Dallas Golden

The Notre Dame commit’s junior season was sensational in all facets of the game. As an offensive weapon, he ran 205 times for 1,467 yards with 19 touchdowns and added 32 receptions for 394 yards with five more scores. He even threw a touchdown in 2023.

Defensively, Golden posted 9 tackles, 5 interceptions, 4 pass break ups and 1 blocked field goal. He also handled return duties, averaging 25.1 yards per kick return and 3.7 yards per punt return. He had a kickoff return long of 64 yards and punt return long of 33.

Golden helped lead Berkeley Prep to a Florida 2M state championship game, knocking off Miami Norland 28-20. He posted 183 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries, plus 2 receptions for 38 yards and a score in that contest.

SB Live named him its 2023 Florida Class 2M Player of the year. Golden was listed as Big County Prep’s Player of the Year in the Tampa area.

MaxPreps listed Golden on its 2023 MaxPreps High School Football Junior All-America first-team defense as an all-purpose defensive player.

As a sophomore in 2022, Golden ran for 1,403 yards with 18 touchdowns on 191 carries, plus 10 receptions for 145 yards and a score. He had 14 tackles and 2 pass break ups defensively. Golden had a punt return touchdown, too.