FHSAA Class 8A – Round 2 Playoffs

In round 2 of the Class 8A Florida High School playoffs we will see some familiar names schools playing each other. South Dade will have a rematch of the District playoffs from two weeks ago against Southridge Sr. High. Coral Gables senior high resumes their rivalry against Columbus.

In other brackets you have one of the Favorites of 8A Flanagan playing against a very talented team in Deerfield Beach Sr. High. Atlantic High School in Delray upset Wellington High School last Friday and the winner of Atlantic and Boca Raton will play the winner of Deerfield Beach and Flanagan.

Up in the North End of the bracket we will see Mandarin Sr. High trying to break through for Duval County and win a state title for the first time in over a decade. They will play Lake Brantley. Apopka will match up against West Orange to see what team in Northern Orlando can ride the train all the way to the Citrus Bowl. The rest of the bracket is made up of teams like Dr. Phillips, Manatee, Osceola and Vero Beach.

ESS Surprise team: Elite had the opportunity to watch Vero Beach earlier this year against Ft Lauderdale High School. The Indians have a very talented team led by quarterback Carson Proctor. He may be the most underrated player left in the playoffs. He has some very good players to work with; MJ McGriff, Akeem Dixon and Ahmad McKenzie. Defensive end  Patrick Bethel is a game changer on that side of the ball.

Best backfield: There is no question that the best tandem of running backs resides in Homestead this year. The South Dade Bucs have two of the most talented backs in Ivan Smith and Juwon Hamilton. The two make the Bucs one of the most difficult teams to face. Along with a massive offensive line, watch out for the Bucs as they should be able to wear down Southridge Sr High this weekend.

Should not be forgotten: Columbus and Apopka-Two teams that played each other in the Class 8A finals are both very talented. Apopka lost a ton of talented players from last year but if there is one thing they have shown is the ability to win the big games. Columbus has had some key injuries but with Super Frosh Darren Davis Jr and Christopher Henderson they will also be very tough to beat. If they get by rival Coral Gables this week they should start to be able to get back some of their players who may be injured at this time.

Final Thoughts: Class 8A is wide open in 2015. Most years you have a favorite who is expected to win the title or play for it. Schools like Columbus and Apopka should be in the discussion. That being said there will be schools like Flanagan, South Dade, Coral Gables, Mandarin, West Orange, Lake Brantley, Osceola who would like to crash the party. After this weekend it will tell us a lot more about who the contenders are who were the pretenders.