Here is our preview of the Class 4M regional quarterfinal playoff games to be played this week in the Sunshine State. All games are scheduled for Friday with a 7:30 p.m. local time kickoff unless noted.
THE FIVE BEST
No. 5 Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7-3) at No. 4 Winter Park (9-0)
WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Showalter Field, Winter Park
REGION: Class 4M-Region 1
SCORING AVERAGES: Mandarin: 36.5-18.2; Winter Park: 33.4-10.6
WHAT TO KNOW: Winter Park is riding a nine-game winning streak into the postseason after winning the District 4M-3 championship … Mandarin is the District 4M-1 champion, clinching back-to-back district championships under head coach Toby Bullock … The three losses for the visiting Mustangs included a 23-22 loss to Creekside (St. Johns); a 34-16 loss to No. 1 seed, Lake Mary in Class 4M-Region 1, 34-16; and to Bartram Trail (St. Johns) 24-14 to close out the regular season … Mandarin Quarterback Tramell Jones is 128-of-209 passing for 2,232 yards in 10 games with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions … Mustangs running back Tiant Wyche will be a big threat on the ground with having rushed for 1,156 yards on 116 carries this season to go along with 17 touchdowns … Keep an eye on Mandarin wide receiver standout Jaime Ffrench Jr. who has 37 receptions for 831 yards and 10 touchdowns this season … Defensively for Mandarin two key players to keep an eye on in the backfield will be free safety Drake Stubbs and cornerback Jon Mitchell who have combined for seven interceptions this season with Mitchell already having returned one for a touchdown … Winter Park is going to be relying on quarterback Aaron Williams who has thrown for just over 2,000 yards in the regular season with 21 touchdowns against four interceptions … Williams top receiver has been Evan Va Dyke who has 29 catches for 663 yards and seven touchdowns … The host Wildcats have a committee for running the ball, which could be problematic for the visiting Mustangs not knowing who might touch the ball if the Wildcats decide to attack Mandarin’s defense through the ground game instead … Ayden Pouncey has been the standout defensive player this season for the Wildcats with four interceptions, a fumble recover and a forced fumble.
JOSH’S PREDICTION: Mandarin over Winter Park
No. 5 Durant (Plant City) (8-2) at No. 4 Palm Harbor University (8-2)
WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hurricane Stadium, Palm Harbor
REGION: Class 4M-Region 2
SCORING AVERAGES: Durant: 29.7-20.3; Palm Harbor University: 27.8-12.3
WHAT TO KNOW: A true toss-up in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 pairing … Durant is coming off winning their second straight District 4M-8 championship …. Palm Harbor University won their first district championship in school history by winning District 4M-6 via winning the tiebreak through the FHSAA playoff power rankings … The visiting Cougars come into this game with a balanced offensive attack led by quarterback Michael Ryan who has 1,655 yards passing on 122-of-226 passing attempts through the 10 regular season games. Ryan has thrown 9 touchdowns against three interceptions … Jeremiah Gines has been Ryan’s top receiver with 773 yards receiving on 41 catches with six touchdowns … Expect rushing duties to be evenly split between Alex Daley (74 carries, 473 yards rushing, eight touchdowns) and Calub Connell (113 carries, 483 yards rushing, nine touchdowns) with Ryan also rushing some as he has 230 yards rushing and seven touchdowns on 83 carries … Linebacker Hale Sollmann is the leading tackler for the Cougars with 75 total tackles along with 13 tackles for loss, one sack and three quarterback hurries … the defensive backfield has been impressive for the Cougars as they have a collective 14 interceptions led by Jayden Cornelius, Xavier Peavy and Gines each having three interceptions each … For the host Hurricanes who are also hosting their first home playoff game in school history will be relying more on a heavy rushing attack as they have rushed for over 1,800 yards this season lead by Mykehi Boebert who has 169 carries for 852 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns … leading the passing game for the Hurricanes will be Will Seibert who has thrown for 466 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions … If anything defense has been where the success of the Hurricanes has come from this season with linebackers Gunner Fodor and Patrick Iaconis leading the way in tackles with 84 and 78 respectively … Defensive tackle Brady Messick leads the defense in sacks with five … Overall this game could go one of two ways with it being a defensive battle or it could end up in a high scoring affair.
