Herald top 20 football poll: Chaminade maintains top spot after beating Gulliver

As we head for the stretch run of the regular season (three weeks left), some observations from last weekend.

▪ Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly how good certain teams are or are not until they take on a big-time opponent. Not that Doral Academy is terrible, certainly Eddie Delgado has done a terrific rebuild, , but it clearly appeared the Firebirds (ranked No. 15 going in) were overmatched when they hosted No. 12 Homestead in a showdown for the District 16-7A title last week and got wiped out 47-6. What it also might have told us is that Homestead is an awfully good football team which is why I jumped them up into the top 10 this week.

▪ When I saw the final score, had to double-check to make sure it wasn’t a typo. Western 91, Taravella 0. I’m not sure what Davie Western coach Adam Rackevich did or did not do to hold the score down but once this game reached halftime at 58-0, it was time for responsible coaches and school administrators to meet and call the game. Coral Springs Taravella obviously is struggling terribly right now, but no kid deserves to have the scar and ridicule of a 91-0 loss attached to them.

The state also needs to step up and institute a new “50-point” rule. Once any team gets ahead by 50 points or more at any point in the game, time to shut it down and say “drive home safely everybody.”

▪ I managed to get to both marquee matchups last weekend and what a great atmosphere for both Miami Gulliver at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna on Friday night and the much-anticipated St. Thomas Aquinas/Cardinal Gibbons showdown on Saturday at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton.

Sadly neither game gave us the tight finish we had hoped for as Chaminade and St. Thomas each cruised, but it was still great to see that big-time high school football matchups (they ran out of parking spaces at Chaminade) can still create excitement and draw big crowds.

▪ A shout out to Tom Caporale over at Miami Dr. Krop. After working the past three seasons trying to build his program as an Independent, Caporale knew he had to get his team back into a district and play in the state series to establish some credibility. He reached that point last Friday night when the 6-1 Lightning defeated Miami High 34-24 to clinch the District 13-8A title and earn their first playoff berth in more than a decade.

THIS WEEK’S TOP 20

1. Chaminade-Madonna; 2. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas; 3. Miami Central; 4. Fort Lauderdale Dillard; 5. Miami Killian 6. Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons; 7. Gulliver Prep.; 8. Miami Northwestern; 9. Plantation American Heritage; 10. Homestead; 11. Western; 12. Deerfield Beach; 13. Miami Palmetto; 14. Hialeah Champagnat; 15. Miami Columbus; 16. Miami Florida Christian; 17. Miami LaSalle; 18. Miami Edison; 19. Miramar; 20. South Broward.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR:

Booker T. Washington, Plantation, Coconut Creek, Doral Academy, Stranahan, Dr. Krop

THIS WEEK’S TOP GAMES

▪ No. 13 Palmetto (6-1) at No. 7 Gulliver Prep. (5-1), Friday, 3:30 p.m.: For the first time since anyone can remember, these two neighborhood rivals (schools are just two miles apart) will meet on the football field, and the atmosphere will be energized at Gulliver on Friday afternoon. The Raiders will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss, their first of the season, last week at Chaminade while a young Palmetto team has been really starting to roll since a 14 point-loss to Killian five weeks ago. Look for a one-possession here that easily could come down to the wire. BD’s Pick: Gulliver 24-21 .

▪ No. 4 Dillard (7-0) at No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: These teams are in the same district for the first time in two decades and will decide the district title here. Dillard is unbeaten but hasn’t exactly had the toughest of schedules so the Panthers will get their chance to show just how good they are. St. Thomas Aquinas came up with a big win over Cardinal Gibbons last weekend, and the Raiders are one last-second road loss to Tampa Jesuit from being undefeated and perhaps challenging for a national championship. I expect St. Thomas to continue its march to another state title. BD’s Pick: Aquinas 38-16.

▪ No. 6 Cardinal Gibbons (5-2) at Venice (7-0), Saturday, 12:30 p.m.: This game was supposed to be played early in the season but postponed until now, and the Chiefs can only wish they had played it early. Now they have to travel to the west coast and take on the state’s top-ranked 8A team seven days after getting clobbered by St. Thomas and try and beat a team that has won six of its seven games by an average of 39 points per game. A really tough spot for Matt DuBuc and his Chiefs players and I’m not expecting an upset here. BD’s Pick: Venice 35-14.

THE REST OF THE TOP 20

▪ 1. Chaminade-Madonna (5-1) vs. Stranahan (5-2), Friday, 7 p.m.: Chaminade has played a brutal schedule including last week’s big win over Gulliver and might look at this one as a “breather.” But the Dragons are a pretty good football team and the Lions will need to take them seriously and not take their foot off the petal. BD’s Pick: Chaminade 37-14.

▪ 3. Central (5-2) vs. North Miami Beach (3-3), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Traz Powell: Rockets are really starting to roll as they crushed MIami Edison last week and won’t slow down here. Wrapping up district title should be a mere formality. BD’s Pick: Central 41-8.

▪ 5. Killian (8-0) at Southridge (3-4), Friday, 7:30 p.m.: Not exactly the most challenging of schedules, but the Cougars keep taking care of their business every week and will continue to do so here. BD’s Pick: Killian 37-12.

