Winker’s South Florida High School Football Update- Playoffs Wk 3

This is perhaps the best week of high school football, with a lot of quality regional finals on the path to Daytona Stadium (4A to 8A) and Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee (1A to 3A).

THURSDAY

4-8A Final — Western Wildcats (9-2) vs Columbus Explorers (8-4) 6 pm at Tropical Park

There is no excuse to miss this game- it’s the only Thursday night game and features two intriguing teams peaking at the right time.

The Explorers winding trek to the regional final comes after piling up midseason losses under first year coach David Dunn and easy playoff wins over Coral Gables and Miami High. The Explorer’s schedule does not reveal many quality wins as they seek to avenge last year’s loss in the state finals to Mandarin.

HC Adam Ratkevich’s Wildcats, who are trying to advance to their first-ever state semifinal, have gotten here by beating a tough South Dade team in Davie and then travelling to Homestead to knock off top-seeded Palmetto 21-19 last week.

Columbus is a one trick pony on offense and it will be interesting to watch Western’s stiff defense deal with the Henry Parrish show. But in the end this could be a repeat of Columbus’s 35-0 loss to University School, who packed the box and exposed the Explorer's one dimensional offense.

The winner earns a date with the winner of the 3-8A Final, in which the Deerfield Beach Bucks (9-3) visit top seeded Vero Beach Indians (12-0).

FRIDAY (all 7:30 starts)

4-7A Final — Atlantic Eagles (8-3) at St. Thomas Aquinas (11-0)

The Eagles are going to have a tough time against the undefeated Raiders, who are ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today and beat Plantation 52-19 last week.

The Raiders look to be on a collision course for a rematch with the undefeated Lakeland Dreadnaughts in the state finals, who beat them last year 33-22, for bragging rights as the best team in Florida.

4-6A Final— Central Rockets (9-3) at Dillard Panthers (12-0)

Eddie Frasier’s Panthers beat Fort Myer 35-30 last week to stay undefeated and have home field advantage. But the Rockets may be the surprise team at the state finals as many people wrote them off after mid-season losses to Northwestern and Chaminade-Madonna.

This bracket exposes another breakdown in the RPI system, as the fourth seeded Rockets travelled to the West Coast to predictably pound top-seeded Naples last week, and will likely crush the second seeded Panthers.

4-5A Final — Northwestern Bulls (10-2) at Plantation American Heritage Patriots (10-1)

This may be the game of the week nationwide, as two well-coached and athletic teams line up. There is an argument that second seeded Northwestern is the best team in the state as it seeks its third straight state title, and travelling to Plantation to play the top seeded Patriots at Heritage Field will be a stiff test. The winner of this game will likely be playing the tough Ocala Vanguard Knights in the state final.

4-4A Final — Booker T. Washington Tornadoes (10-2) at Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs (10-2)

The RPI missed again on this bracket, as number one and two seeds University School and Gulliver were eliminated.

The key here is going to be how the Tornadoes come off last Friday’s emotional come from behind win at Tropical against Gulliver.

The Chiefs are looking for a second consecutive state title and this is going to be a barnburner.

4-3A Final — Chaminade-Madonna Lions (10-2) at Calvary Christian Eagles (10-1)

This will be an interesting test of the RPI, which got it right with the one and two seeds making it to the regional final. HC Kirk Hoza’s number one seeded Eagles beat Edison last week 14-7 and are playing at home, but it is hard to see any scenario where the Lions don’t take care of business as they seek a third straight state title.

4-2A Final — Moore Haven Terriers (7-5) vs. Champagnat Lions (8-3), Curtis Park

Hector Clavijo’s coaching staff looked sharp in matching guayaberas, and the number one seed Lions looked ready on both sides of the ball for their fourth straight trip to the state finals as they smashed Miami Christian last Thursday 35-7.

This should be a fun one at Curtis Park, which is an underrated place to watch a game, especially with Champagnat’s Director Isabel Alonso running the high energy festivities. And Moore Haven will be travelling from Lake Okeechobee to pack the stands as the Terriers try to avenge two straight playoff losses in Moore Haven to the Lions (47-0 in 2017, 29-16 last year).