As this stage of the 2012 season, both teams have gone through changes. While the Cypress Bay Lightning is 3-1 and opened their district season with a 28-10 victory over Flanagan last week, this is a team that has made adjustments to their offensive scheme. Despite their successes and loss at home to St. Thomas Aquinas, some may say this team is still looking for a signature win. Miramar Patriots, on the other hand, has gone through their own trials and tribulations this year.
Like Cypress Bay, Miramar opened their district season with a 48-3 win over West Broward. However, after losing to Oakland Park Northeast two weeks ago, an independent website, Miramar Sports, that covers athletics for the school, stated the team was at a “crossroad.” With a 2-2 record, this team lost more games this year than their state finalist team did last year. Although it should be noted that one of Miramar’s defeats was a road loss to 2011 7A State Champion Bradenton Manatee.
With the improvement of Western, this game may not be merely for playoff seeding among District 12-8A but rather who will get the other post season spot. Miramar has won the last three meetings between the schools which include a 41-39 playoff victory in 2008 which was led by Heisman Hopeful Geno Smith, as well as, a 21-0 regular season win and 23-7 playoff victory last year.
Cypress Bay is led by their Big 3 of Jaranta Lewis at Quarterback who has already thrown for nearly 500 yards this season. Running Back Matt Dayes who has rushed for nearly 400 yards leads a running back core that averages nearly 7 yards per carry and Wide Receiver Alex Montgomery continues his dominance by averaging over 30 yards per catch. Center, Jason Rae anchors the offensive line.
Miramar Quarterback Nick Jeanty operates with a team that thrives under a balanced attack. While throwing at nearly a 70% completion rate, Jeanty averages approximately 140 yards in passing per game. Sean Avant, Geonte Smith and Khahlil Webster are the leading receivers among the group. Alex Lee has rushed for nearly 400 yards this season at nearly 12 yards per carry.
The winner of this game is virtually guaranteed one of the two playoff spots in the district. Cypress Bay enters the game with senior leadership at the skilled positions, but the game is at Miramar with a defense led by Jermaine Grace. An area which cannot be overlooked in this game is penalties. Miramar had more than double the penalties as their opponents in their first four games and managed to still win half of their contests. Since Cypress Bay was penalized similarly to Miramar, the Patriots may not have the same disadvantage they have incurred over the past month.
You can follow Adam Kosnitzky at @akosnitzky
