Carol City vs. Central Round 2? Yes please. And more high school playoff predictions

Now that a lot of first-round mismatches are out of the way, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of the high school playoffs in South Florida.

The much anticipated second round, or regional semifinals, has traditionally given us the best matchups featuring many rematches (although not as many with the new seeding system) and this week looks awfully good.

Leading the way, of course, is Central/Carol City II. The buzz and excitement figures to be at a fever pitch Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium when these two titans, arguably the two best teams in the state, once again lock horns.

Another terrific rematch and game that could come down to the final possession, as it did three weeks ago will be South Dade and Southridge. The opposite game in that bracket? Palmetto and Columbus. Throw any one of those four teams into a blender and who comes out of that fray to advance to the 8A state semifinal is anybody’s guess.

This week’s matchups

Region 4-8A semifinal: Palmetto (9-2) vs. Columbus (11-0), Thursday, 4 p.m. at Tropical Park: Because of assorted scheduling conflicts with Tropical, the Panthers and Explorers will get the weekend action kicked off early with this late Thursday afternoon affair.

Palmetto has turned in sloppy performances at times this year but looked very sharp in a 45-7 dismantling of Belen last week while Columbus survived another upset bid by district rival Gables.

This one does not figure to be lopsided in either direction, but I would look for Columbus to find a way to come up with a few more big plays down the stretch to come out on top.

BD’s Pick: Columbus 27-21

Region 4-8A semifinal: South Dade (9-2) at Southridge (9-2), Friday, 7:30: South Dade came up one two-point conversion short when these two teams squared off three weeks ago (Southridge won 15-13) and you can expect another close, defensive battle this Friday as well in a game that has overtime potential. I’ll go on a hunch and say the Bucs make one more big play this time and edge out the Ridge.

BD’s Pick: South Dade 17-16

Region 4-4A semifinal: Belle Glade Glades Central (7-3) vs. Booker T. Washington (5-5), Thursday, 7 p.m., at Traz Powell: Forget their .500 record. Booker T. has played one of the toughest schedules in the entire nation this year. Glades Central, meanwhile, is only a shell of its past glory days. The Tornadoes should roll and set up a much-anticipated showdown with University School next week.

BD’s Pick: BTW 33-14

Region 4-6A semifinal: Central (9-2) vs. Carol City (9-2), Friday, 7:30 at Traz Powell: The saddest part about this game is that one of these team’s seasons will come to an end late Friday night when neither team deserves to have its season end this early. They deserve to meet in Orlando on Dec. 8. So with all due respect to potential third-round opponent Northwestern or Armwood and a few other out-of-area 6A contenders, this is the defacto state championship game. It’s happened each of the last two years ago when Carol City and Northwestern met as the winner in each of those games went on to win the 6A title.

If there was a stunning aspect to the first meeting, it was that one side, Carol City, dominated the other so convincingly. I do not expect that to be the case this time. These two clubs are just too darn good to blow out the other so the hope here is that all of us get the down-to-the-wire, final possession thriller we so desperately want.

BD’s Pick: Carol City 30-27

Region 3-8A semifinal: Plantation (10-1) at Deerfield Beach (10-1), Friday, 7:30: This looks like an awfully good matchup as the Colonels have put together a nice season under Steve Davis and figure to give the Bucks a run for their money. Deerfield got a little bit of a scare from Miramar last week before rallying late. I look for the Bucks to find a way to make one or two more big plays down the stretch and come out on top.

BD’s Pick: Deerfield Beach 27-20

Region 3-8A semifinal: Western (9-2) at Palm Beach Central (10-1), Friday, 7:30: Looks like Adam Ratkevich and his Wildcats are up to their old tricks again following last week’s 21-7 shocker over No. 2 seed and defending 8A state runnerup Delray Atlantic. Now, just like last year when they made a magical run to the regional finals, they travel north to take on a Palm Beach Central team (who they knocked off 14-12) which has won 10 straight following an opening week loss. I’m done doubting Coach Rack’s kids. They obviously fear nobody and could care less where they travel.

