Rematches highlight second round of Florida football playoffs

This week's second round of the football playoffs will have several rematches of regular-season games between district rivals, but perhaps none is receiving as much hype as the Class 6A-Region 4 semifinal matchup between inner-city rivals Central (Miami) and Northwestern (Miami), who will meet Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium.

Central won the regular-season showdown against the Bulls 25-22 on Oct. 8 as Central running back Devonta Freeman rushed for 229 yards. It's been a tumultuous month off the field for the Bulls — the biggest distraction being when coach Billy Rolle was fired, then reinstated — but they avenged a regular-season loss to Columbus (Miami) with a 27-24 win against the previously unbeaten Explorers last week in the first round of the playoffs.

Northwestern senior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the top-rated prospect in Miami-Dade County, and the Bulls (9-2) appear to have rediscovered their swagger and it will not shock anyone if they knock off a very good Central (10-1) team that many observers believe will make it to Orlando for the state championship game.

The other Class 6A-Region 4 game also will be an intriguing rematch between two 10-1 teams, Southridge (Miami) and South Dade (Homestead). South Dade won the regular-season game 20-0, but Southridge is 25-12 all-time in the playoffs against Miami-Dade opponents.



Another Class 6A rematch between South Florida teams will be staged in Palm Beach County when Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee) plays host to Atlantic (Delray Beach). Seminole Ridge, which has won 10 games for the first time in the 5-year-old program's history, edged the Eagles 28-21 during the regular season.

In Class 5A, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) continues to rout opponents. The Raiders have scored 50 or more points in six games this season and will take an 11-0 record into their regional semifinal game against Cooper City, which last week recorded the program's first playoff win with a 10-7 victory against South Broward (Hollywood). Nice reward for that accomplishment, huh?

Another rematch will take place in the Class 5A regional semifinals when Ely (Pompano Beach) faces Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes). Ely won the regular-season matchup 34-31 and Boyd Anderson is 0-8 all-time in the regional semis. Both teams struggled in first-round games last week.

Two South Florida teams will clash in the Class 4A regional semifinals, but it looks like a mismatch as defending state champion and nationally ranked Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), which has won 10 consecutive games in blowouts, plays host to Hollywood Hills (Hollywood), which has won seven in a row since starting the season 0-4.

The Cinderella team of the region in Class 3A is Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale), which upset previously unbeaten Westwood (Fort Pierce) last week on the road for the Mavericks' first playoff win in school history. They travel to Merritt Island this week for a 3A-Region 4 semifinal game.

Glades Central (Belle Glade), the Class 2A state runner-up last year, travels to Broward County to face freshman sensation running back Sony Michel and American Heritage (Plantation) in what might be a closer game than some think. Glades Central again has plenty of talent, but Heritage has played a tough schedule.



The Class 2B-Region 4 semifinals will feature a matchup of two unbeatens when University (Fort Lauderdale) travels to meet Monsignor Pace (Miami), which is making its 19th consecutive appearance in the playoffs.

Palm Beach County district rivals American Heritage (Delray Beach) and King's Academy (West Palm Beach) meet for the second time this season in a Class 1A regional matchup. Heritage is the defending state champion and has reeled off eight consecutive victories, including a 42-0 rout of King's five weeks ago, since starting the season 0-3.

Another intriguing rematch between Palm Beach County teams that combined have won the past three state titles will take place in the Class 1B regional finals when Jupiter Christian plays host to district rival Glades Day (Belle Glade). Jupiter Christian, which defeated the Gators 38-14 early in the season, won back-to-back state titles in 2007-08, and Glades Day won the state title last year, so the winner of this matchup could be headed to Orlando in two weeks for the state finals.

Week 2 of the playoffs should provide more competitive games than the first round when there were numerous blowouts.

Click here to view MaxPreps' Florida football playoff brackets.

DORSEY'S DIGS
The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Monday to create a rural classification in most sanctioned sports. The reclassification plan for football renames Class 1A and 1B to 1A rural and 1A urban. They should just rename them 1A North and 1A South because that's pretty much what the division is going to be when the FHSAA releases the tentative new districts for football in December.



Steve Dorsey, who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps.com, is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach. He has covered the South Florida high school sports scene for the past 29 years. He also is a contributing writer for American Football Monthly and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.