20 South Florida teams advanced in high school playoffs. Here’s how they got there

The first round of the Florida high school playoffs are in the books and 20 teams from Miami-Dade and Broward counties have advanced to the regional semifinals.

Here’s a quick look at how each regional quarterfinal went for local teams as well as the second-round matchups for next week that involve teams from those two counties.

Region 4-8A

▪ No. 1 Columbus 38, No. 8 Coral Gables 21: Henry Parrish ran for 266 yards and four touchdowns while safety Rudy Puig had a pair of key first-half interceptions to lead the Explorers over district rival Coral Gables. Both of Puig’s interceptions came after Coral Gables tied the game at 14-14 and set up Parrish touchdown runs of 45 and 3 yards to give the Explorers a 28-14 halftime lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

-Jordan McPherson

▪ No. 2 Southridge 35, No. 7 North Miami 21: Southridge jumped out to a 21-7 lead and added another pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to hold off a North Miami rally and win its playoff opener. Quarterback Antwan Anderson threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the win.

▪ No. 6 South Dade 49, No. 3 Hialeah 14: Wide receiver Najeh Baker hauled in three touchdown catches on his 18th birthday to lead South Dade to a regional quarterfinal win over Hialeah at Milander Stadium on Friday night. Linebacker Devin Hardy also recovered two fumbles for touchdowns in the second half shortly after the Bucs defense gave up a pair of touchdowns.

-Bill Daley

▪ No. 5 Palmetto 45, No. 4 Belen Jesuit 7: Quarterback Cairiq Rackley threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns to lead Palmetto to a playoff-opening rout of Belen Jesuit at Tropical Park on Thursday night. The Panthers led 17-0 at halftime and their lead ballooned to 31-7 one play into the fourth quarter.

-Bill Daley

Second-round matchups: Columbus vs. Palmetto; Southridge vs. South Dade

Region 3-8A

▪ No. 1 Deerfield Beach d. No. 8 Miramar 32-14: Jaylon Knighton ran for 166 yards and three second-half touchdowns to lead Deerfield Beach to its first playoff win over Miramar since 2005. The Bucks trailed 14-13 before staging a second-half rally to avoid the upset.

-Dave Brousseau

▪ No. 7 Western d. No. 2 Atlantic 21-7: Quarterback Jesse Rivera threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another as the Western Wildcats upset host Atlantic to open playoff action.

▪ No. 4 Plantation d. No. 5 Piper 23-12: Host Plantation scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and added a safety in between to take a commanding lead and hold off the Piper Bengals.

Second-round matchups: Deerfield Beach vs. Plantation; Western vs. No. 3 Palm Beach Central

Region 4-7A

▪ No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas 77, No. 8 South Miami 20: The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back as they took a running-clock victory over South Miami.

▪ No. 2 Palm Beach Dwyer 43, No. 7 West Broward 0: West Broward showed little resistance against state champion contender Palm Beach Dwyer, which jumped out to a 36-0 halftime lead and cruised from there.

▪ No. 6 Palm Beach Lakes 6, No. 3 McArthur 3: Palm Beach Lakes scored the lone touchdown of a defense-heavy game on a 10-yard run by Kevon Purnell and then made a pair of key defensive stops late to preserve the upset win.

▪ No. 5 Fort Lauderdale 54, No. 4 Doral 7: The Fort Lauderdale Flying L’s took a 24-7 halftime lead and then padded the score with four more touchdowns in the second half, including a pick-six and fumble recovery for a score.

Second-round matchups: St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Fort Lauderdale

Region 4-6A

▪ No. 1 Carol City 34, No. 8 Norland 0: Carol City scored 21 second-half points to pull away from district rival Norland in its regional quarterfinal. Quarterback Daniel Richardson completed 7 of 15 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to receiver D’Andre Stafford. Running back Nay’Quan Wright finished with 58 rushing yards and a touchdown.

-Darren Collette

▪ No. 6 Northwestern 31, No. 3 Mainland 16: Isiah Velez threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns as the Northwestern Bulls began their Class 6A title defense.

▪ No. 5 Central 35, No. 4 Dillard 20: Quarterback Maurice Underwood threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third while running back Lexington Joseph scored twice (one rushing, one receiving) to lead the Central Rockets over Dillard.

Second-round matchups: Carol City vs. Central; Northwestern vs. Palm Bay Heritage

Region 4-5A

▪ No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons 49, No. 7 Merritt Island 14: Gibbons scored six first-half touchdowns and cruised from there.

▪ No. 5 Plantation American Heritage 37, No. 4 Fort Pierce Westwood 14: Lavelton Williams scored two first-half touchdowns to set the pace for Plantation American Heritage’s road win over host Fort Pierce Westwood.

Second-round matchups: Plantation American Heritage vs. No. 1 Rockledge; Cardinal Gibbons vs. No. 3 Orlando Jones

Region 4-4A

▪ No. 1 University School: First-round bye

▪ No. 2 Booker T. Washington: First-round bye

▪ No. 5 Gulliver Prep 27, No. 4 Monsignor Pace 14: Gulliver Prep led 17-14 over host Pace at halftime before scoring 10 third-quarter points to pull away for good.

Second-round matchups: No. 1 University School vs. Gulliver Prep; No. 2 Booker T. Washington vs. No. 3 Glades Central

Region 4-3A

▪ No. 1 Chaminade-Madonna: First-round bye.

▪ No. 5 Palmer Trinity 22, No. 4 Westminster Christian 10: Kyon White-Royal ran for two touchdowns and recovered a fumble on defense that led to another score as Palmer Trinity defeated host Westminster Christian for the second consecutive week.

-Jordan McPherson

Second-round matchup: No. 1 Chaminade-Madonna vs. No. 5 Palmer Trinity.

Region 4-2A

▪ No. 5 Champagnat 20, No. 4 Miami Christian 19: Daryn Jones scored a go-ahead 5-yard rushing touchdown and Malik Rutherford hauled in a key interception with three minutes left as Champagnat began its Class 2A title defense with a win.

-Bill Daley

Second-round matchup: No. 1 Moore Haven vs. Champagnat.