BD’s Pick: Western 20-17

Region 4-7A semifinal: Fort Lauderdale (9-2) at St. Thomas Aquinas (10-1): Congrats to head coach Richard Dunbar and the Flying L’s who notched their first postseason win in more than a half century last week in routing Doral. But the level of competition goes from zero to 100 this week as they take on a St. Thomas that beat them 49-0 in a regular season contest a month ago. Avoiding a running clock would be a moral victory for the L’s.

BD’s Pick: St. Thomas 45-13

Region 4-6A semifinal: Northwestern (6-5) at Palm Bay Heritage (9-2), Friday, 7:30: Following last week’s win in Daytona, the Bulls hit the road up I-95 for the second straight week and should net similar results. On the surface, Heritage’s 9-2 record looks pretty spiffy until you look up and find that all of their wins came against Brevard County teams this season. They’re about to get a taste of South Florida high school football as the Bulls, provided they take their opponent seriously, should roll.

BD’s Pick: Northwestern 34-13

Region 4-5A semifinal: Orlando Jones (10-1) at Cardinal Gibbons (9-2), Friday, 7:30: The much-anticipated American Heritage/Gibbons rematch could be a week away but both teams face very stiff challenges this week. The Chiefs would be foolish to underestimate Jones which has not lost since opening week and is a very good football team. But jumping over them to get the No. 2 seed on the final weekend was important as Gibbons will enjoy its home field on Friday which could prove to be the difference.

BD’s Pick: Gibbons 28-20

Region 4-5A semifinal: Plantation American Heritage (10-1) at Rockledge (10-1), Friday, 7:30: I have to admit that I rolled my eyes and said “yeah, sure” when Larry Bluestein warned me back in August how good Rockledge was but I’m not rolling my eyes anymore. Even though I just wrote about out-of-area teams not having the chops to step up against South Florida teams (see NW/Palm Bay Heritage), this one is different as Rockledge appears to be the real deal and could send the two-time reigning state champs into the offseason.

But the feeling here is that the Patriots, with that state championship pedigree (four titles in the last five years) will somehow find a way to come up with just enough big plays and squeak out a tough road win.

BD’s Pick: Heritage 30-27

Region 4-4A semifinal: Gulliver Prep. (8-3) at University School (9-1), Friday, 7:30: Earl Sims did a nice job getting Gulliver back on the football radar with a nice season and first round playoff win over Pace last week. But the Raiders are about to take a major step up on the competition level as the Sharks, who took a solid punch in the gut in a lopsided loss to Chaminade in their regular season finale, should bounce back with a vengeance this week and set up a much-anticipated monster reginal final matchup with Booker T.

BD’s Pick: University 38-17

Region 4-3A semifinal: Palmer Trinity (9-2) at Chaminade-Madonna (8-2), Friday, 7:30: The Falcons notched their first postseason win since 1977 last week when they knocked off Westminster Christian but, much like Gulliver, are making a major step up in the competition scale this week. Chaminade is the reigning state champion and No. 1 team in Class 3A for a reason and will demonstrate it here.

BD’s Pick: Chaminade 41-16

Region 4-2A semifinal: Champagnat (5-5) at Moore Haven (8-1), Friday, 7:30: After struggling through a tough regular season schedule, the defending 2A champion Lions, the No. 5 seed, knocked off Miami Christian last week and now travel to take on top seeded Moore Haven. It’s here where the seeding numbers get muddy. The Terriers have not gone up against the kind of competition Champagnat has this year or even last year, as evidenced by the fact Champy went up to the very same field a year ago and beat them 47-0 in a regional final. I don’t expect that kind of a lopsided score this time but look for the Lions to come back with a win and regional final berth.

BD’s Pick: Champagnat 30-20

Last week overall: 17-5; Season overall: 424-98