By J.T. Wilcox | Senior Writer
Follow SFHSSports: Twitter | Facebook
It’s the second round of the playoffs.
The stakes are getting higher and the margin for error is shrinking faster than a cheap t-shirt.
Round two is typically a “rematch week” – seeing teams have to face off against their district opponent again; this time with even more on the line.
The thing that I hope everyone learned from the opening round of the playoffs is that every facet of the game is important.
You have to execute and make plays on offense, you have to do your job and make smart plays on defense; but a lot of times it’s what happens on special teams that could be the difference between moving on and turning in your pads.
I won’t go on a rant about how important kickoffs, punts and field goals but I will say that something as small as knowing when to call for a fair catch instead of letting the ball bounce could be the few inches you need to get over the hump.
Picking the second round of the playoffs is always hard – especially in the rematch games. It’s hard to beat a team twice in the same year, especially when the other team is coming in confident and with a chip on its shoulder because it lost the first game.
Still, I feel good as I had a strong round one – 20-2 picking the first round game – so I think I have a pretty good idea where things are going.
There are a lot of great games this week and I cannot wait for Friday.
Round two got me like…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
We are so lucky to be right here in South Florida and get to watch this kind of stuff every week.
Record last week: 20-2
Season record: 452-104 (.812 Correct Pick Percentage)
Nine games picked this week with four games in the Bald Predictions Spotlight.
(1) American Heritage Patriots (9-1) vs. (9) Hallandale Chargers (9-2)
Friday at Plantation American Heritage, 7:30pm – Region 4-5A semifinal
On paper this is still one of the top games.
The amount of talent that’ll be on the football field when these two teams strap it up is ridiculous.
That being said, every now and then we’ll have a rematch of district opponents happen in the second round and it’s not that hard of a game to pick.
American Heritage rolled in the first round of the playoffs – not having any trouble at all with Fort Pierce Westwood. The Patriots are the No. 1 team in South Florida for a reason.
Hallandale made easy week of its regional quarterfinal opponent too – shutting out Riviera Beach Suncoast 42-0 – to set up the Pats-Chargers sequel.
But looking back at the first match between these two, American Heritage made it clear that it was the better team. The Patriots were able to run the ball with relative ease against the Hallandale defense and Heritage’s defense did enough up front to disrupt Hallandale’s passing attack.
It’s hard to think this game will be so much different from the first because Hallandale’s defense is still a group that will give up big plays – especially when facing an offensive line like Heritage has.
On the flip side, I don’t see how the Chargers will be able to slow down Patriots defensive end Brian Burns. He’s a physical terror (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) and he has a never ending motor. Burns was able to get in Hallandale’s backfield quickly and put major pressure on Tyler Huntley.
I know Hallandale will fight – hard. They have to; this could be the last game of their season. The Chargers have a very senior-laden roster so those kids will want to go as far as possible.
But Heritage is too complete of a team.
Patriots advance.
Bald Prediction = American Heritage wins 37-21
(2) Deerfield Beach Bucks (9-1) vs. (10) Flanagan Falcons (8-2)
Friday at Deerfield Beach, 7:30pm – Region 3-8A semifinal
This is very, very intriguing game.
Perhaps the most intriguing because I think the winner of this game has just a good a shot as anyone left on the Class 8A bracket of reaching and possibly winning the state crown.
Deerfield Beach eked by Plantation in the first round of the playoffs. I knew the Colonels would put up a nice fight, but I also knew the Bucks would prevail.
Flanagan cruised in the first round and I see the Falcons unleashed a new wrinkle in its offense. The Dirty Birds Defense lent senior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. to the offense and he ran the ball for a touchdown.
The contrast of styles between these teams gives this game a lot of storylines.
Deerfield Beach has an offense that is capable of putting up big points. Quarterback Teddrick Moffett along with receivers Cavin Ridley and Jerry Jeudy are a nice trio of players that lift the entire team.
The Bucks’ defense isn’t a totally dominant unit, but they do have athletes that will play physically and capitalize on the other team’s mistakes.
Flanagan has one of the best defenses in the state – even without safety Devin Gil (get well soon young fella). Between the talent that the Dirty Birds have on that side of the ball, their defensive coaches and the scheme they use – the Falcons can put the kibosh on an offense in a hurry.
Where Flanagan leaves something to be desired is its offense. It’s not because they are short on talented players – quarterback Kato Nelson and receivers Jahcour Pearson, Dredrick Snelson and Clevan Thomas are all playmakers – its seems like their offensive struggles stems from something intangible.