JOSH’S PREDICTION: Palm Harbor University over Durant
No. 6 Dr. Phillips (Orlando) (6-4) at No. 3 Olympia (Orlando) (8-2)
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Olympia Field, Orlando
REGION: Class 4M-Region 2
SCORING AVERAGES: Dr. Phillips: 25.3-24.3; Olympia: 35.6-13.4
WHAT TO KNOW: A rematch from district play in District 4M-5 from earlier this season … Olympia won the first meeting this season by a 31-21 decision at Dr. Phillips … The host Titans won their first district championship since the 2016 season … For the visiting Panthers, this is the first playoff appearance since playing Miami Palmetto in the regional quarterfinals in the 2020 playoffs …. The Panthers have won three out of their last five games and come in having dropped their Week 11 game to Jones (Orlando) … Quarterback Stanley Anderson-Lofton will lead things for the Panthers offensively … Anderson-Lofton’s top targets will be wide receivers Mykel Calixte and Cameran Dixon … Defensively Jerard Smith will be the top player to keep an eye on who has registered over 100 tackles so far this season … For Olympia quarterback Juan Gainous will be the offensive weapon to keep an eye on as he has thrown for 1,812 yards on 104-of-163 pass completions this season along with 21 touchdowns against four interceptions … Gainous’ top passing targets include Joshua Evans (605 yards receiving, six touchdowns) and Xavier Tucker (555 yards receiving, six touchdowns) … And yes, the Titans offense is balanced in their attack as Romelo Ware has rushed for over 1,300 yards this season on 147 carries and has scored 17 touchdowns … Gainous also joins in on the rushing action as he has scored seven rushing touchdowns this season and also has 374 yards rushing … Outside linebacker Arden Payne-Tonge is the Titans leading tackler with 72 total tackles and also has six tackles for loss and two sacks … Also keep an eye on defensive back Jalon Thompson who has four interceptions this season and will be looking to keep Panthers’ offensive weapons from scoring.
JOSH’S PREDICTION: Olympia over Dr. Phillips
No. 5 Palm Beach Gardens (6-4) at No. 4 Santaluces (Lantana) (7-3), 6:30
WHEN: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Santaluces Stadium
REGION: Class 4M-Region 3
SCORING AVERAGES: Palm Beach Gardens: 24.6-17.5; Santaluces: 34.4-24.3
WHAT TO KNOW: Both Palm Beach Gardens and Santaluces are at-large teams after both failed to win their respective districts … The visiting Gators has won four out of their last five games with their only loss coming to Jupiter … The host Chiefs are 3-2 in their last five games and have suffered setback to Boca Raton and Atlantic (Delray Beach) during that stretch of games … Offensively for Palm Beach Gardens, they are very balanced with 1,295 yards passing compared to 1,364 yards rushing … Keyon Stephens will lead the passing attack for the Gators who has 1,169 yards passing along with 10 touchdowns against four interceptions … Stephens also leads the team in rushing with 571 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns … Defensively, Niko Platt and Khristian Scruggs lead the way in tackles with 71 and 66 respectively … Platt has 14 tackles for loss while Scruggs leads the team in tackles for loss with 15 … Expect cornerback Bryce Kelly to be a disrupter to the Chiefs’ passing game as he has four interceptions on the season so far along with two pass breakups … The Chiefs come into the game having relied on Sheyia Deveaux who has 1,439 yards passing and 18 touchdowns against three interceptions … With Deveaux limited in last week’s game against Atlantic, it will be interesting to see if backup quarterback Anatay Smith steps in some in this week’s playoff game …. Keshawn Baker, Ronald Olibrisse, and Tre Robinson Jr. lead the way with tackles for the Chiefs with 70, 68 and 66 respectively … Olibrisse along with Chris Siska and Ryan Wood all each have three interceptions each this season.
