South Florida maximizes presence at state with at least one historic Dade-Broward final | Opinion
Seven teams from Miami-Dade and Broward counties remain as we approach the final weekend before the state championships.
Five of those teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally this week according to the new High School Football America rankings including a new No. 1 in Miami Central.
And with only one matchup where teams from each county play each other, you can’t help but wonder if you had have six potential state champions on tap again this season the way the playoff format used to be.
As it is, there’s the possibility of two Dade vs. Broward state championship games in Classes 3M and 2M, which would be a first for South Florida.
Let’s see what awaits the teams hoping to secure a trip to either Tallahassee or Fort Lauderdale next month and a shot at a state championship.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
NOTE: All state semifinals are on Friday at 7:30 unless noted. (Seeds in each region listed instead of rankings).
▪ Class 4M state semifinal — Ocoee (9-4) vs. Miami Columbus (12-1) at Tropical: Columbus is playing in its fourth state semifinal in a row if you don’t count the 2020 season during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when the Explorers won the South Florida Tri-County championship.
The Explorers, ranked No. 21 by HSFA, have been steady all season and one drive from being unbeaten at this point.
Ocoee presents an interesting challenge and potentially the first of two opponents from Orlando in Columbus’ path to a state title. The Knights made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time ever this season and had only made it to the postseason twice before (1969, 2016).
The Knights, the Region 2 champions, avenged an earlier loss to West Orange before blowing out Tarpon Springs East Lake last week.
Senior Asaad Waseem, a three-star receiver with 18 FBS-school offers, and senior running back Keyondray Jones, who has rushed for 1,263 yards and nine touchdowns on 210 carries, lead the Knights on offense.
Ocoee’s defense is led by Illinois commit Calvin Smith, an edge rusher with 19.5 sacks this season, and senior Zach Tobe (11 passes defended).
Expect it to be a challenge for Columbus quarterback Alberto Mendoza and the Explorers’ offensive line, but not anything unfamiliar after a challenging season. The key will be achieving balance once again with the running game led by Sedrick Irvin Jr.
Dre’s pick: Columbus 30, Ocoee 17.
▪ Class 3M state semifinal — Tampa Jesuit (9-4) at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (12-0): The Raiders, ranked No. 3 nationally by HSFA, would appear to have one of the toughest tests of any of the South Florida schools facing teams from up north this week. But the Raiders seem to have everything clicking in all three phases at the perfect time. The march to a state-record 14th state title doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy although Jesuit, a state champion last season in Class 6A and state semifinalist three years in a row before that, still has enough talent to make this one competitive.
The Tigers’ defense is led by linebacker Troy Bowles, a four-star recruit and the son of Tampa Bay Bucs coach Todd Bowles, and junior Drew Woodaz. On offense, Jesuit has some weapons including wide receiver Jarrett Buie, Iowa commit, and running back Joquez Smith, a Temple commit who was impressive even in defeat earlier this season against Columbus.
Jesuit freshman quarterback Will Griffin has shown promise, but will be challenged by a defensive front led by Devin Pein (10 sacks), Keyshawn Johnson (9 sacks), Zakaih Saez (6 sacks) and Jason Hammond (6 sacks).
If Aquinas keeps mixing in the accurate passing of Hezekiah Harris with the power running of Jordan Lyle and Gemari Sands, it should earn a chance to play for its fourth consecutive state crown.
Dre’s pick: St. Thomas Aquinas 42, Jesuit 24.
▪ Class 3M state semifinal — Homestead (11-2) at Orlando Jones (11-2): We may be a week away from the first ever meeting in a state final between a Miami-Dade County and Broward school. In fact, there could be two of them. One hinges on the continued rise of the Broncos, who secured their first state semifinal trip since 1984 — before even their coach Philip Simpson was born.
Homestead has often been regarded for its defense since Simpson took over,and last week was no exception as that unit contained Miramar’s offense with four key stops.
Quarterback Joshua Townsend continued to be the catalyst on offense. But it was special teams that played a huge role with kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns to put Miramar in a hole early.
