PLAYOFFS: Preview capsules of Thursday night’s games

Here is a preview of tonight’s playoff games as several teams get things started on the ‘Drive To December.’

Rankings are according to Joe Pinkos rankings for each classification.

* Requires subscription to the NFHS Network.

CLASS 8A-REGION 3

Delray Beach Atlantic (7-3) at Wellington (6-3), 7:00 p.m.
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Atlantic — 4; Wellington – 2
Skinny: This will be the second time the teams will meet this season … Atlantic won the first meeting 42-21 on Aug 26 … Atlantic at times has struggled to close out some important games including a 14-13 loss to Glades Central and 23-20 loss to Park Vista which settled the District 8A-10 championship … Wellington clinched the District 8A-9 championship with a 12-10 decision over Palm Beach Gardens late in the season after some mishaps by Palm Beach Gardens sealed the deal … Wellington would have played three playoff teams on the schedule if Hurrican Matthew had not forced a cancellation in Week 7 against Dwyer … Wellington averages 25.5 points per game while Atlantic averages 28. 4 points per game. On the flip side, Wellington has been giving up slightly more points with 26.44 points per game while Atlantic tends to give up fewer with 15.6 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Atlantic by 6
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Atlantic 24, Wellington 21

Piper (9-1) at Flanagan (8-2), 7:00 p.m.
Watch Live: Watch this game on the NFHS Network*
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Piper – 2; Flanagan – 4
Skinny: Piper has completed two winning seasons back to back, going 18-2 over the last two regular seasons … This is a playoff rematch of last season which Flanagan won 39-0 … this is Flanagan’s fourth straight trip to the playoffs and is the defending Class 8A state champion … Flanagan’s two losses have come to top-ranked teams in Class 7A (St. Thomas Aquinas) and Class 3A (Oxbridge Academy) … Flanagan scores an average of 25.4 points per game while Piper averages 28.6 points per game. Flanagan gives up an average of 11.38 points per game while Piper gives up just slightly more at 14.2 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Flanagan by 21
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Flanagan 35, Piper 7

CLASS 8A-REGION 4

Southwest Miami (7-2) vs. No. 5 Miami Southridge (7-2), 7:00 p.m. at Southridge Stadium
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Southwest Miami – 3; Miami Southridge – 4
Skinny: Both teams look evenly matched on paper … Southwest Miami has shut out ever opponent going back to Sept. 30 against South Dade .. Southwest Miami has scored 119 more points so far this season than Southridge … Both teams lost one game against a playoff team this season due to Hurricane Matthew in Week 7 … Miami Southridge averages 24.66 points per game while Southwest Miami averages 37.88 points per game. However, the visiting Eagles tend to give up 9.5 points per game while the host Spartans on give up 5.88 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Southridge by 15
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Southridge 30, Southwest Miami 10

CLASS 7A-REGION 4

Cooper City (4-5) at Mater Academy (9-1), 7:00 p.m. at Milander Park
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Cooper City – 2; Mater Academy – 1
Skinny: Cooper City surprisingly shocked South Broward to claim the runner-up spot out of District 7A-15 … Mater Academy plays in the nine-team District 7A-16, resulting in not much room to schedule competitive competition … Mater Academy is coached by former St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Rocco Casullo … Mater Academy averages 39.7 points per game while giving up just 6.9 points per game. Cooper City score an average of only 24 points per game while giving up more points per game at an average of 33.33 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Mater Academy by 14
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Mater Academy 40, Cooper City 17

CLASS 5A – REGION 1

Bay (7-2) at No. 8 Rickards (8-1), 7:30 p.m. at Gene Cox Stadium
Watch Live: Watch this game on the NFHS Network*
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Bay — 3; Rickards — 4
Skinny: Bay is under first-year head coach Mike Watkins who had previously coached at Fort Pierce John Carroll … Bay’s Week 1 game at Port Arthur Memorial, Texas was canceled due to weather … Rickards has won eight games in a row since taking a Week 1 loss to top-ranked Class 1A Madison County … Rickards scores an average of 38 points per game while Bay scores an average of 27 points per game. Rickards only gives up an average of 19.22 points per game while Bay gives up an average of 22 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Rickards by 14
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Rickards 28, Bay 17

CLASS 4A-REGION 1

Raines (6-2) at Walton (3-7), 8:00 p.m. CST
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Raines – 3; Walton – 6
Skinny: Walton which despite having a down season, clinched their second straight district championship this season in District 4A-1 … Raines saw two games this season get canceled due to hurricanes … Raines came within one point of knocking off Bolles for the District 4A-2 championship … Walton has scored an average of 18.6 points per game this season while Raines scores nearly double the amount of points per game at an average of 33.88 points. On the other hand, Walton gives up 28.7 points per game on average while Raines gives up fewer points at 15.63 points per game on average.
Pinkos Prediction: Raines by 21
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Raines 38, Walton 20

CLASS 4A – REGION 4

Glades Central (6-4) vs. No. 2 Booker T. Washington (7-3), 7:00 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium
Watch Live: Watch this game on the NFHS Network*
Playoff Teams On Schedule This Season: Glades Central – 4; Booker T. Washington – 5
Skinny: This is a playoff rematch from last season. Booker T. Washington won that meeting in the Class 4A regional final, 35-21 … Booker T. Washington upset the top-ranked team in Class 7A St. Thomas Aquinas in Week 1 this season … Booker T. Washington is the defending Class 4A state champion and is looking to win a Florida-record five consecutive state championships in the playoffs … The host Tornadoes average 24 points per game while Glades Central averages roughly near the same at 25.7 points per game. The Tornadoes give up on average 17.9 points per game while Glades Central gives up just 18.7 points per game.
Pinkos Prediction: Booker T. Washington by 32
FloridaHSFootball.com Prediction: Booker T. Washington 24, Glades Central 13