By J.T. Wilcox | Senior Writer
Can you feel it?
The weather is trying to change and this is the time of year where the football gets really good.
Teams are clinching playoff spots and others are being officially eliminated from playoff contention.
All a team can want right now is a chance. Still having a glimmer of hope of making it to the “big dance” is all you need to go out there and put on one of those memory-making performances (a la Killian over South Dade, yeah I saw you Cougars).
Because of that, the games are tougher to pick. It’s hard to nail down exactly how teams will react in certain situations. These next couple of weeks will tell which players and teams are “G.U.M.P.”
I need to show that I am G.U.M.P. and rebound from a tough week.
The big thing for some teams is that they are still in control of their own destiny. They can get their tickets punched to the dance simply by winning their game. Other teams may have a shot, but they’re going to need help to get in – a tough spot to be in.
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Still being in control over your own playoff destiny is like finding a big cup of red Kool-Aid in the refrigerator, and it is right at the temperature before it starts to turn icy.
Record last week: 43-12
Season record: 316-78 (.802 Correct Pick Percentage)
45 games picked this week with four games in the Bald Predictions spotlight.
(1) American Heritage Patriots (6-1) vs. Jackson Generals (2-4)
Friday at American Heritage, 7:30pm
This is a potential elimination game.
American Heritage can officially eliminate Jackson from playoff contention with a victory.
I was a bit surprised by the way the Patriots performed last week, narrowly edging out Cardinal Gibbons. But, I was told a while ago that an ugly win will always be better than a beautiful loss.
Up to this point, American Heritage has been the one “powerhouse” team that has avoided the local slip up that has tripped a couple of their big-time counterparts.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again to drive the point home, I think the Patriots are one of the most complete teams in South Florida. They’re solid across the board; coaching, offense, defense and special teams. Not having any glaring weakness in any one of those areas will propel you to being the No. 1 team in South Florida.
Jackson looked good last week in a very lopsided win over district foe Stranahan. I think it’s safe to say that the Generals underachieved – even just a little – this season. My guy Larry Blustein thought they could flat out win the district and make a deep playoff run, but here the Generals are on the brink of elimination.
I do think American Heritage will win this game. But I tell you, or should I say them: this is the quintessential “trap game”.
The Patriots are set to host Hallandale next week and it is shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the season – an easy game for players to look forward to. Jackson is an athletic team coming in with its backs against the wall and desperate for a victory.
It has a lot of the ingredients of an upset.
Ultimately, Heritage takes care of business, but they better be careful.
Bald Prediction = American Heritage wins 32-21
(3) Columbus Explorers (8-0) vs. Booker T. Washington Tornadoes (4-4)
Friday at Tropical Park, 7:30pm
This is a game that I was looking forward to since the start of the season.
Granted, I didn’t think Booker T. would be a team that hasn’t won consecutive games all year. Still, the Tornadoes aren’t your typical .500 team.
Columbus has pretty much done what I expected it to do. The Explorers have been able to coast the past couple of weeks, but I tell you what – I give coach Chris Merritt a lot credit for the way he structured his team’s schedule.
Taking on Booker T. in week nine followed up a district championship game against bitter rival Coral Gables in week 10 allows his Explorers to take things up a notch and get the juices flowing right before the playoffs, yet still have a week to rest and recover – in the form of a week 11 bye – before the playoffs.
Brilliant.
Booker T. has already clinched its playoff spot, but this week represents another chance for its young roster to go up against one of the top teams in the state and acquire more experience.
The health of freshman quarterback Daniel Richardson is a big storyline. Richardson had to be tended to by paramedics during Booker T.’s win over Gulliver Prep this past week after suffering from what his dad called “hyperventilation”.
I think that even if Richardson is healthy enough to go against Columbus, Booker T.’s coaches will hold him out and let him rest for the playoff run.
Still, this is a great test for Columbus. The Tornadoes have the athletes to push the Explorers on both sides of the ball.
I think Columbus answers the bell and comes away with a victory.
Bald Prediction = Columbus wins 27-19
(12) Plantation Colonels (6-2) vs. (14) Dillard Panthers (5-2)
Friday at Dillard, 7pm
This is a sneaky good game – even though it’s a non-district contest.
It’s one of those games where you talk to the coaches three or four weeks down the line and they point back to this game as to where their team got on the same page and started to roll.
Plantation essentially put itself into the playoffs last week when it defeated Western. The Colonels are still a smash-mouth team that wants to run the ball and play tough defense.
If you allow Plantation to be the aggressor, it will grind the game – and their opponent – down en route to another win.
Dillard has enjoyed a lot of success over the past couple of weeks, defeating its past two opponents by a combined score of 94-7.
While that stat has to be taken with a grain of salt, the Panthers do have the talent capable of putting up big numbers – especially on offense.
I think this will be a good chance for Dillard to show that it can stand up to another talented team. The same thing can be said for Plantation.