▪ 8. Northwestern (6-2) vs. Carol City (2-5), Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Traz Powell: Once upon a time a few years back, this was a big-time matchup. But Chiefs are a program struggling to get back to prominence and will not challenge here. BD’s Pick: Northwestern 42-8.

▪ 9. Plantation American Heritage (3-3) at Boynton Beach (5-2), Friday, 6 p.m.: Don’t be deceived by the records. Heritage is a far superior team in this matchup. BD’s Pick: Heritage 34-9.

▪ 10. Homestead (6-1) vs. Booker T. Washington (4-4), Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Harris Field: Broncos coming off a big district-clinching win over Doral last week and could be ripe for a letdown, especially with Tornadoes starting to play better in recent weeks. An upset special. BD’s Pick: BTW 21-19.

▪ 11. Western (5-2) vs. Flanagan (3-3), Friday, 7 p.m.: Western won’t score 91 this week but should cruise to an easy win. BD’s Pick: Western 42-10.

▪ 12. Deerfield Beach (5-2) at West Boca Raton (1-4), Friday, 6 p.m.: With showdown against Boca Raton for district title looming next week, Bucks will take care of business here. BD’s Pick: Deerfield Beach 41-6.

▪ 14. Champagnat (5-2) vs. Miami International Academy (1-3), Friday, 3:30 p.m. at Hadley Park: A rarity for the Lions. An easy one and they don’t have to travel anywhere. BD’s Pick: Champagnat 49-8.

▪ 15. Columbus (4-3) vs. South Dade (3-3), Thursday, 5 p.m. at Columbus HS: Explorers looking forward to a possible rematch with Palmetto in GMAC Championship Series next week and should take care of business here. BD’s Pick: Columbus 37-13.

▪ 16. Florida Christian (7-0): Bye.

▪ 17. LaSalle (7-0) vs. Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest (3-3), Friday, 7 p.m.: A challenging matchup for the unbeaten Royal Lions as Pine Crest is pretty good. BD’s Pick: LaSalle 31-21.

▪ 18. Edison (4-3) vs. Dade Christian (4-3), Thursday, 3:30 at Traz Powell: Red Raiders are smarting from a lopsided loss to Central last week and might take it out on the Crusaders. BD’s Pick: Edison 40-13.

▪ 19. Miramar (5-2): Bye.

▪ 20. South Broward (6-1) vs. North Miami (3-4), Thursday, 7 p.m.: Bulldogs frantic fast-paced offense will give North Miami defense fits. SB should roll. BD’s Pick: South Broward 38-12.

OTHER GAMES

Wednesday: Miami-Dade: Hialeah-Miami Lakes vs. Goleman (Traz Powell), 7:30: Goleman 48-6.

Thursday: Miami-Dade: Westminster Academy at Somerset South Homestead, 3:30: WA 35-9; Coral Park vs. Mourning (Ives Estates), 3:30: CP 42-6; Ferguson vs. Southwest (Tropical), 7: SW 20-14; Krop vs. Norland (Traz), 7:30: Krop 23-21; South Miami vs. Coral Reef (Harris), 7: SM 27-12. Broward: Plantation at Northeast, 7: Plantation 49-7; Nova at Cooper City, 7: CC 21-16; Piper at Boca Raton Olympic Heights, 6:30: Piper 20-16.

Friday: Miami-Dade: Archbishop Carroll at Coral Gables, 4: ABC 26-14; Westminster Christian at Braddock, 3:30: WC 19-16; Varela at Miami Springs, 3:30: MS 22-13; Monsignor Pace at Somerset Silver Palms, 4: Pace 34-16; Palmer Trinity at Marathon, 7: PT 40-6; True North vs. Mater Academy (Pace HS), 7: MA 17-13; Miami High vs. Jackson (Curtis), 7:30: MHS 30-20; Hialeah at Miami Beach (Memorial), 7: Beach 35-8; Sunset at Belen, 7:30: Belen 33-9. Broward: Coral Springs Charter at Pembroke Pines Somerset, 3:30: CSC 21-20; Hollywood Avant Garde at North Broward Prep., 6: NBP 24-20; Delray Atlantic at Blanche Ely, 7: Atlantic 40-9; Boyd Anderson at Coconut Creek, 7: Creek 44-12; Boca Raton at Coral Springs, 7: Boca 40-6; Calvary Christian at Palm Beach Benjamin, 7: Benjamin 27-23; Ft. Lauderdale at McArthur, 7: FTL 28-16; Jensen Beach at Hallandale, 7: JB 26-13; West Broward at Pembroke Pines Charter, 7: WB 30-22; Douglas at South Plantation, 7: Douglas 27-9.

Saturday: Broward: WPB Berean Christian at Pompano Beach, 7: Pompano 19-7; WPB King’s Academy at Archbishop McCarthy, 7: Kings 33-14.

Last Week top 20: 13-1. Last Week overall: 40-8.

Season top 20: 87-11. Season overall: 238-51.

This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 12:04 PM.