If Flanagan is to win this game, it’ll need to convince Nelson to operate mostly from the pocket and employ a quick passing game that methodically moves the ball down the field. Getting the ball in Pearson’s or Snelson’s hands in space is a positive thing and it’ll be hard for Deerfield Beach – or anyone else – to stop it all night.
Deerfield Beach could give itself the advantage if they do what I’ve been calling it to do all year – which is give Cavin Ridley the ball as a running back.
Whichever offense finds something that works the quickest and/or capitalizes on good field position by producing points will win this game.
I give the slight edge to the Falcons because they have a few more weapons overall.
Bald Prediction = Flanagan wins 19-17
(4) Central Rockets (8-2) vs. (12) Carol City Chiefs (9-2)
Friday at Traz Powell Stadium, 7:30pm – Region 4-6A semifinal
There’s a lot of build up for this game.
I mean a lot.
I’m expecting the atmosphere for this game to be absolutely electric – capacity crowd, The Voice behind the mic, bands blaring; everything that makes high school football great.
Carol City shook things up earlier this year when they took down the Rockets. It was easy to see that the Chiefs were totally locked in and really wanted to win that game.
Since then, Central kind of fell into the background and went back into the lab. The Rockets had a two-week layoff entering the playoffs and they manufactured a 20-3 win over Boyd Anderson.
Even in that victory, Central still struggled offensively. And that’s been the thing that has made the Rockets look more vulnerable than it has in years past. Against Carol City the first time, Central didn’t score an offensive touchdown. The lone points came on an interception return for a score.
The performance last week makes me believe that the Rockets still haven’t quite figured things out on offense.
Central’s defense is still playing “lights out” football though, and it will make life tough for Carol City. Linebacker Donovan Thompson and defensive lineman Keir Thomas are some of the best players at their positions in the country and they’re both going to be dialed in for this game.
The extra variable that makes this game hard to pick is that Carol City defeated Central without the services of starting quarterback Stephen Buckshot Calvert.
But Buckshot is healthy now. Yet, I don’t think that means the Chiefs will have an easier team with the Rockets.
I firmly believe that in order for Carol City to win this game they have to run the ball. Run the ball with freshman phenom Nayquan Wright as well as mixing in Darnell Rolle.
But I also believe that Calvert’s presence can be the deciding factor in this game.
If Carol City commits to running the ball, it can set up the play-action pass and Calvert will be able to take a shot downfield to one of his talented receivers.
I still think this game is close. I could easily see it coming down to the final possession or the final seconds of the game.
I say the Chiefs make another huge statement and knockout the Rockets.
Bald Prediction = Carol City wins 14-12
(5) Coral Gables Cavaliers (10-0) vs. Columbus Explorers (10-1)
Friday at Tropical Park, 7:30pm – Region 4-8A semifinal
This game is going to be an all-out battle.
These teams do not like each other.
Much ado was made – and rightfully so – about Coral Gables winning the regular season match between these two.
The Cavaliers are the only undefeated team in Miami-Dade County but they have found a way to fly under the radar despite putting together a very impressive season.
When Gables played Columbus the first time around, the Explorers weren’t healthy. Yes, you have to play with who’s available, but in all fairness they were missing starting quarterback Alejandro Ros.
Ros is the trigger man for Columbus’ offense and his absence was magnified in the 20-10 loss.
The big factor in this game is that the Explorers are healthy now. Ros played last week, knocked the rust off and appears to be in a good rhythm now.
I really like Coral Gables’ defense. The Cavs linebacker corps is right up there with the other linebacker groups around South Florida. Gables has given up a total of 49 points through 10 games this season.
I see this being a literal game of inches. Regardless of the final margin of the final margin of last year’s playoff game between these two – it boiled down to a couple of plays that changed that game and I see that being the case again this year.
There’s going to be a thin margin for error.
Ultimately I think Columbus gets the big play or the big stop that shifts this game in its favor.
Bald Prediction = Columbus wins 18-16
Other Games
(3) St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Palm Beach Dwyer = St. Thomas Aquinas wins by 5
(6) South Dade vs. Southridge = South Dade wins by 10
(16) Sunset vs. (18) Mater Academy = Sunset wins by 2
(20) Dade Christian vs. Naples First Baptist = First Baptist wins by 7
Booker T. Washington vs. Belle Glade Glades Central = Booker T. wins by 4
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
