The Homestead Broncos will be playing in front of their home fans against the Southridge Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Homestead walked away with it. They were the clear victor by a 52-27 margin over McArthur. The victory was familiar territory for Homestead who now have eight in a row.
Hialeah typically have all the answers at home, but on Friday Southridge proved too difficult a challenge. Southridge blew past Hialeah 48-23.
Southridge found their leader in underclassman James Perrone, who threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns while completing 84.2% of his passes. Perrone has been hot recently, having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last three times he's played. Mekhi Bethel was another key contributor, rushing for 71 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Homestead pushed their record up to 9-1 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Southwest and 2-9 Lakewood (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 39.3% over those games). As for Southridge, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
Everything came up roses for Homestead against Southridge in their previous meeting back in October as the team secured a 45-14 victory. Will Homestead repeat their success, or does Southridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.