One of the most anticipated games of the high school football season goes down Thursday as No. 4
Miami Central (Miami) faces No. 5
Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) on ESPN2 in a battle for Sunshine State supremacy with potential national title hopes at stake.
Chaminade-Madonna (4-0) has put together one of the most impressive
resumes in high school football so far this season, outscoring its opponents by 27.5 points per contest. Three of four opponents were ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 headed into their meeting as the Lions blew by St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
35-14, throttled Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 61-21 and took care of
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 28-16.
The
high-powered offensive attack is led by North Carolina State commit
Cedrick Bailey, who has completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 893
yards and 12 total touchdowns, and five-star Ohio State commit
Jeremiah Smith, who has hauled in 33 receptions for 516 yards and seven touchdowns
through four games.
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Sept. 21 | Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Miami Central High School - Miami, Fla.
TV: ESPN2
Miami Central (1-1) comes into the meeting with something to prove after splitting its first two games of the season. The Rockets lost their season opener to No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 39-35 before rebounding with a 38-28 victory over Booker T. Washington (Miami, Fla.).
The offense is spearheaded by its rushing attack with senior quarterback
J.C. Evans leading the way with 149 yards on 17 carries. Sophomore running back
Jayden Ford has rushed for 126 yards on nine carries and junior running back
King Davis has rushed for 81 yards on 10 carries through two games.
Four-star Class of 2025 junior
Ezekiel Marcelin leads the Miami Central defense with 29 tackles, four sacks and a fumble recovery on the season.
Miami Central is coming off a dream 2022 season that included an unbeaten record, state championship and No. 2 final national ranking. Despite the early loss this year, the Rockets could make a strong statement with a win Thursday.
After finishing last season ranked No. 10 in the final MaxPreps Top 25
in 2022, Chaminade-Madonna appears to have the pieces to make a run at
the national title if it can survive this week's showdown. With a win, the Lions will have a strong
opportunity to return to the GEICO Bowl Series for a potential rematch
with Bishop Gorman, who blew them out 49-14 last season.
The last meeting between the two teams took place five seasons ago when Chaminade-Madonna took down Miami Central 27-7 in October of 2019. Miami Central won the prior meeting 48-24 in August of 2017.
Five-star Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith has 33 receptions for 516 yards and seven touchdowns through four games. (Photo: Laura Martin)
