Columbus 54 v South Dade 28 FINAL 8A Regional finals

[ExplorerHomer2]

SD up 6-0  in  mid Q1 after Explorer INT. Block PAT. Both teams look solid offensively.

[badbird]

6 minutes ago, ExplorerHomer2 said:

SD up 6-0  in  mid Q1 after Explorer INT. Block PAT. Both teams look solid offensively.

why they playing so early

[Pipe Dreams]

6-0 end 1st, both teams look good. Penalties hurting Columbus

[OldSchoolLion]

maybe 200 people on the South Dade side...2 of the top teams in south FL playing in a regional final and that's it.

Folks from other parts of the country must watch these games and be blown away.  If this game was in Ohio the stands would be packed, and that's with cold weather.

 

[ExplorerHomer2]

3 minutes ago, badbird said:

why they playing so early

Home field for both teams is Tropical Park in Miami. The park also hosts a Christmas themed event called Enchanted Forrest that begins at 7pm this week and last. Also the reason they played at 4:00pm last week.

 

early in Q2,  SD 6 Columbus 7

lots of penalties on both sides. Uncharacteristic of the Explorers.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

Man these teams are big on the lines.

Columbus just took a 14-6 lead late in the second

[ExplorerHomer2]

 Columbus takes over inside red zone after recovered fumble/backwards pass. by SD. 

Columbus 20 SD 6

 

Columbus INT of SD double pass seals the half.

[Pipe Dreams]

Columbus looks good. Title contender for sure. Size, depth, skill, and despite the penalties they’ve put it all together.

Out of the north, Wekiva or Mandarin could really give them a good game. 

8A once again will not disappoint.

[ExplorerHomer2]

Offenses lighting it up lately. SD has a huge target in 5-star Ladsen. Dropped 2 ctaches first half, but oicked up a nice TD catch and 2-pt conversion. SD generally hurting themselves with mistakes. Columbus making them pay.

Kalani Norris is a stud though...

Columbus 38 SD 14

2 min left in Q3

[ExplorerHomer2]

SD just won't go away. SD 22 Columbus 38 Q3 - long quarter...

SD recovered onside kick, but called back for illegal formation. Next onside kick recovered by Columbus.

Still 1 min left in Q3

[ExplorerHomer2]

Just 4 minutes left in Q4. Columbus ball, up 18, trying to run out the clock.

Q4 SD 22 Columbus 40

[ExplorerHomer2]

Ballgame: Columbus seals it with a 1-yd run from D Ford. 2 minutes left.

Aside from too may early penalties, Columbus played well. Most importantly, no injuries.

2 min left in Q4

SD 22 Columbus 47

[ExplorerHomer2]

WOW! So instead of giving up, SD offense connects with a nice passing series to close the gap by 7, only then to have Columbus' Henry Parish take it to the house on the first play from the offensive scrimmage. Offenses lighting it up.

12 points in about 1 minute.

Now, SD 28 Columbus 54

[ExplorerHomer2]

INT in final minute seals the win.

South Dade 28 Columbus 54

[OldSchoolLion]

Don't quote me on this, but I believe this is the second highest combined point total ever in an FHSAA playoff game between two Miami-Dade schools.  Norland beat Jackson 59-40 back in 2011.  That is the only game I know of that surpasses the 82 put up by South Dade and Columbus today.  In 2000, Southridge and Coral Gables combined for 79, and in 1999, Central and Coral Gables combined for 77.

 

[1stTeamAll-305]

Hoping Columbus can beat DFB and go to states.

 

CPride.

[ExplorerHomer2]

7 hours ago, 1stTeamAll-305 said:

Hoping Columbus can beat DFB and go to states.

 

CPride.

Agreed. This is one of the more solid line ups on all sides of the ball in Merritt history. Should be a great game, DFB has home field advantage, but the Explorer faithful travel well. That said, I think the winner of this game takes the state title for 8A.