Regional Semifinals are being played tonight across the state in girls’ flag football. Here is a quick preview with some predictions on each of the eight regional semifinal games in Class 2A:
REGION 1
No. 5 Port Orange Spruce Creek (13-2) at No. 1 Fleming Island (14-1)
NOTES: This is the second meeting of the two teams after facing each other in the district tournament last week that saw Fleming Island win the district championship over the visiting Hawks. For the Golden Eagles, Mykayla Maddox will be the biggest player maker to watch out for.
PREDICTION: Fleming Island over Spruce Creek
No. 3 Tallahassee Chiles (12-3) at No. 2 Pace (17-2)
NOTES: Chiles is looking to make the deepest playoff run they have ever had in school history while Pace seeks to continue to build upon the history, they have been making this season. This will be a battle-tested situation for both teams in this one.
PREDICITION: Pace over Chiles
REGION 2
No. 4 Orlando Dr. Phillips (16-1) at No. 1 Lithia Newsome (17-1)
NOTES: Dr. Phillips is coming into this game with a least one day’s rest while Newsome will have had none after having to play their regional quarterfinal game on Wednesday night after the weather forced a postponement on Tuesday night. However, Newsome is used to playing games like this with little turnaround time and this shouldn’t be too much of an issue for the team looking to defend their Class 2A state championship.
PREDICTION: Newsome over Dr. Phillips
No. 3 Tampa Hillsborough (11-3) at No. 2 Tampa Alonso (18-1)
NOTES: Hillsborough managed to squeak by with a win over Lennard on Tuesday night while Alonso also managed to squeak by its opponent in Armwood as well. The big question is will Hillsborough have enough left in the tank to possibly take out one of the best- and well-known flag football brands in the state to start establishing their own legacy? That is one the scoreboard will answer for us in this one.
PREDICTION: Alonso over Hillsborough
REGION 3
No. 5 Lake Worth Park Vista (15-1) at No. 1 Stuart Martin County (16-1)
NOTES: This game is going to be a tough one for both teams given the fact both went through battles on Tuesday night to get to the regional semifinals. The real question is just how much is either side willing to give up? This one is going to be close.
PREDICTION: Martin County over Hillsborough
No. 3 Westlake Seminole Ridge (13-3) at No. 2 Boca Raton Spanish River (16-2)
NOTES: This is a rematch from the regular season that saw Spanish River hand Seminole Ridge one of its three losses on the season. The fact that it is unusual to see Seminole Ridge in this position, but this is why they play the game on the field. This is going to be a close one and a tough one for either team here.
PREDICTION: Spanish River over Seminole Ridge
REGION 4
No. 5 Cooper City (14-4) at No. 1 Davie Western (15-0)
NOTES: Western has continued to dominate and threw up 45 points in the regional quarterfinal against Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas while Cooper City ran by Miami Ferguson to create this all-Broward County matchup in the regional semifinals. As such, this is also a rematch from the regular season where Western defeated Cooper City just over a month ago 26-6, so this will be a gauge to see if Cooper City has improved since that game.
PREDICTION: Western over Cooper City
No. 6 Homestead (11-2) vs. No. 2 Miami High (14-1)
NOTES: Neither team has faced each other this year, to this will be tested to see where Homestead is at given it is a newer program amongst the Miami-Dade County teams compared to Miami High who has been deep in to the playoffs before.
PREDICTION: Miami High over Homestead
