High school football predictions: Chaminade-Madonna; St. Thomas Aquinas move up in national polls and advance in playoffs

The weather usually starts to get colder this time of year, but football teams like nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas and Chaminade-Madonna heat up and this season is no exception.

Those two programs are bidding to extend their consecutive winning streaks at the state championships, and both rolled to easy wins in the first round of the playoffs.

No. 32 ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, winners of a state-record five state titles in a row, will host Blanche Ely in a 5A regional semifinal, while No. 15 Chaminade, winners of three consecutive state championships, hosts St. Andrew’s in a Class 1A contest.

Other Broward and Palm top seeds will also be in action with undefeated West Boca hosting Mitchell in a 6A game; American Heritage hosts Dillard in Class 4A; Cardinal Newman hosts Naples Community School; Palm Beach Central host Vero Beach in Class 7A, while top-seeded Atlantic takes on No. 4 Miramar at home.

After finishing the regular season at 138-19, I went 14-3 this past week to move to 152-22. Two of those losses were by a field goal.

6A

No. 4 New Port Richey Mitchell (11-0) at No. 1 West Boca Raton (11-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: West Boca, ranked No. 3 in the state in 6A, hammered George Steinbrenner last week 42-7 and as long as Javian Mallory is in the backfield, the Bulls have a chance. Their defense has been stellar all season. Mitchell also enters the game unbeaten and has outscored its opponents 420-186. West Boca 23, Mitchell 17

No. 4 Monarch (7-3) at No. 1 Miami Southridge (10-2) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: Miami Southridge has won two consecutive games and has outscored its opposition 348-113. The visiting Knights have been known for their air-raid offense, but have turned to a more potent ground game as the season has progressed. Monarch 20, Miami Southridge 17

No. 3 West Broward (8-3) at No. 2 Piper (10-1) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: The Bengals have been stingy all season defensively losing a 22-20 decision to Monarch for the district. They have been more potent offensively and the defense has done its thing. West Broward has junior WR Josh Moore (90.1 yards receiving per game) and sophomore Amos Bradford (111.5 yards rushing per game. Piper 20, West Broward 10

5A

No. 3 Blanche Ely (7-4) at No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (8-3) Friday, 7 p.m.: St. Thomas Aquinas cruised to a 58-0 win over North Miami and has a ton of playmakers on both sides of the ball, led by senior quarterback Andrew Indorf, who is on the verge of breaking four school records, including passing yards, TD passes, completions and passing attempts. The Tigers will counter with junior QB Omari McNeal (20 TDs) and senior running back Shawn Paschall (933 yard, 10 TDs). While scoring 412 points, Blanche Ely, who owns an upset win over Chaminade-Madonna earlier in the year, has also allowed 240, nearly 100 more points that the Raiders (142). St. Thomas Aquinas 28, Blanche Ely 20

No. 4 Miramar (7-4) at No. 1 Atlantic (10-1) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: Atlantic has outscored its opposition 387-133 after a 48-13 win last week against Mater Day Academy. Quarterback Lincoln Graf (33 TDs). Miramar has been up and down this season but appears to have caught its second win following a 32-10 win over Heritage. Atlantic 23, Miramar 21

1A

No. 4 St. Andrew’s (6-5) at No. 1 Chaminade-Madonna (9-2), Friday, 7 p.m.: After losing its first two games of the season to nationally ranked teams, the Lions have put it into high gear and have won nine in a row. Chaminade-Madonna has already scored 483 points and has scored more than 56 points in three straight games. The visiting Scots will have their work cut out for them, but they do feature Notre Dame commit Dylan Faison who is averaging 76.4 yards receiving per game. Chaminade-Madonna 50, St. Andrew’s 14

No. 3 Benjamin (5-5) at No 2. Naples First Baptist (8-2) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: After starting off the season 0-3, the Buccaneers have rallied behind junior running back Phoenix Donghia, and a stout defense which led to a 42-0 opening round win. This game is going to be a stiffer test as Naples First Baptist has hit the 40-points mark six times this season and won four straight. Naples First Baptist 27, Benjamin 24

