HIGH SCHOOLS
most talent- rich areas.
“It’s awesome. It’s good football. You always want the best entertainment you can have and these matchups create the atmosphere for great games,” said Rumph, a former Miami Hurricane and first- round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers whose team will also face Miami Columbus and Jackson this year.
“The reason I have so many Dade teams on my schedule is because of the early playoff exits against Jackson. Iwant to go against Dade County teams and figure them out,” he said.
Adds St. Thomas coach Rocco Casullo: “These are the best two counties in America. There should be more crossover games every year. Between Broward and Miami- Dade, we probably have more Division I athletes than any other area in the nation. It’s tremendous for our teams and our players to play each other. It’s overdue.”
Last year, Miami- Dade and Broward had a combined sixteamsplayfor state titles in Florida’s eight classifications. Four of them — St. Thomas, Miami Central, Miami Booker T. Washington andUniversity School— won.
Yet there’s no doubt MiamiDade has an edge in the postseason.
Last year’s playoff brackets featured eight crosscounty matchups. MiamiDade teams won five of those games.
Theonly teams able to escape were Cypress Bay, which earned a win against Miami Columbus to advance to the Class 8A title game, and St. Thomas and Plantation, both of whom opened play in the 7A regional tournament with wins against Miami- Dade opponents.
That’s all fueled the desire for the growing number of these regular- season matchups, and coaches across both counties couldn’t be more excited.
“[ These games] are something that’s healthy. That’s something that’s been needed,” said Miami Central coach Roland Smith, whose Rockets are No. 1 in three of the five major national high school football rankings.
“The only time you get the chance to play Broward teams is usually in the playoffs, so I think it’s good for the Broward and Dade teams to get together and start playing ... regular season games like this. It also gets the Broward teams prepared for the playoffs.”
One of the biggest adjustments Broward teams will have to make is adapting to the speed and power some Miami teams will bring into their games.
Central, for example, has a pair of solid running backs in Miami commit Joseph Yearby and Florida commit Dalvin Cook. Heritage, meanwhile, will answer with Georgia- bound Sony Michel, who rushed for 1,262 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.
Michel, who played youth league football in the Miami area, says he and his teammates are determined to avoid any cross- county distractions.
They just want to start getting ready for the postseason.
“We’re just going to be thinking about winning,” he said.
“Maybe in the beginning you’re thinking ‘ Dade vs. Broward,’ but once the game starts, you’re not thinking about that. It’s your opponent. We’re playing against the No. 1, No. 2 team in the nation. We’ll know where we are after that game.”