Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Five teams move up in this week’s rankings
After some big games in Week 6, we get a little bit of movement in the Broward County football rankings.
American Heritage slipped past Cardinal Gibbons in a matchup of two top-four teams, Stoneman Douglas fell to Boca Raton and falls out of the rankings, and Western beat a Cypress Bay team angling for a spot in the top 10 to hand the Lightning their first loss of the year.
Will Week 7 have as many interesting twists? We’ll see.
All games listed are at 7 p.m. Friday unless otherwise noted. Teams’ positions in last week’s rankings are in parentheses.
1. (1) St. Thomas Aquinas (5-1)
St. Thomas handed out a 69-0 drubbing against an overmatched Cooper City team last week. The Raiders had a chance to get a large portion of their roster some reps. It should be more of the same this week as St. Thomas faces a South Plantation squad that’s struggled to a 1-5 record so far this year. Next: at South Plantation (1-5)
2. (3) Chaminade-Madonna (4-1)
The high school football season is six weeks old, and Chaminade-Madonna has yet to play a home game. Despite that, the Lions are unfazed. They came away with an impressive 26-23 road victory over Sanford Seminole, snapping the reigning Class 8A champions’ 17-game winning streak. Sophomore running back Davion Gause has been simply unstoppable, rushing for 806 yards and eight touchdowns through five games. The defense hasn’t been shabby, either, racking up 25 sacks so far this season. Next: at Fort Lauderdale, Saturday, 11 a.m.
3. (4) American Heritage (2-2)
The Patriots picked up a huge win on Friday, going on the road and beating Cardinal Gibbons after two unexpected bye weeks. Not only that, but Heritage was missing starting quarterback Blake Murphy, who suffered an injury against St. Thomas. Brandon Inniss performed admirably at quarterback, and the Patriots did enough to win. It doesn’t get any easier this week, as Heritage travels to Jacksonville to face Trinity Christian.
Next: at Trinity Christian (5-1), 7:30 p.m.
4. (2) Cardinal Gibbons (4-1)
Cardinal Gibbons suffered its first loss of the year in a close contest with American Heritage. The Chiefs fell behind early but came back to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Gibbons faces Pine Crest next week in a game in which the Chiefs are big favorites. The schedule ramps up in difficulty following that, as Gibbons has St. Thomas and Venice the next two weeks. Next: vs. Pine Crest (2-2)
5. (5) Dillard (6-0)
Another week, another blowout win for the Panthers. Dillard has won its past three games by a combined score of 178-0. On the one hand, that’s an incredible performance. On the other hand, these type of blowouts can cause teams to get complacent or just not be ready for the high level of competition in the playoffs. However, you have to play the teams on the schedule, and Dillard has done just that. Next: Bye
6. (6) Western (3-2)
The Wildcats picked up a big district win against previously undefeated Cypress Bay. Western’s passing game is one of the best in the area. Quarterback Collin Hurst has completed 74 percent of his passes for 1,526 yards and 15 touchdowns through five games. Julian Lewis and Tyreik Thorpe have been Hurst’s biggest targets, racking up 506 and 488 receiving yards, respectively, with six touchdowns each.
Next: vs. Coconut Creek (4-1)
7. (7) Deerfield Beach (4-2)
Deerfield recovered from its loss to Rockledge with a crucial district victory over Monarch. The Bucks have this week off before concluding district play — they should be able to pick up big wins over Coral Springs and West Boca Raton in the next two games before playing what will likely be the de facto district title game against Boca Raton.
Next: Bye
8. (9) Coconut Creek (4-1)
The Cougars are rolling now, winning their third straight game. Coconut Creek has outscored opponents 151-39 so far this season. This week’s road game at Western will likely be the Cougars’ biggest test before the postseason.
Next: at Western (3-2)
9. (10) Miramar (2-2)
The Patriots have some difficult scheduling this week. They picked up a solid win over North Miami on Friday, moving to 2-2 on the season. Miramar has a quick turnaround as they were scheduled make up a postponed game against Stranahan on Tuesday night. After their clash with the Mighty Dragons, they host McArthur on Friday. Next: at Stranahan (3-1), Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Autonation Community Field; vs. McArthur (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
10. (NR) South Broward (5-1)
This is shaping up to be quite the season for the Bulldogs. If South Broward wins this week, they’ll match their best win total since 2010. The Bulldogs are rolling, outscoring their opponents 209-71 so far this year. If they keep this up, they have a chance to win out.
Next: at Everglades (0-4)
On the bubble: Calvary Christian (2-3), Coral Springs Charter (4-1), Cypress Bay (4-1), Flanagan (3-1) Fort Lauderdale (3-1), Plantation (2-1), Somerset Academy (3-1), Stoneman Douglas (2-2), Stranahan (3-1).