No. 8 Community School of Naples (5-4) at No. 1 Cardinal Newman (8-1) Friday, 7 p.m.: After dropping its first game of the season, Region 3-1A top seed Cardinal Newman rolled to a 51-0 win over Fort Myers Evangelical Christian. Featuring in the offensive attack is senior running back and Louisville commit Jaylin Brown, who is averaging 103.9 yards per game rushing. The Seahawks have had back-to-back wins scoring 63 and 41 points per game. Cardinal Newman 34, Community School of Naples 16

High school football regional quarterfinal results, regional semifinal matchups

7A

No. 4 Vero Beach (7-3) at No. 1 Palm Beach Central (10-1) Friday, 7 p.m.: The Broncos have a plethora of wide receivers to go around and they have been doing just that against opposing defensive backs thanks to junior quarterback Chase Rouston (2,134 passing yards, 25 TDs; 361 rushing yards, 5 TDs). Vero Beach comes in with a storied tradition and a seven-game winning streak after a slow start. Vero Beach 24, Palm Beach Central 21

No. 3 Jupiter (10-1) at No. 2 Orlando Dr. Phillips: (10-1) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: The Warriors are coming off their first playoff victory since 2004 and even got a 59-yard field goal by Brogan Woeber to boot in a 27-0 win over Treasure Coast. Dr. Phillips poses a lot of problems, including senior running back Amari Major averaging 114 yard per game on the ground for the Panthers. Dr. Phillips 21, Jupiter 17

No. 7 Western (5-6) at No. 3 Boca Raton (10-1) Friday, 7 p.m.: Don’t sleep on the Wildcats because of their losing record (they had to forfeit two games because of an ineligible player). They are balanced offensively and defensively. The Bobcats senior Jordan Davis has accounted for 651 yards of all-purpose yards in eight games, while senior Brody Costolo has 108 tackles and 3 sacks for the season. Boca Raton has won four straight. Western 14, Boca Raton 7

4A

No. 5 Dillard (9-2) at No. 1 American Heritage (8-2) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: The Panthers come into the game on a 5-game winning streak scoring 30 or more in each of those games. The No. 30 nationally ranked team has benefitted from senior signal-caller and Texas commit Dia Bell. They are also led defensively by junior linebacker Junior Bennett, who has a team-leading 94 tackles. American Heritage 30, Dillard 20

No. 6 Archbishop McCarthy (7-4) at No. 2 Miami Norland (8-2) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: The Mavericks pulled one upset this postseason as they nudged past Plantation last week 7-0 for their third straight win following a 35-0 loss to American Heritage. Nationally-ranked Miami Norland senior quarterback Ennio Yappor leads the Vikings offensively with (2,646 passing yards and 18 TDs). The only losses for Miami Norland were forfeits for using an ineligible player. Miami Norland 27, Archbishop McCarthy 14

2A

No. 5 King’s Academy (8-3) at No. 1 Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (10-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m.: King’s Academy upended Calvary Christian Academy 28-26 to advance to the regional semifinals. Senior wideout Javian Jones has caught 60 passes for 1,179 and 11 scores for the Lions. The state’s number two-ranked and defending state champion Cougars have won 22 of their past 24 games. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 24, King’s Academy 14

No. 4 Cardinal Gibbons (7-4) at Miami Booker T. Washington (8-2) Friday, 7:30: The Chiefs are led offensively by junior Jayden Torres (2,790 passing yards, 23 TDs) and senior Tyler  Jackson (1,057 receiving yards, 12 TDs). Miami Booker T. Washington presents a balanced offense with 1,640 yards passing and 1,325 rushing. Miami Booker T. Washington 22, Cardinal Gibbons 17

Rural

No. 6 Pahokee (6) at No. 3 Lake Butler Union County (9-1) Friday, 7:30: Union County sophomore running back has run for 1,290 yards and accounted for 19 scores for the Fightin’ Tigers. Pahokee was won two straight games by shutout scoring 69 points in those games following a 23-16 overtime loss to Glades Day in the Muck Bowl. Lake Butler Union County 20, Pahokee 17

Note: Check with the schools to confirm as the game times are subject to change.