Florida high school football: Week 9 thoughts, takeaways and state poll

Miami Central added yet another a statement win to its resume and extended its streak of beating Florida opponents to 28 games.

In a rare battle of No. 1 teams late in the season, Central jumped out to a 35-7 halftime lead and held on to beat Columbus 42-35 in the Greater Miami Athletic Conference showcase on Friday,

Central flexed its muscle in the first half with a pair of long touchdown passes from Keyone Jenkins to Lamar Seymore. Columbus showed its resolve with its second-half comeback, including three third-quarter touchdown passes by Alberto Mendoza.

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Both teams have reasons to feel pretty good and disappointed at the same time. But nothing that happened Friday will change the high expectations for these two South Florida powers.

Here are some other takeaways from Week 9.

Top of Class 4S shows defensive strength

Lakeland (No. 1) dominated a strong Clearwater Academy International squad, 44-6. Bartram Trail (No. 3) shut out Buchholz (No. 2) for three quarters and won 21-6. Osceola (No. 5) blanked Mainland for three quarters and cruised to a 33-6 win. Wins in these three games would be impressive enough but limiting these talented opponents to a single score in each game was a clear sign that these three will be tough outs in the postseason.

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3 key takeaways: Osceola's defensive stars cause havoc in 33-6 win over Mainland

North Florida Christian gets statement win

Leon Washington and Traylon Ray did a bit of everything for North Florida Christian and helped the Eagles beat Wakulla 38-35. Washington had more than 300 all-purpose yards and had eight tackles; Ray had 168 receiving yards, 10 tackles and a key interception. North Florida Christian now is 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 1S and a legitimate state title contender.

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Bradford’s defense does it again

The Tornadoes have allowed one touchdown. This season. Total. That’s it. Bradford has played more games (eight) than points allowed (seven). Seriously, just let that marinate for a second. The most recent shutout was a 44-0 win against Dunnellon on Friday. Bradford is one of four undefeated teams ranked in the top five of Class 2S.

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Heritage runs past Naples

The Patriots rushed for 243 yards, averaged 5.4 yards per carry and had just one of its 45 run plays stopped behind the line of scrimmage in a 35-17 win at Naples in a battle of No. 2 teams. Beating Naples adds another impressive win to American Heritage’s resume, which also includes wins against Lowndes (Ga.), Los Alamitos (Ca.) and Cardinal Gibbons.

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Region 4-1R might be the deepest in the state

The top four seeds in Region 4-1R in the latest FHSAA power rankings were Chiefland, Pahokee, Hawthorne and Williston. Those are four of the top five overall teams in Class 1R and its also four of the top six teams in the USA Today Florida Network poll. Undefeated Hawthrone, the No. 1 team in the poll, currently would be the No. 3 seed and wouldn't even get a first-round bye. Pahokee, Hawthorne and Williston all won on Friday while Chiefland lost to Florida High, the No. 1 team in Class 2S.

Don’t sleep on Jesuit

Will Griffin threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jarriett Buie, including the game-winner in the fourth quarter, as Jesuit handed Tampa Bay Tech its first regular season loss on the field since 2020. After losing three games in four weeks, Jesuit had been something of an afterthought in the state championship picture in Class 3M. Well, this was a pretty strong statement that the Tigers are still very much in the picture.

Dominant Chaminade spreading the wealth

Chaminade’s dominance isn’t a surprise, but what the Lions have done that past two weeks is still noteworthy. After a 20-day layoff, Chaminade has outscored its past two opponents by a combined score of 153-0. And it’s not just one or two guys doing all the damages. Fourteen different players have scored at least one touchdown. That includes defensive scores from Edwin Joseph, Kaleb Stewart, Kwame Smith, Darius Smith and D’Angelo Ponds. That’s a scary amount of depth for the Class 1M favorite.

