Eight South Florida teams look to punch ticket to state football title games

What an atmosphere last Friday night in Plantation. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen long lines of fans line up for a game — two hours before kickoff!

It was an electric atmosphere when the two best teams in Class 5A, Miami Northwestern and American Heritage, locked horns in a Region 4-5A final. The Bulls once again showed their true metal as reigning two-time state champions, battling to a hard-fought three-point win. Sadly though, it was a game that probably should have been played in Daytona Beach in the state final, not the third round.

Miami Booker T. Washington and Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons also put on a show in the 4A final as the Tornadoes pulled out a close one ending the Chiefs’ hopes of back-to-back state titles.

Now on to the state semifinals. This week’s slate of games once again speaks volumes to the quality of football in Miami-Dade and Broward coutnies. With the exception of 1A (which is rural upstate with no South Florida representation), every classification (2A-8A) will have a Miami-Dade or Broward team playing Friday night with a shot at the state finals.

The record of six teams making it to the state finals from South Florida, set last year and in 2016, could fall as the possibility of all seven making it through is realistic.

Five games (involving six teams) will be played in South Florida while two other teams, Miami Central and Booker T. Washington, will head out of town with challenging road games in hopes of a happy bus ride home.

On to this week’s state semifinal picks. All games are Friday at 7:30 unless otherwise noted.

8A state semifinal: Deerfield Beach (10-3) vs. Columbus (9-4), noon, Tropical Park: Because of the traffic from Santa’s Enchanted Forest during the evening, the Explorers and Bucks will put on a matinee performance in a showdown between arguably the two best running backs in South Florida.

Columbus’ Henry Parrish ran roughshod over Davie Western last week in the Explorers’ impressive drubbing of the Wildcats while Deerfield’s Jaylen Knighton became only the third back to cross the 5,000-yard barrier in the Bucks’ 35-7 rout of Vero Beach.

This is a rematch from last year’s semifinal when Columbus traveled to Deerfield and clobbered the Bucks 49-21. But as much as Columbus has improved this season as first-year head coach David Dunn did a great job of keeping the wheels on after the Explorers appeared to be splintering during a midseason slump, this isn’t quite the same team that came within an eyelash of winning last year’s state championship.

Meanwhile, the Bucks are back in state semifinals for the third time in the past four years and ninth time overall. The BUcks won it just once in 2005, and the hunch here is that they will get over the hump this time. Deerfield Beach was my pick to make it to the final in August so I’ll stick to my guns. Expect a close game and don’t dismiss the possibility of overtime. BD’s pick: Deerfield Beach 24-21 .

7A state semifinal: Venice (8-4) at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (12-0): To say these teams are familiar with each other would be an understatement. This marks the fourth consecutive year they will meet in this round, but other than a 27-20 upset the Indians pulled off two years ago on their home field, the other games have not been close. I don’t anticipate this one will be either. Since being upset by Venice two years ago in the semis and then falling to Lakeland in last year’s state final, the Raiders are on a clear quest to get back to the championship game — and finish the job this time. The Raiders have won 10 titles and are looking to match Jacksonville Bolles for the state record of 11. One thing that has become evident is that a stacked defense is well ahead of a more average offense, so don’t expect a lot of points from the Indians. BD’s pick: Aquinas 35-9.

6A state semifinal: Central (10-3) at Palmetto (12-1): The Rockets survived a shaky finish to the regular season and now have back-to-back lopsided road wins over Naples and Fort Lauderdale Dillard on their resume as they head over to the west coast to take on a Palmetto team that has been pretty good all season.

But that’s the problem with these out-of-area teams. They’re always “pretty good” until they get a taste of the speed and size of South Florida teams, and the result is usually predictable. As long as the Rockets take this team seriously and don’t just think they win the game by rolling the ball out on the field, they’ll be fine. Roland Smith won’t let that happen. BD’s pick: Central 38-17.

5A state semifinal: Tampa Jesuit (10-2) at Miami Northwestern (11-2), Bull Nation will be a happy bunch of fans on Friday as their team will be back in the friendly confines of Traz Powell Stadium after many could not get in to the much smaller venue of Heritage Field last week for the big showdown game with the Patriots.

Northwestern turned in a monster effort in getting past Heritage last week, but the Bulls also used up a great deal of energy and emotion in the process as well. The tendency might be to come out a little flat against a Tampa team that isn’t close to the same level as Heritage.

So don’t be surprised if the Bulls maybe get off to a little bit of a sluggish start. But, led by a ridiculously talented defense led by Timothy Burns Jr. and Wati Huggins, the Bulls are on a different talent level than the Tigers. This is Jesuit’s third trip to South Florida for a state semifinal in the last three years and this one figures to end the same way — with a loss. BD’s pick: Northwestern 38-12.

4A state semifinal: Booker T. Washington (11-2) at St. Pete Lakewood (12-1): Just like Central, a tricky spot for Booker T. as the Tornadoes hit the road to take on an undefeated team that has not given up a touchdown in nine of its 12 wins. Even though this figures to be a challenging road game, BTW also needs to guard against a slight letdown after two huge wins over Miami Gulliver and Cardinal Gibbons the last two weeks.

But after watching him play many times, quarterback Torrey Morrison is a special talent along with the rest of his offense, something I’m sure Lakewood hasn’t seen anything close to the likes of this season. Like Central, as long as the Tornadoes don’t take their non-South Florida opponent lightly, they should come away victorious. BD’s pick: Booker T. Washington 30-17.

3A state semifinal: Clearwater Central Catholic (10-3) at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (11-2): Another semifinal rematch from last year, one that saw the Lions travel to Clearwater and turn in a 16-0 shutout on their way to a second consecutive 3A state title. I’m not sure if Chaminade can pitch another shutout again, but your team should handle its business in a most fashionable and convincing way and head north to Tallahassee next week in quest for a third straight championship. BD’s pick: Chaminade 38-13.

2A state semifinal: Seffner Christian (7-5) at Hialeah Champagnat (8-3), Flamingo Park: There is a reason Champagnat head coach Hector Clavijo puts together such a challenging regular-season schedule. By the time the Lions make it to the state playoffs, the rest of 2A, at least on the south end of the state, is nothing more than a gravy train ride to the state final. And Seffner Christian, making its first state semifinal appearance, will provide more gravy for Champy. BD’s pick: Champagnat 41-6.

LAST WEEK’S RECORD: 6-2.

POSTSEASON OVERALL: 35-9.

SEASON OVERALL: 426-98.

Bill Daley can be reached at:billd@curtispub.net. Follow him on Twitter: @Billykid11Have a score you want to get in? Results from how your team did? Email to hssports@miamiherald.com