District titles could be clinched this weekend as teams head into Week 10

We’re down to the last two weeks of the high school football season, and several district titles could be clinched this week.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Adam Lichtenstein predicts the outcome of this week’s most interesting contests involving teams from Broward and Palm Beach. I am 70-18 this season.

I’m coming off my worst week of picks all season, going 6-4 in Week 9. I did predict the Miami ColumbusDillard score exactly correct, though.

All games are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Palm Beach Gardens

(6-2), 6:30 p.m.

This matchup between two of the top five teams in Palm Beach County will tell us a lot. It will decide the winner of District 10-8A, first of all. It will also show us how good these teams really are. The Gators have exceeded expectations, but they also lost to a Glades Central team that has really struggled. The Broncos have two losses, but they came at the hands of Atlantic and Palm Beach Lakes, the two top teams in the county. This should be a great game, and I’d effectively consider it a toss up.

(6-1)

at

Palm

Beach

Central

Atlantic (5-2) at Blanche Ely (7-1)

The showdown between the Eagles and Tigers will also be a de facto district title game, deciding the winner of District 13-7A. Ely is having its best season since winning seven games in 2011, and the Tigers have won five in a row after losing to Deerfield Beach. Unfortunately for Ely, Atlantic is closer to Deerfield in skill than most of the other teams they’ve played. The Eagles, coming off a huge road win against Lake City Columbia, will likely take the district crown.

Fort Lauderdale (5-2) at St. Thomas Aquinas (7-0)

St. Thomas always has its eyes on bringing back a state championship trophy, and this year is no different. But the first step toward doing that is winning a district title, which would be the program’s eighth straight and 34th overall. The Raiders’ defense has been particularly good lately, allowing only seven points to good Deerfield and Plantation offenses. That will likely continue this week, as St. Thomas rolls to another district championship.

Park Vista (6-3) at Santaluces (5-2), 6:30 p.m.

Another competitive game with massive playoff implications. Winning this game is crucial for both the Chiefs’ and Cobras’ playoff hopes. Neither team’s RPI will likely be high enough to earn an at-large bid this season, so they will need to win the district to get to the postseason. Park Vista has beaten Santaluces eight straight times, dating back to 2011. The Chiefs last beat the Cobras in 2009. This week would be a good time for Santaluces to exact some revenge for those losses.

Miami Central (7-2) at Chaminade-Madonna (6-2)

Chaminade-Madonna purposefully scheduled tough games in order to get ready for the playoffs, and the Lions certainly have their hands full. A road trip to Vero Beach, where the Indians have won 60 straight regular-season home games, ended with a 21-0 loss. Miami Central comes to visit Hollywood this week, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A. A win would be huge for Chaminade, but I don’t think they’ll be able to match Miami Central.

Forest Hill (5-3) at Jupiter (5-3), 6 p.m.

This is another crucial game for both of these teams’ playoff hopes. The Falcons and the Warriors are both on the outside looking in the playoff picture, but they’re still in the playoff hunt. Jupiter is the first team out of the current standings, while Forest Hill is the second team out. A quality win in this game could give one team a boost toward securing an at-large bid in the playoffs.

Deerfield Beach (5-3) at Monarch (6-2)

If Deerfield wins this game, the Bucks win District 12-8A outright. If Monarch upsets Deerfield, things get more complicated. Deerfield will have a win over Boca Raton, Boca Raton will have a win over Monarch and Monarch will have a win over Deerfield. That would leave three teams with 2-1 district records and would force a tiebreaker, where the teams’ final RPIs would determine a district champion. With Monarch quarterback Pete Zamora out, though, I think the district championship will be determined in the simplest fashion: a Deerfield victory.

Coconut Creek (4-4) at Jensen Beach (5-2)

Yet another game with district championship and playoff implications. The Cougars need to win this game, as their RPI is currently not good enough to secure an at-large bid. They can still win the district outright if they beat Jensen Beach this week. It will be a tough —but not impossible — task for Coconut Creek this week.

Palm Beach Central 28, Palm Beach Gardens 27.

Atlantic 30, Blanche Ely 17.

St. Thomas Aquinas 35, Fort Lauderdale 14.

Park Vista 23, Santaluces 20.

Miami Central 35, Chaminade-Madonna 27.

Jupiter 21, Forest Hill 17.

Deerfield Beach 42, Monarch 21.

Jensen Beach 24, Coconut Creek 20.

Cardinal Newman (5-2) at American Heritage-Delray (5-2)

Unlike many of the other games this week, these small-school matchups have no district implications because there are no districts in Classes 4A-1A. But both of these teams are jockeying for playoff spots. Heritage is currently second in its region, while Newman is fifth in its region. The Crusaders need this game more than the Stallions do. Heritage will be without injured freshman quarterback Dylan Rizk, who got the start against Hialeah Champagnat after senior Zach Bohannon suffered an injury in the previous game. Third-string quarterback Tavares Parker performed admirably and kept the Stallions in the game against Champagnat, which is a good team, so I think the Stallions can win this one regardless of who is at quarterback.

University School (6-2) at Fort Myers Bishop Verot (7-1)

The Sharks suffered a rough loss against Clearwater Central Catholic, and now they have another tough road trip to the Gulf Coast. Bishop Verot is a solid team, ranked fifth in Class 3A in this week’s Associated Press poll. But I think U-School recovers to pick up win No. 7.

American Heritage-Delray 24, Cardinal Newman 20.

University School 38, Bishop Verot 21.