Pahokee to face stiffest playoff test Madison County has routed recent opponents.
Three Palm Beach County football teams remain in state title contention following second-round postseason wins last week.
Atlantic won its regional semifinal and will play for a regional title Friday, while Oxbridge Academy and Pahokee clinched berths in the state semififinals after winning regional championships.
Below is our preview of all games involving Palm Beach County teams. Kickoffff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Pahokee (8-2) at Madison County (12-0): The Blue Devils’ biggest test of the postseason, by far, comes against the unbeaten Cowboys. Madison County, the state’s top-ranked team in Class 1A, has rolled through the postseason, defeating its two regional opponents by a combined 112-13. Last Friday’s opponent, No. 4-ranked and then- unbeaten Cross City- Dixie County, was no match for the Cowboys, falling 62- 7. Pahokee should be able to score points, as its offffffffffffense has been rolling during the postseason. The Blue Devils, despite missing injured Jatarie Washington at running back, have racked up 375 and 230 yards, respectively, on the ground in big wins over Williston and Frostproof. But defense might be the key in this contest. If the Blue Devils can contain Madison County, they have a chance to get back to the state championship game for the second straight year.
Davie-Western ( 10-2) at Atlantic (10-1): The Eagles ran their winning streak to 10 games last week with a 14-7 victory over Park Vista in the regional semifinals. That contest marked the 11th game this season in which Atlantic held opponents to 14 points or less. This week, the Eagles’ defense goes against Western, which got a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally past Palm Beach Central in their regional semififinal matchup. The sixth-seeded Wildcats converted on three fourth-down situations in their game-winning drive to surprise the No. 2 Broncos. Western faces its third straight higher-seeded opponent — and will travel for the third consecutive week — Friday against No. 4 Atlantic, which is in the regional fifinals for the third straight year. The Eagles will be tough to score on, and their special teams have come up big lately. But Atlantic has to fifind more consistency on offffffffffffense to earn a berth in the state semififinals.
Tallahassee-Florida State University (7-5) at Oxbridge Academy (9-1): The ThunderWolves clinched their fifirst berth in the state semififinals witha 32-7 rout of Melbourne Central Catholic on Friday. As usual, defense was a key factor. Oxbridge did not allow an offensive touchdown for the second straight postseason game. This week, the ThunderWolves face a team that has scored 28 and 56 points, respectively, in its two regional games. Both wins were upsets, as the No. 3 Seminoles knocked offff No. 2 Fort White in the fifirst round, then took down No. 1 Perr y-Taylor Count y last week. Oxbridge, a second seed, gets the home game Friday and has plenty of momentum. The ThunderWolves have won nine straight games and have gotten their offffffffffffense back in gear after struggling against Palm Beach Lakes during the regular-season fifinale.