It will take another memorable performance for Homestead to keep pushing forward as it now travels to face one of the best teams in the state overall in Jones, which is ranked No. 26 nationally by HSFA, has won 10 in a row and just routed Class 3M’s top seed Orlando Edgewater, 42-13.
The switch to quarterback Chris Tooley, an FAU commit and converted cornerback, has ignited the Tigers’ offense in recent weeks. Tooley has thrown 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions on a unit that features Maryland commits Dylan Wade and Derrick Rogers as well as FAU commit Jabari Smith. Senior linebacker and University of Miami commit Malik Bryant (67 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles) has been a standout on defense.
Homestead has “protected the backyard,” as Townsend said after last week’s game. But this is a formidable task on the road against a team playing much better than it did earlier this season when it dropped a preseason game against Miami Northwestern.
Dre’s pick: Jones 27, Homestead 22.
▪ Class 2M state semifinal — St. Petersburg Lakewood (9-4) vs. Miami Central (12-0) at Traz Powell: The Rockets stayed the course the past two weeks despite inspired efforts in rematches against two neighborhood rivals in Miami Northwestern and Miami Norland. Lakewood is quite familiar with Miami-Dade County opposition having lost to Homestead and defeating Southridge earlier this season so the trip to Miami shouldn’t faze the Spartans.
Edge rusher and Florida Gators commit Isaiah Nixon leads Lakewood’s defense while quarterback and Virginia commit Anthony Colandrea leads Lakewood’s offense with 2,854 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Pitt commit Montravious Lloyd is one of the Spartans’ top receivers and Tra’quan Johnson, a Tennessee Tech commit, is their leading rusher (1,041 yards and eight touchdowns).
There’s nothing that will surprise Central’s defense at this point, however, after facing some of the best competition in the nation.
Dre’s pick: Central 41, Lakewood 24.
▪ Class 2M state semifinal — Jacksonville Bolles (9-4) at Plantation American Heritage (12-1): The Patriots’ mission from the start in their first season with Mike Smith at the helm was to get back to the status that made them a five-time state championship program. Wins like last week’s triumph over Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons are big steps in that process.
Running back Mark Fletcher once again paced Heritage’s running game and helped the Patriots, ranked No. 8 in the nation by HSFA, overcome an early deficit to beat their rivals for the second time this season and dethrone the two-time defending champion Chiefs. But the development of quarterback Blake Murphy has been huge in the second half of the season to balance out Heritage’s offense and make them even more of a threat.
Bolles, an 11-time state champion which hasn’t won one since their late, great coach Charles “Corky” Rogers retired, makes a rare South Florida appearance. The Bulldogs are led by junior quarterback D.J. Moore and an offensive line led by Iowa State commit Brendan Black and Louisiana commit Cooper Fordham that has amassed over 2,000 yards rushing this season. Versatile 6-5, 220-pound tight end Connor Cox, a South Carolina commit, is one of Bolles’ primary offensive weapons.
But Heritage’s battle-tested defense led by David Vadala (98 tackles) and Jamarcus Smith (10 sacks) should have the discipline to withstand this latest challenger and complete the puzzle for a Dade vs. Broward historic final against Central.
Dre’s pick: American Heritage 38, Bolles 21.
▪ Class 1M state semifinal — Miami True North (9-3) at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (11-0): The emergence of True North during the past four seasons hit a new high last week as the Titans clinched their first ever state semifinal berth. The Titans have built a solid potential foundation for their future with solid playmakers like quarterback Zac Katz, receivers J-Roc Lopez and Jayson Lopez on offense as well as defensive backs George Harris and Michael Solomon on defense.
But Chaminade, ranked No. 4 nationally by HSFA, is on a whole different level that True North is still far from. The Lions are fine-tuning things on both sides at this point and look like the best team in South Florida overall and arguably the country as they showed in a rout of a strong Cardinal Newman squad. History awaits Chaminade, which can…sorry, will secure its state-record-tying seventh consecutive trip to the finals.
Dre’s pick: Chaminade 50, True North 7.
▪ Andre’s record (Through Saturday’s games) - Last week: 7-0; Top 20: 6-0; Season - Overall: 453-117; Top 20: 159-26.
