After a two week hiatus, high school football is back in south Florida. Here are some particular matchups that I’m looking forward to watching play out on Friday night.
Nesta Silvera vs. Sebastian Sainterling
American Heritage vs. Chaminade-Madonna on ESPNU at 7 p.m.
Miami defensive tackle commit Nesta Silvera has been tearing it up this season, showing why he’s as highly rated as he is. Silvera tends to love the spotlight and the nationally-televised game should give him some extra juice tonight against USF center commit Sebastian Sainterling. At 6-2, 350+, Sainterling is one of the bigger interior linemen that Silvera will face this season.
Xavier Williams vs. Patrick Surtain, Jr. and Tyson Campbell
In the same game, there will be an explosive matchup on the perimeter between Bama WR commit Xavier Williams and one of Patrick Surtain, Jr. and Tyson Campbell. I’d imagine that both five-star corners will get their crack at Williams at some point during the game. Williams tends to out muscle most opposing defensive backs, but it will be interesting to see what he produces against the biggest, most elite cornerback tandem in the country.
Don Chaney, Jr. vs. Columbus defense
Columbus vs. Belen at Tropical Park - 7 p.m.
This is a matchup I’ve had circled for a while. 2020 RB Don Chaney, Jr. will be the best player to ever come out of Belen and he is looking to lead the Wolverines to their first win against Columbus ever. It will be an extremely tall order against a stout Columbus defense, which is led by 2019 DL Jeramy Passmore up front. This will be one of the better groups that Chaney faces this season so I’m interested to see how he fares. The sophomore running back is currently leading Dade County in rushing with 354 yards and 5 touchdowns on 42 carries. We will see if he can keep it going on Friday night.
Central run game vs. IMG defense
Miami Central at IMG - 7 p.m.
To put things in perspective, Central currently has 3 of the top 10 rushers in Dade County between James Cook, Amari Daniels, and Lexington Joseph. The Rockets have already proven themselves against of the toughest schedules in the country with wins versus Chaminade-Madonna, Booker T. Washington, and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. The road does not get any easier though beginning tonight against IMG Academy on the road. Central has a legitimate chance to win this game, but it will need to be their ground attack that carries them.
Daniel Richardson vs. Tutu Atwell
Booker T. Washington vs. Miami Northwestern - 7 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium
Although this does not classify as a head-to-head battle necessarily, it’s still an interesting QB battle between two of the most decorated signal-callers in Dade County history. Atwell does not get enough praise as a passer in my opinion; mix that with his feet and he’s pound-for-pound the most unstoppable player in south Florida high school football right now — the same sort of impact that Quinton Flowers had at Jackson. On the other side, Richardson needs to play steady and under control for the Tornadoes to really be able to push Northwestern. His 5-interception outing against American Heritage earlier this season dampened their chances in that game, but then he had a much better performance against Central in a tightly-contested matchup.
Nesta Silvera vs. Sebastian Sainterling
American Heritage vs. Chaminade-Madonna on ESPNU at 7 p.m.
Miami defensive tackle commit Nesta Silvera has been tearing it up this season, showing why he’s as highly rated as he is. Silvera tends to love the spotlight and the nationally-televised game should give him some extra juice tonight against USF center commit Sebastian Sainterling. At 6-2, 350+, Sainterling is one of the bigger interior linemen that Silvera will face this season.
Xavier Williams vs. Patrick Surtain, Jr. and Tyson Campbell
In the same game, there will be an explosive matchup on the perimeter between Bama WR commit Xavier Williams and one of Patrick Surtain, Jr. and Tyson Campbell. I’d imagine that both five-star corners will get their crack at Williams at some point during the game. Williams tends to out muscle most opposing defensive backs, but it will be interesting to see what he produces against the biggest, most elite cornerback tandem in the country.
Don Chaney, Jr. vs. Columbus defense
Columbus vs. Belen at Tropical Park - 7 p.m.
This is a matchup I’ve had circled for a while. 2020 RB Don Chaney, Jr. will be the best player to ever come out of Belen and he is looking to lead the Wolverines to their first win against Columbus ever. It will be an extremely tall order against a stout Columbus defense, which is led by 2019 DL Jeramy Passmore up front. This will be one of the better groups that Chaney faces this season so I’m interested to see how he fares. The sophomore running back is currently leading Dade County in rushing with 354 yards and 5 touchdowns on 42 carries. We will see if he can keep it going on Friday night.
Central run game vs. IMG defense
Miami Central at IMG - 7 p.m.
To put things in perspective, Central currently has 3 of the top 10 rushers in Dade County between James Cook, Amari Daniels, and Lexington Joseph. The Rockets have already proven themselves against of the toughest schedules in the country with wins versus Chaminade-Madonna, Booker T. Washington, and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. The road does not get any easier though beginning tonight against IMG Academy on the road. Central has a legitimate chance to win this game, but it will need to be their ground attack that carries them.
Daniel Richardson vs. Tutu Atwell
Booker T. Washington vs. Miami Northwestern - 7 p.m. at Traz Powell Stadium
Although this does not classify as a head-to-head battle necessarily, it’s still an interesting QB battle between two of the most decorated signal-callers in Dade County history. Atwell does not get enough praise as a passer in my opinion; mix that with his feet and he’s pound-for-pound the most unstoppable player in south Florida high school football right now — the same sort of impact that Quinton Flowers had at Jackson. On the other side, Richardson needs to play steady and under control for the Tornadoes to really be able to push Northwestern. His 5-interception outing against American Heritage earlier this season dampened their chances in that game, but then he had a much better performance against Central in a tightly-contested matchup.
