Road to Orlando Set to Start

The road to Orlando starts this Thursday when Coral Gables does battle with Northwestern at Traz Powell Stadium and South Dade takes on Ferguson at Tropical Park. SoFLAfootball will take a closer look at some of the more intriguing first round matchups across South Florida.

6A: Columbus vs. Miami Central - The Miami Central Rockets are the favorites to come out on top with their high-octane offense and talented players strewn about their roster. They cannot sleep on the Explorers and the gritty team they bring to the field. For Columbus to be able to pull off the first round shocker, a few things must happen. First, Jakhari Gore has to be special and he has to be fed the ball until he drops. It’s playoff time, so you have to ride the horse that got you there and that is Gore for Columbus. The other aspect Columbus must be able to do is turn the Rockets over. Running back Brandon Gainer has shown a propensity to fumble the ball, and quarterback Jeff Godfrey will throw a bad interception at times. If Gore is able to go off running the ball and the Columbus defense can come up with a few turnovers, there may be some upset buzz humming around FIU Stadium come the 4th quarter.

4A: Palm Beach Lakes vs. Stranahan - Talk about two opposite offenses on the field when these two play each other. Stranahan is up-tempo, sling the ball around the field, and take plenty of shots down the field, while Lakes is grind it out, ball control with the running game, that throws it enough to keep a defense honest. Lakes has a talented defense, but Stranahan is going to give all they can handle. The key for Lakes to slowing the offense is pressuring the quarterback and then keeping QB Willie Tindal from hurting you with his legs when the pressure does come. The game should be an exciting one.

3A: Belen Jesuit vs. Miami Jackson - Jackson has more athletes they shuttle onto the field than Jesuit and are more battle tested following a difficult regular season schedule. Jesuit has to slow this game down, make it ugly, and have a strong rushing attack to take down Jackson. The problem is Jackson is more than capable of hitting you with big plays, which can be demoralizing to teams. The Jesuit faithful should be rowdy for this 2pm start Saturday.

2B: Chaminade Madonna vs. Pahokee - Pahokee starts their quest for a 4th straight 2B state championship, but road will not be easy this time. Chaminade has athletes on both sides of the ball that match up with Pahokee well, and they have the X-factor, a quarterback that can run. Jerrad Randall is one of the better running quarterbacks in SoFLA, and a live enough arm to hit the deep ball. Pahokee has their own running quarterback in De’Joshua Johnson, but if can be more consistent throwing the ball he makes his team tough to beat. It does not look like wide receiver Chris Dunkley will be playing for Pahokee so that is one less athlete the Blue Devils can put on the field.