Around the state

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USA Today Florida Network poll

Class 4M

1. Columbus (Miami) 8-1 (9 first-place votes)

2. Seminole (Sanford) 7-1

3. Palm Beach Central (Wellington) 7-1

4. Ocoee 6-2

5. Winter Park 7-1

6. Apopka 5-2

7. Lake Mary 5-2

8. West Orange (Winter Springs) 4-2

9. East Lake (Tarpon Springs) 7-1

10. Hagerty (Oviedo) 7-1

ARV: Doral Academy (Doral), Plant, (Tampa), Western (Davie), Sumner (Riverview), Miami Palmetto

Class 3M

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) 8-0 (9 first-place votes)

2. Edgewater (Orlando) 9-0

3. Jones (Orlando) 6-2

4.Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) 4-3

5. Tampa Bay Tech 7-2

6. Jesuit (Tampa) 5-3

7. Homestead 6-2

8. Wharton (Tampa) 6-2

9. Oviedo 7-1

10. Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach) 7-0

ARV: Miramar, Fletcher (Neptune Beach), Armwood (Seffner), Plantation, Miami Southridge

Class 2M

1. Miami Central 8-0 (9 first-place votes)

2. American Heritage (Plantation) 8-1

3. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 8-1

4. Miami Northwestern 4-4

5. Booker T. Washington (Miami) 7-2

6. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) 7-1

7. Raines (Jacksonville) 6-1

8. Bolles (Jacksonville) 5-3

9. Tampa Catholic 6-1

10. Lakewood (St. Petersburg) 6-3

ARV: Miami Norland, Gulliver Prep (Miami), Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale), Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), Calvary Christian (Clearwater)

Class 1M

1. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) 6-0 (9 first-place votes)

2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) 8-0

3. Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) 9-0

4. Clearwater Central Catholic 7-1

5. University Christian (Jacksonville) 8-1

ARV: Northside Christian (St. Petersburg), Avant Garde (Hollywood), Orlando Christian Prep.  Carrollwood Day (Tampa), Archbishop Carroll (Miami)

Class 4S

1. Lakeland 7-0 (8 first-place votes)

2. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) 8-0 (1 first-place vote)

3. Venice 4-2

4. Buchholz (Gainesville) 6-1

5. Osceola (Kissimmee) 5-3

6. Niceville 7-1

7. Treasure Coast 3-4

8. Vero Beach 8-1

9. Lake Minneola 7-1

10. Navarre 7-1

ARV: Creekside (St. Johns), Martin County (Stuart), Flagler Palm Coast, Manatee (Bradenton), Melbourne

Class 3S

1. Pine Forest (Pensacola) 8-0 (8 first-place votes)

2. Rockledge 7-1 (1 first-place vote)

3.Lakes Wales 8-0

4. Naples 6-2

5. Eau Gallie (Melbourne) 7-1

6. Mainland (Daytona Beach) 5-2

7. Dunbar (Fort Myers) 4-1

8. Sebring 5-2

9. Vanguard (Ocala) 5-3

10. Columbia (Lake City) 5-3

9. Escambia (Pensacola) 5-2

10. Vanguard (Ocala) 4-3

ARV: Escambia (Pensacola), North Fort Myers, Lincoln (Tallahassee), Jensen Beach, Fort Myers

Class 2S

1. Florida High (Tallahassee) 8-0 (8 first-place votes)

2. Cocoa 4-3

3. Bradford (Starke) 7-0 (1 first-place vote)

4.South Sumter (Bushnell) 8-0

5. Wakulla (Crawfordville) 7-1

6. Pensacola Catholic 9-0

7. West Florida (Pensacola) 5-2

8. Bay (Panama City) 7-1

9. Bishop Verot (Fort Myers) 5-2

10. Baldwin 7-1

ARV: Baker County (Glen St. Mary), Suwanee (Live Oak), North Marion (Citra), Walton (DeFuniak Springs), Palm Bay (Melbourne)

Class 1S

1. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 5-2 (6 first-place votes)

2. North Florida Christian (Tallahassee) 9-0 (3 first-place votes)

3. First Baptist Academy (Naples) 4-2

4. John Carroll Catholic (Fort Pierce) 6-1

5. St. John Paul II (Tallahassee) 6-1

ARV: Lakeland Christian, Evangelical Christian (Fort Myers), Moore Haven, Munroe (Quincy), Victory Christian (Lakeland), Community School of Naples

Class 1R

1. Hawthorne 7-0 (6 first-place votes)

2. Pahokee 7-2 (3 first-place votes)

3. Union County (Lake Butler) 5-2

4. Chiefland 5-1

5. Chipley 8-0

ARV: Williston, Northview (Bratt), Port St. Joe, Wildwood, Madison County

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida high school football: Week 9 state rankings, takeaways