14. SOUTH DADE (6-2) VS. HOMESTEAD (6-2)

7:30 p.m., Friday, Harris.

The Battle for Lucy Street, named after the road dividing the border of South Dade and Homestead high schools, has been one of the most intense rivalry games in Miami-Dade County for three decades.

And so it's fitting that this year's contest again is riddled with playoff implications.

Although Southridge has clinched the District 16-6A championship, South Dade can lock up the remaining playoff berth outright with a victory since it has only one district loss.

Homestead is in a more desperate situation following its upset loss to Palmetto in triple overtime last week.

With two district losses, the Broncos need to beat their neighborhood rivals just to keep alive their hopes of clinching. A win and a Palmetto loss to Killian would send the Broncos to the playoffs and eliminate the Bucs. But if Palmetto beats Killian, Homestead needs to win to avoid elimination and force a three-way tiebreaker.

Homestead's pass-oriented offense hasn't been very effective the past couple of games, scoring only a combined 27 points.

South Dade, on the other hand, hasn't had that problem, averaging nearly 30 points per game against pretty much the same competition. Still, this one should be low-scoring, as it has been in recent years.

Prediction: South Dade 13, Homestead 6.

GULLIVER PREP (6-2) AT 13. MONS. PACE (6-2)

7:30 p.m., Friday.

Not since the late Sean Taylor wore the Gulliver uniform has there been this much excitement surrounding a matchup between these two teams.

The game will decide who will claim the runner-up berth in District 8-2B.

And Pace fans still have not forgotten the way the future NFL star Taylor lit up the scoreboard in a 2000 playoff victory for the Raiders that sent them on their way to the school's only state title.

Pace has since won a state title of its own, and the two schools are still the only private schools in Dade to accomplish the feat.

This year's teams feature some of the top skill position athletes in Dade. Gulliver quarterback Michael Strauss and Pace quarterback Stephen Morris each lead potent offenses. But it will be the play of each team's supporting cast that will decide who will still be playing in late November.

Pace's defense could be the difference maker. The Spartans have given up 13 or fewer points in every game this season except their loss to Chaminade.

Prediction: Pace 28, Gulliver 21.

VARELA (4-4) VS. FERGUSON (5-3)

7:30 p.m., Friday, Tropical.

After steady improvement each season of its existence, Ferguson finally can clinch its first postseason berth if they beat Varela this week.

The Falcons haven't lost a district game yet this season, and have succeeded behind a solid running game led by Steven Braddy (10 touchdowns).

But if there's one thing that has been proven in recent years, it's that District 15-6A can never be settled easily.

If Varela had beaten Sunset last week, this game would have decided the district championship. But the Knights spoiled that party by this last week by beating Varela and keeping the race for the district crown a three-team affair.

The easy scenario is if Ferguson beats Varela, it wins the district, and assuming Sunset beats Braddock, Sunset claims the other playoff berth.

But Varela and Sunset wins would put all three teams in a tiebreaker for both spots. With the Vipers facing the prospect of being eliminated from the playoff hunt after a promising start to the season, expect them to bounce back and push the district title race to the brink.

Prediction: Varela 35, Ferguson 33.

THURSDAY'S GAMES

MATCHUP TIME ANDRE'S PICK

Krop vs. North Miami (N. Miami) 7 Krop 24-12

Hialeah Gardens vs. Southwest (Tropical) 4 Southwest 34-7

Braddock vs. Sunset (Tropical) 7:30 Sunset 35-17

North Miami Beach vs. Goleman (Hendricks) 7:30 NMB 32-14

Miami High vs. Coral Park (Curtis) 7 Miami High 35-6

Posnack at Palmer Trinity 4 Posnack 23-14

FRIDAY'S GAMES

MATCHUP TIME ANDRE'S PICK

Ferguson vs. Varela (Tropical) 7:30 Varela 35-33

Palmetto vs. Killian (FIU) 7:30 Palmetto 27-21

Mater vs. Norland (N. Miami) 7:30 Norland 38-6

Westland Hialeah at Belen 3:30 Belen 42-6

Archbishop Carroll at Coral Shores 7 Carroll 36-6

La Salle at Somerset 3:30 La Salle 37-12

Marathon at Westminster Christian 4 Westminster 27-14

MacArthur North at Hollywood Christian 4 MacNorth 38-9

Barrington Christian at NPB Benjamin 7 Barrington 41-22

Ransom at Boca Raton Pope John Paul II 7 Ransom 36-17

SATURDAY'S GAMES

MATCHUP TIME ANDRE'S PICK

Coral Gables vs. South Miami (Tropical) 7 Coral Gables 24-6

Dade Christian at Archbishop Curley 2 Dade Christian 36-14

Miami Country Day at Florida Christian 6 MCD 14-6

Andre's record -- 24-4; Season: 193-47.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@