Florida Football: Week 5 Preview
September 27th, 2007 Posted in Florida Sports, Florida, High School Sports, Florida Football, football, High School FootballIf you read this before 8 p.m. Thursday, skip down the page to get the newest information. If you haven’t read any of it, you’ll see that some of this applies to games already under way.
There are a few big Thursday games. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel previews a big game between Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer and Glades Central, and the Palm Beach Post chimes in as well on the same matchup. Pahokee also hooks up with a Chaminade-Madonna team that has had a 2-2 start while playing against some big-time schools, including Lakeland last week. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, this is the first time the teams have met during the regular season since 1968. The Palm Beach Post also has preview coverage of Friday’s big game between Royal Palm Beach and West Boca, which is coming off a huge victory in the team’s rivalry with Boca Raton.
The folks at the Miami Herald have made their predictions about which teams will win in South Florida this week. In addition to the Pahokee game with Chaminade-Madonna, Miami brings us another big Thursday matchup with Miami Central hosting Miami Norland. We’ve been high on Central all year, but Miami Herald sportswriter Andre C. Fernandez seems to think it’ll be a close one. He’s giving Central the nod in a 13-12 game. Also taking the field tonight is 4-0 Coral Gables. The Cavaliers face an 0-4 Miami Jackson team, so things bode well for them.
Also in South Florida this week, there’s a big Friday matchup of undefeated teams in Deerfield Beach and Coconut Creek. Both teams are 3-0, and Creek is coming off a big win. Miami Herald sportswriter Bob Emanuel Jr. has picked Deerfield Beach in a 27-24 game. By the way, the winner of this 6A matchup could shoot up the rankings next Tuesday. So stay tuned.
Booker T. is without Sancho McDonald, but they shouldn’t have many problems putting their undefeated record on the line Friday against 0-3 Carol City. St. Thomas Aquinas doesn’t have as favorable a matchup, as their 3-0 mark is at risk Friday against Hollywood Hills, which is on a three-game winning streak.
Rounding out the South Florida games, North Miami Beach hosts Hialeah (1-2). The Chargers are 3-0 and looking for more after starting the season with a big win against North Miami. American Heritage (4-0) is at Palm Beach Benjamin (1-2). Hialeah American (4-0) hosts Miami Dr. Krop (3-1). Miramar (3-0) hosts Flanagan (2-1). Boyd Anderson (2-1) hosts Dillard (2-2). Gulliver Prep (4-0) hosts Key West (2-2) and Cooper City looks to improve to 4-0 at South Broward (0-3).
It’s no secret that we’ve been riding high with the performance of Fernandina Beach this year, but this week gets a little tougher for the Pirates, who were a winless 0-10 squad just a season ago. Fernandina Beach takes on 3-0 Keystone Heights this Friday in a key District 2A-3 game. The Jacksonville Times-Union has some insight into this one and a few of the area’s other games.
Pine Forest has its hands full this weekend against 5A powerhouse Tallahassee Lincoln, a team coming off a loss to Valdosta High, one of Georgia’s top teams. Pine Forest is in a new class this year (5A), but they’ll be reminded of past dominance at the 3A level. As Pensacola News Journal sportswriter Chuck Corder points out, it’s homecoming week at Pine Forest, and the school is honoring two of its state championship teams from those old 3A days.
The area’s biggest Thursday matchup pit a 3-1 Lake Worth team against Palm Beach Lakes (2-2). Meanwhile, the Boca Raton News has the scoop on Boca Raton’s game tonight against Suncoast.
In more Thursday action, DeLand is being pounded by Daytona Beach Seabreeze. The Sandcrabs are up 42-6 in the first half, and most of the starters are on the bench.
In Tampa, there’s a lot of buildup to this Friday’s Ridgewood-Gulf matchup. Byronell Arline is coming off a big game, and he’ll certainly be part of the game plan for 3-0 Ridgewood this week. Gulf, meanwhile, looks to improve on its 2-2 start with help from RB David Williams. The Tampa Tribune has more on this game.
The Tampa Tribune also has its weekly previews ready for Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Among the games, Tampa Bay Tech will look to improve to 5-0 against Spoto, but they’ll be doing it without some players, who were suspended due to last week’s on-field brawl. Armwood travesl to Tampa Sickles in what should be a ho-hum affair. Brandon and Durant face off in a battle of 2-2 teams.
In Pinellas, 3-1 Dunedin travels to 3-0 Largo for a key game. Will it be the Brynn Harvey show, or will Dunedin’s star, RB Adarius Bellamy, chew up the yardage? Probably both. Another key game pits Gibbs (3-0) against Clearwater (2-2).
Of course, Pinellas County’s real claim to fame this week is its glut of great small-school matchups. Class 2B’s Clearwater Central Catholic (3-1) hosts 1A power Fort Meade. Hollywood Christian (3-0) is at Indian Rocks Christian (3-1). Northside Christian (3-1) is on the road at Orlando First Academy (3-1). Cambridge (2-2) is at Keswick Christian (3-0).
The Naples Daily News has previews up for this week’s games in southwest Florida. Among the matchups is Cypress Lakes at Estero. Cypress Lakes is looking to improve to 2-3, and Estero is still looking for its first win. We’ll have video highlights of this game. In other action, South Fort Myers is at Lehigh. South looks to improve on its 2-2 record, and Lehigh is 0-4.
The Fort Myers News-Press has this video preview on Friday’s game featuring 4-0 Naples at 2-1 Gulf Coast.
There’s also a preview story in the Jackson County Floridian on Marianna and its Friday game with Holmes County. Marianna’s 3-0 record is on the line in that one.
By the way, there’s already a game that’s finished. Miami Southwest defeated Ronald Reagan 63-0 Wednesday. It’s been a tough season for Ronald Reagan. In this one, Southwest RB Hosey Williams rushed for 141 yards and four touchdowns.
1 Trackback(s)