In the two games in which the Colonels finished on the losing side of scoreboard, they lost by an average of 29 points and Dillard’s average margin of defeat in its two losses is 25 points – so they need shore up some things with the playoffs three weeks away.
Dillard has to find a way to protect quarterback Anthony “Mo” Hasan and give him a chance to get the ball in his playmakers’ hands. Getting big chunks of yards and scoring quickly will help the Panthers’ chances because Plantation can take the air out of the ball.
To me, Plantation has the type of playing style that travels and translates under any conditions. Run the football and be physical. And if the Colonels can stay in front of the down and distance – face second and six or less opposed to second and 10 or more – I think they come away with a victory.
Bald Prediction = Plantation wins 26-21
(18) Norland Vikings (3-3) vs. Northwestern Bulls (3-4)
Saturday at Traz Powell Stadium, 7pm
This is a big game.
This game will affect the fate of four different teams. The two involved of course, but also district sharers Carol City and Central.
Northwestern is really the lynch pin in all of it.
Even though the Bulls lost to Central last week, you might as well say that they’ll be the ones that decide how district 16-6A shakes out.
Norland surprised a lot of people – me included – when they knocked off Carol City in overtime. The Vikings had been riding a three-game losing streak, but did have nearly three weeks to get healthy and prepare solely for the Chiefs.
The Vikings offense, which has struggled this season, looked a bit better. Their run game was strong. Chavis Wright has emerged as this team’s most potent offensive weapon and I think it would be smart to continue to feature him and that massive offensive line.
Northwestern’s offense hasn’t been the model of consistency this season. The Bulls only amassed 39 yards of total offense last week against Central’s staunch defense.
Considering now they have to face a Vikings defense that is easily one of the best in the state, I don’t see how they’ll fare much better than that this week.
I see a low-scoring game, one that will probably feature a safety and a defensive touchdown. I also see Norland coming out on top and pushing this district that much closer to a district tiebreaker.
Bald Prediction = Norland wins 17-12
Other Games
(2) Deerfield Beach vs. Monarch = Deerfield Beach wins by 42
(5) Hallandale vs. Cardinal Gibbons = Hallandale wins by 16
(6) Central vs. Hialeah-Miami Lakes = Central wins by 33
(7) Flanagan vs. Cypress Bay = Flanagan wins by 22
(8) Coral Gables vs. Miami Beach = Coral Gables wins by 20
(13) Piper vs. Coral Springs = Piper wins by 21
(15) Mater Academy vs. Westland Hialeah = Mater Academy wins by 42
(16) Archbishop McCarthy vs. Coral Glades = Archbishop McCarthy wins by 38
(20) Chaminade-Madonna vs. University School = University School wins by 2
North Miami Beach vs. Hialeah Gardens = North Miami Beach wins by 12
Miami Community Charter vs. Scheck Hillel = Scheck Hillel wins by 7
Somerset Academy Pines vs. Pembroke Pines Charter = Pines Charter wins by 30
Southwest vs. Ferguson = Southwest wins by 13
Coral Reef vs. Varela = Coral Reef wins by 3
Goleman vs. South Miami = Goleman wins by 7
Hialeah vs. Dr. Krop = Hialeah wins by 1
Reagan vs. Miami Springs = Miami Springs wins by 4
A&T Mourning vs. Doral Academy = Doral Academy wins by 20
Coconut Creek vs. Stranahan = Coconut Creek wins by 26
Calvary Christian vs. Palm Beach Benjamin = Calvary Christian wins by 30
South Broward vs. Cooper City = Cooper City wins by 14
American vs. Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy = Oxbridge Academy wins by 17
Champagnat Catholic vs. Gulliver Prep = Gulliver Prep wins by 21
Everglades Prep vs. Palmer Trinity = Everglades Prep wins by 35
Dade Christian vs. Archbishop Carroll = Dade Christian wins by 42
Blanche Ely vs. Lakeland = Lakeland wins by 20
Florida Christian vs. Westminster Academy = Westminster Academy wins by 10
LaSalle vs. Pine Crest = Pine Crest wins by 14
Miramar vs. Everglades = Miramar wins by 8
Fort Lauderdale vs. McArthur = McArthur wins by 4
Boca Raton Pope John Paul II vs. Coral Springs Charter = Coral Springs Charter wins by 13
Hollywood Hills vs. Nova = Nova wins by 3
West Broward vs. Northeast = West Broward wins by 20
Western vs. South Plantation = Western wins by 6
Stoneman Douglas vs. Taravella = Stoneman Douglas wins by 19
Belle Glade Glades Day vs. North Broward Prep = North Broward Prep wins by 14
Coral Park vs. Miami High = Miami High wins by 28
Treasure Coast vs. Monsignor Pace = Treasure Coast wins by 14
Key West vs. Inlet Grove = Key West wins by 35
Killian vs. Homestead = Killian wins by 18
Belen Jesuit vs. Braddock = Belen wins by 21
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