All-South Florida finals will be historic, but two teams won’t get title they deserve
Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna set the tone, as expected, just before heading off to Las Vegas this weekend to chase its larger goal of winning a national title.
And now South Florida teams are ready to make more history when two Miami-Dade County teams face two Broward County teams in the state finals for the first time ever.
Unfortunately though, thanks to the FHSAA’s realignment this season, which squeezed every South Florida team into four Metro classes, two deserving teams will see state championship-worthy seasons end without getting to hoist that coveted trophy.
Both Miami Central and Plantation American Heritage are among the top 10 teams — arguably top five — in the nation.
We shouldn’t already know that one will go home a loser on Friday night.
The same goes for national juggernaut Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which is steamrolling teams on its way to a 14th state title.
And Homestead has proven it could potentially win a state title with the victories it has scored during its remarkable playoff push.
The Broncos will lose their coach Philip Simpson after Thursday’s Class 3M title match with Aquinas as he departs to coach at the University of Nebraska. Simpson built up a program that had never been to a state final into a powerhouse over the past four years.
And yet the end of their story will only have a happy conclusion if they could pull off one more upset at the expense of a team that would likely flatten most of the rest of the nation’s best.
Meanwhile Chaminade, while no doubt is another more than worthy state champion, barely had any stiff competition on the road to Tallahassee. Perhaps this can be revisited in the future to at least balance out some of these classifications better.
On to the picks for the final week of the football season.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
NOTE: All state finals are at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
▪ Geico State Champions Bowl Series — Chaminade (13-0) at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman (13-1), 4, Saturday: Chaminade leveled Clearwater Central Catholic 48-14 last week to win its fifth state title in the past six years, its second in a row and seventh overall.
Does a national title await the Lions, ranked second in the nation by High School Football America, as they take on fellow top five-ranked Bishop Gorman?
The Gaels are quite familiar with South Florida competition, having played St. Thomas Aquinas, Miami Central and Miami Booker T. Washington over the years.
Bishop Gorman’s offense has plenty of weapons that will challenge Chaminade’s defense such as wide receiver Zachariah Branch, a USC commit ranked No. 5 in the nation overall by 247Sports, who has 45 catches for 753 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Cornerback and Georgia commit Justyn Rhett, safety and Oregon commit Kodi Decambra and cornerback Jeremiah Hughes, an LSU commit, lead a stingy defense which has allowed more than 14 points only once this season in the Gaels’ lone loss to No. 2 Mater Dei, and has recorded seven shutouts.
Gorman has size and talent up front led by interior lineman Zak Yamauchi, a Stanford commit, who has anchored an offense that has scored 103 touchdowns. Quarterback Micah Alejado has thrown 53 touchdown passes and only two interceptions and the combo of Micah Kaapana and Devon Rice have combined to run for 1,679 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Chaminade is deep at nearly every spot as well when you talk about quarterback Cedrick Bailey, running back Davion Gause, receivers Jojo Trader, Jeremiah Smith and Edwin Joseph on offense and a defense led by Wayne Peart, Zaquan Patterson, Chris Ewald and Jeno Julius.
This could be a true national championship-worthy matchup in the Geico Bowl Series.
Dre’s pick: Chaminade 34, Bishop Gorman 31.
▪ Class 2M state championship — Miami Central (13-0) vs. Plantation American Heritage (13-1), 7, Friday: At last, the game we all had penciled in since the new Class 2M was revealed has arrived. Both teams have survived challenging schedules and continued to look impressive in all three phases of the game.
American Heritage is peaking during the past month especially on offense where it is no longer just the Mark Fletcher show. While the Ohio State commit’s running certainly sets the tone for the Patriots’ offense, quarterback Blake Murphy’s performances in the postseason have elevated Heritage’s passing game.
This team has faced the best of the best with its lone loss coming early in the season against Chaminade.
The Rockets bring a stout defense which must play disciplined football for 48 minutes to clinch the school’s second run of four consecutive state titles. Rueben Bain (28 sacks) leads a fierce, aggressive bunch that has racked up 73 sacks overall.
Central must draw upon its experience from when it beat IMG Academy and be sharp on offense with quarterback Keyone Jenkins, who has been clutch all season, leading the way.
With this much evenly matched talent, expect a close one down to the wire.
Dre’s pick: Central 28, American Heritage 27.
▪ Class 3M state championship — Homestead (12-2) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-0), 7, Thursday: An historic year for Homestead, which hadn’t even made it to the state semis since 1984, faces its toughest test. The Broncos have defied the odds more than once this season with wins over Miami Northwestern and last week’s road triumph at Jones High in Orlando.
But Aquinas and its talented defensive front present a major obstacle for Joshua Townsend and that potentially explosive Homestead offense. The Broncos faced Aquinas last season in the playoffs so the opponent won’t intimidate them.
It’s more a matter of can they physically keep themselves in it up front where the Raiders possess so much size and skill. Can they establish enough of a running game like they did last week with Isaac Brown and contain Aquinas’ potent duo of Jordan Lyle and Gemani Sands? It could come down to quarterback play and which one makes the fewest mistakes - Townsend or Hezekiah Harris?
Dre’s pick: St. Thomas Aquinas 40, Homestead 32.
▪ Class 4M state championship — Miami Columbus (13-1) vs. Apopka (11-3), 7, Saturday: The Explorers just can’t get away from Apopka as the teams meet for the third time in a state final since 2014. The schools split the first two championship matchups with Columbus memorably winning its first state title in the closing moments of the 2019 Class 8A final.
The Blue Darters are quite familiar with Miami-Dade County competition beyond Columbus, having played in state finals against Miami Northwestern, South Dade and Weston Cypress Bay. They bring their signature run-heavy attack, anchored by tackle and Pitt commit Tai Rey, which has amassed 2,607 yards this year led by Zeldrick Roberts (920 yards, 14 TDs), Tyson Davison and Kaleb Hicks. On defense, Apopka is led by Malachi Davey, Kaven Call (UCF commit) and Rashad Watson.
This team will test the discipline of Columbus’ defense, which yielded plenty of points and yards to Ocoee during a narrow 41-36 win in the state semifinals. The Explorers have finished games strong all season. The key may be to weather the storm early in this one until they get a feel for Apopka’s offense. Once again, establishing the run (Sedrick Irvin) to open up the passing game will be vital.
I’ve said all season Columbus has all the ingredients to win a second state title in three years. Here’s where it all has to come together.
Dre’s pick: Columbus 30, Apopka 27.
▪ Andre’s record — Last week: 1-0; Top 20: 1-0; Season - Overall: 459-118; Top 20: 165-27.
