In 11-8A, the two favorites meet again. South Plantation Paladins (4-0; 1-0) travels to Coral Springs High this week to play the Taravella Trojans (3-1; 1-0). Similar to last year, where both teams made the playoffs, each has been productive on offense in certain instances. The winner of this game will be in easy position to join the postseason again.
Aside from a shutout loss to Blanche Ely, the Trojans have been dominant by scoring over 40 points per game in their wins. The comeback overtime 42-35 win in their district opener against Deerfield Beach showed the tenacity that the Trojans had last year in winning the district. Quarterback Lorenzo Jerome leads the more run-oriented offense with over 100 yards passing per game, where he completes nearly 50% of his passes. Jawanza Evans-Morris leads the running game with over 7 yards per carry. However, Evans-Morris has gained large chunks of yardage when thrown the football. Davory Mckoy leads the receiving corps by catching nearly 30% of all balls thrown by the quarterback.
South Plantation has been dominant and not tested to the extent of Taravella. All of their games have led to lopsided wins. Although they beat a strong Hallandale team 21-13, the Paladins led 21-7 until the final play and had used many reserves for that series. Running Back Alex Collins has not missed a step from last year. With nearly 200 yards rushing per game on 9.5 yards per carry, he is the focal point of the offense. In addition to Collins, Quarterback John Franklin averages over 11 yards per carry and is dangerous when he leaves the pocket in a running situation.
South Plantation learned the consequences last year of what will happen if your team does not get off to a good start. In last year’s game, Taravella opened up an early 24-0 over South Plantation and was able to escape with a 33-26 victory. Taravella is a team which thrives on maximizing its talent. South Plantation is successful by moving the ball and when not scoring, providing a long field for their opponent. For Taravella to win they must figure out a way to contain Collins without ignoring Franklin.
You can follow Adam Kosnitzky at @akosnitzky