JOSH’S PREDICTION: Palm Beach Gardens over Santaluces
No. 4 South Dade (Homestead) at No. 5 West Broward (Pembroke Pines) (7-3), 7
WHEN: Friday, 7
WHERE: Flanagan High School Stadium, Pembroke Pines
REGION: Class 4M-Region 4
SCORING AVERAGES: South Dade: 35-14.9; West Broward: 30.4-12.8
WHAT TO KNOW: When looking at both the visiting Buccaneers and the host Bobcats, both teams look very similar on paper … South Dade comes into the matchup on a two-game winning streak and has won three out of their last five games … West Broward enters the game with a three-game winning streak and has only lost one game in the last eight games since dropping a 35-0 decision to Mainland (Daytona Beach) in Week 2 … South Dade will come into the game with Jean Calixte leading the way at quarterback with 1,206 yards passing with 15 touchdowns against no interceptions …. However, the Buccaneers do like to run the ball just a tad bit more and have a plethora of athletes that will be rotated in and out that will handle the ball-carrying duties … Demetrius Williams and Chaz Milton Jr. lead the way in rushing yards for South Dade with 457 yards and 453 yards respectively …. Williams has scored 10 rushing touchdowns so far this season …. Defensively, Sawyer Bartiet along with Williams leads the team in tackles with 53 and 51 respectively … Bartiet also leads the team in sacks and quarterback hurries with six and five respectively … Defensive back Tedarius Hughes leads the defense in interceptions with four with one of those having been returned for a touchdown this season … West Broward is going to be led offensively by Jonathan Morillo who is 104-of-193 passing for 1,850 yards and 19 touchdowns this season against five interceptions … Morillo’s favorite target has been receiver Joshua Moore who has 39 catches for 695 yards and eight touchdowns … Defensively Carlos Morales and Nicholas Vazquez lead the way defensively in tackles with 62 and 61 respectively … Luis Rojas leads the team in sacks with 13 … Kelvin Reyes leads the team in interceptions with three on the season.
JOSH’S PREDICTION: West Broward over South Dade
REST OF THE SLATE
REGION 1
No. 1 Lake Mary (9-1) at No. 8 Boone (Orlando) (5-5), 7: Expecting the Rams to roll over the Braves who have struggled at times this season to move on to the regional semifinals. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Lake Mary over Boone
No. 7 Hagerty (Oviedo) (6-4) at No. 2 Seminole (Sanford) (8-2): The visiting Huskies have played some tough games this season, but nothing like the Fighting Seminole has. Expecting Seminole to roll here. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Seminole over Hagerty
No. 6 Evans (Orlando) (5-5) at No. 3 Apopka (7-3): A rematch from Week 10 in district play that saw the Blue Darters win 33-13. Expecting a closer result this time by the Trojans. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Apopka
REGION 2
No. 8 Riverview (Riverview) (7-3) at No. 1 Sumner (Riverview) (9-1): Second meeting of these teams this year and it wasn’t pretty the first time around and expecting the Stingrays to roll the Sharks again. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Sumner over Riverview
No. 7 Plant City (6-4) at No. 2 Plant (Tampa) (8-2): Didn’t think the Raiders had a chance of making the playoffs just a few weeks ago, but hey they are but draw a rematch with the Panthers who rolled them 42-0 in Week 8. Expecting something similar again. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Plant over Plant City
REGION 3
No. 8 Stoneman Douglas (Parkland) (4-6) at No. 1 Monarch (Coconut Creek) (8-2), Thursday, 7: The Eagles slid into the playoffs through the backdoor but drew a rematch with a strong Knights team that has won four of their last five games. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Monarch over Stoneman Douglas
No. 7 Spanish River (Boca Raton) (7-3) at No. 2 Palm Beach Central (Wellington) (8-2), 6:30: Sharks land a playoff spot in their first season back in district action but draw a Broncos team that is just strong and has played a tougher schedule. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Palm Beach Central over Spanish River
No. 6 Boca Raton (6-4) at No. 3 Jupiter (9-1), 6:30: Battle of two district champions here, but the visiting Bobcats have been on a bumpy ride in the second half of the season while the Warriors have been rolling and peaking at the right time. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Jupiter over Boca Raton
REGION 4
No. 8 Goleman (Miami) (4-5) at No. 1 Columbus (Miami) (8-2), Thursday, 4:30: An early afternoon tilt on a Thursday should see the Explorers easily roll by the Gators who they already defeated once this season. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Columbus over Goleman
No. 7 Doral Academy (5-4) vs. No. 2 Miami Palmetto (8-1) at Tropical Park, Thursday, 7: The Firebirds have struggled at times this season while the host Panthers have been a team that some do not want to mess with. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Miami Palmetto over Doral Academy
No. 6 Cypress Bay (Weston) (8-2) at No. 3 Western (Davie) (7-3), Thursday, 7: The visiting Lighting is not too happy about the seed they drew and the fact they will rematch against a Wildcats team that blew them 56-0 in Week 8. Expecting the same again. JOSH’S PREDICTION: Western over Cypress Bay
