Football predictions: Week 5
David Furones was perfect in Week 4, going 10-0 with his predictions for high school football matchups across Broward and Palm Beach counties. His colleague on the Sun Sentinel preps beat, Wells Dusenbury, fell one shy of that mark as Glades Central’s 14-13 win over Atlantic on a blocked extra point put him at 9-1. DF is now 29-10 overall, while Duse is 28-11 after four weeks. They agree on all 10 games selected this week. Here are their Week 5 predictions.
HALLANDALE AT ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Duse: STA 38, Hallandale 21 The Chargers have been strong so far under new coach Benedict Hyppolite. But STA, after its season-opening slip-up to Booker T. Washington, has been nearly unstoppable, and is stacked across the board. DF: STA 38, Hallandale 17 Hallandale is upset-minded and the game could be competitive early, but the Raiders will pull away. Fun fact: Hyppolite faced a Roger Harriott-coached team as WRs coach at Booker T. in 2013, when the Tornadoes beat U-School 45-17 in a regional final en route to a national title. Harriott evens the score.
ATLANTIC AT PARK VISTA
Duse: ATL 14, PV 13 Park Vista has been a big surprise, starting 4-0 after finishing 5-5 a year ago. While their schedule hasn’t been tough, the Cobras are allowing fewer than 8 points a game. Atlantic has big-play capability, which should be the difference in a tight district game. DF: ATL 24, PV 10 Give coach Brian Dodds and the Cobras due props on their 4-0 start. At the same time, they haven’t faced
competition like Atlantic yet. I see the Eagles riding their playmakers on both sides of the ball to victory as they come out motivated to avenge the tight loss at Glades Central.
DEERFIELD BEACH AT CORAL SPRINGS
Duse: DB 42, CS 17 After a 1-9 season a year ago, Coral Springs is 3-0. While the Colts have taken a big step forward, this week they face a loaded Deerfield Beach, eager for redemption after a 39-14 road loss to nationally ranked Grayson. DF: DB 38, CS 10 The Colts are one of the better stories so far this season, but they’ll be in for a rude awakening, kicking off the district against Deerfield. Bucks receivers Jerry Jeudy, Leroy Henley and Daewood David will be too fast for Coral Springs’ secondary.
PALM BEACH GARDENS AT DWYER
Duse: Dwyer 34, PBG 20 A cross-town rivalry loaded with blue-chip talent and plenty of trash talk. Last season, Dwyer humbled the Gators, 32-6. Gardens has a stronger team this year, but lost to Boca Raton and Vero Beach. Dwyer’s balanced attack will likely be too much for the Gators. DF: Dwyer 31, PBG 13 Dwyer seems tough to stop in the second half of games once coach Jack Daniels makes halftime adjustments. I see a low-scoring first half, with Gardens’ defense playing stout, but the Panthers, behind QB Todd Centeio and RB Jakairi Moses, pull away.
MIAMI NORLAND AT AMERICAN HERITAGE
Duse: Norland has been strong, but the nationally ranked Patriots should be too much. AH 31-20
DF: Norland had 6A No. 1 Miami Central on upset alert last week.
Patriots are battle-tested and stout defensively. AH 27-9 WESTERN AT FLANAGAN
Duse: Back-to-back 40+ point outbursts for Flanagan. Western is tough, but the Falcons look like they’re starting to jell. Flanagan 31-14
DF: Western aims to stand up to the big boys. Who better than district foe and defending 8A champ Flanagan? Not this time, though. Flanagan 31-13
CALVARY CHRISTIAN AT ARCHBISHOP MCCARTHY
Duse: McCarthy’s strong defense should give them the edge. AM 20-14
DF: I’ll give defending the Gold Coast Conference champs a slight edge behind soph RB Jacob Baptiste. AM 24-21
GLADES CENTRAL AT PALM BEACH CENTRAL
Duse: PBC has lost 13 of 15 but played Wellington tight last week. Still, Glades Central’s passing attack will likely rack up points. GC 35-17
DF: The Raiders beat Atlantic by a blocked extra point. It won’t be as dramatic vs. PBC. GC 38-13
ROYAL PALM BEACH AT SEMINOLE RIDGE
Duse: Royal Palm’s D has allowed just 11 points per game in three contests, while the Hawks have struggled on offense. RPB 16-10
DF: Royal Palm’s size up front will help stop the run in a low-scoring affair. RPB 13-7
PAHOKEE AT CLEWISTON
Duse: Pahokee has averaged at least 34 points over three games. Clewiston gave up 37 last week. Pahokee 28-20
DF: Clewiston is coming off a bye. The No. 2 team in 1A prevails. Pahokee 33-24