Palmetto edges Coconut Creek, looks to postseason

Miami Palmetto coach Michael Manasco corralled his players into a huddle after their final regular-season game Thursday night to tell them he needs them “locked-in for the next five weeks,” or they could turn in their gear.

“We have a long road ahead,” Manasco said, alluding to the upcoming playoffs, where the Panthers look to make a run after a disappointing (relative to expectations) regular-season campaign.

“Every time you win, it creates more responsibility.”

Palmetto defeated Coconut Creek 28-21 Thursday night at Miami Southridge High School. The Panthers came back from a 14-0 deficit to earn a much-needed win and garner more responsibility in the postseason.

The Cougars (6-4) likely will still make the playoffs, but are now in danger of facing St. Thomas Aquinas (9-0) as the eighth seed. Palmetto (5-5), which looked primed for a four seed heading into Thursday night, hopes this win will pad its playoff résumé in Region 4-4M.

The victory comes after Palmetto started 1-4, won three in a row, and then lost handily to Miami Norland two weeks ago. It’s been an up-and-down year, Manasco acknowledged, marred by injuries. He pointed to the performance of Jacory Barney, whom Manasco referred to as a wide receiver and has listed as an athlete, at quarterback Thursday as evidence of Palmetto’s resulting adaptations.

Barney, a junior, threw three touchdown passes, two interceptions and had an explosive 38-yard run in the second quarter.

● Western 49, Plantation 22: After a frustrating few months, the Wildcats — who began the year with state-championship aspirations, only to find their once-prolific offense suddenly missing — finally broke out to rout Plantation in Davie.

Next up are the Region 4-Class 4M playoffs, and Western (6-3) has hit its stride at the right time.

Last year, the Wildcats averaged 35.3 points per game. The year before, they averaged 36.8 and they averaged a whopping 41.4 points per game the year before that.

This year, the Wildcats finished the regular season averaging just 28.9 points per game, and they were stuck down at 21.1 before exploding for 112 points in the past two weeks.

Until this week, it never materialized. Western topped 33 points only three times in the entire regular season, and the previous two instances came against Taravella and Coral Glades, which finished their seasons with just four combined wins. The Colonels (7-3) are miles and miles better — they’re headed to the postseason after winning District 12-Class 3M — and the Wildcats triggered a running clock in the third quarter by building a 49-14 lead.

Western quarterback Collin Hurst went 15 of 16 for 231 yards and two touchdowns to Western wide receiver British Mitchell Jr. and Wildcats running back Nelson Walker.

Part of the change meant leaning more heavily on the rushing attack, and the Wildcats’ running backs delivered there, too. Senior Matthew Wilson ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries — he ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run in the first quarter — and sophomore Chance Washington added six carries for 21 yards and two more touchdowns as a shortyardage back.

● Chaminade 45, Treasure Coast 6: A The two teams kept trying to find a time to reschedule their showdown, and finally got to play in the final week of the regular season. Without it, the Lions would’ve had only eight games on their regular-season schedule and they badly wanted a test before the postseason begins next week. The Titans are playoff-bound and it still didn’t matter. After outscoring their past four opponents 244-0, the Lions (9-0) went ahead 31-0 at Vince Zappone Field before Treasure Coast, which traveled all the way down from Port St. Lucie, scored a garbage-time touchdown in the fourth quarter. It ended a run of 275 straight points for Chaminade-Madonna, which now sits at No. 7 in MaxPreps’ national rankings. Despite the lopsided final score, the Titans (3-6) still provided a unique test. Treasure Coast runs an old-school, singlewing offense and used up nearly all the play clock on almost every play in the first half. The Lions’ Cedrick Bailey threw six touchdown passes to four different receivers and finished 20 of 28 for 244 yards. Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader, a pair of five-star juniors, were his two favorite targets, going off for five catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and nine catches for 110 yards with a touchdown, respectively. Star athlete Edwin Joseph also caught two touchdowns — he finished with three catches for 24 yards and three carries for 11 yards — and wide receiver Duane Thomas caught another, adding four catches for 31 yards and three carries for 22. — DAVID WILSON

● FIFC championship — Archbishop A Carroll 20, Ransom Everglades 14: It’s been a while since hoisting trophies was a regular occurrence for the Archbishop Carroll football team. Two weeks after winning the school’s first district championship since 2008, the Bulldogs were in the midst of another frantic celebration that ended with more hardware. Behind its “old-school” single-wing offense, which racked up 291 rushing yards on 33 carries, Carroll rallied in the second half on Friday afternoon to beat Ransom Everglades 20-14 and secure the Florida Independent Football Conference championship at Tropical Park. The Bulldogs (9-1) finished the regular season with their best record in school history.

— ANDRE FERNANDEZ

MORE SCORES

Friday: No. 11 Miramar 55, South Broward 7; Miami Edison 35, No. 16 Doral Academy 14; No. 19 Miami Southridge 49, Homestead South Dade 21; Boca Raton St. Andrew’s 39, Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest 28; Coconut Creek Monarch 18, Deerfield Beach 7; Coral Springs 21, Taravella 8; Fort Lauderdale 22, Fort Lauderdale Stranahan 15 (OT); Hialeah Goleman 51, HialeahMiami Lakes 0; Hollywood McArthur 40, Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson 14; Lakeland Lake Gibson 55, Miami Beach 0; Miami Archbishop Carroll 20, Miami Ransom Everglades 14; Miami Belen 16, Miami La Salle 0; Miami Coral Reef 48, Hialeah Gardens 0; Miami Jackson 46, Miami High 0; Miami Monsignor Pace 34, Hollywood Avant Garde Academy 28; North Miami Beach 48, Hialeah American 6; Parkland Stoneman Douglas 42, Coral Glades 7; Pembroke Pines Charter 33, Pompano Beach 0; Pembroke Pines Flanagan 8, Hallandale 0; Archbishop McCarthy 19, Somerset Prep 14; West Broward 36, Everglades 0; Weston Cypress Bay 48, South Plantation 0. Thursday: No. 13 Miami Norland 42, Miami Killian 14; Palm Beach Central 34, No. 17 Carol City 28; West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman 54, No. 18 Pinecrest Gulliver Prep 14; No. 20 Miami Palmetto 28, No. 15 Coconut Creek 21; Coconut Creek North Broward Prep 44, Delray American Heritage 10; Coral Gables 32, Southwest Miami 6; Hollywood Hills 48, Oakland Park Northeast 6; Miami Coral Park 19, Miami Sunset 14; Miami Dr. Krop 23, Hialeah 18; Miami TRU Prep 48, Miami Ferguson 7; Miami Varela 14, North Miami Beach Mourning 6; Nova 55, Coral Springs Charter 13; Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy 35, Hialeah Gardens Mater Academy 26; Somerset Silver Palms 28, Somerset Homestead 0; Tavernier Coral Shores 35, Miami Palmer Trinity 27.