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High School Football Week Four: Kicking It Up A Notch

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BY J.T. WILCOX | Senior Writer

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – If you thought the high school football season was hot before, wait until you see what happens over the weekend.

Things will get taken up a few dozen notches because district play begins this week.

The team's performance against its district opponents dictate whether a team will make it to the playoffs. And no matter how many teams are in a district, whether it is three or nine, only two teams will make the playoffs from each district – the district champion and runner-up.

A team could finish the season with a 7-3 record; but if those three losses are district losses and there are two teams in their district with better district records then them, they will be reading about what happened in the playoffs just like you will.

So the games will get a lot more physical, coaches will be hoarser after because they're yelling at the refs a bit harder and everyone will be on edge.

I hope you all have been taking advantage of this weekly cheat sheet to be the smartest person in the room when the discussion shifted to South Florida high school football.

You can get even more by visiting www.SFHS.CBSLocal.com.

High-definition video highlights from games, weekly web shows, a full weekend score board, feature stories, player and recruiting analysis by South Florida media legend and walking encyclopedia Larry Blustein as well as comprehensive coverage of all high school sports in Miami-Dade and Broward.

Dade County Special
Central Rockets vs. Norland Vikings
Saturday at North Miami Stadium (FIU North Campus), 7pm

This is a battle of stingy defenses.

Central has rebounded quite well since its week one, nationally televised loss at Maryland DeMatha. The Rockets have defeated its past two opponents by a combined score of 76-0 and are looking like the team that garnered the preseason No. 2 consensus national ranking.

Norland suffered a tough loss during week three. The Vikings held a 6-0 lead for much of the game against South Dade, but the Buccaneers manufactured a touchdown in the final minutes and defeated Norland 7-6.

Things don't get any easier for the Vikings this week.

Central has made a change at quarterback, electing to start sophomore Tijuane Morten, and it has seemingly galvanized the offense.

Defensively, Central is still one of the top teams in the country. Linebacker Donovan Thompson is the second coming of Sean Spence, who Central's head coach Roland Smith coached in high school. Also, defensive lineman Keir Thomas (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) is a Florida State commit and one of the most dynamic football players in South Florida.

With the University of Miami Hurricanes playing early in the day, this is the perfect game to take in on a Saturday night.

Broward County Special
Coconut Creek vs. Plantation American Heritage
Friday at American Heritage, 7:30pm

If you like offense, this is the game for you.

Both of these teams are capable of lighting up the score board – each of them eclipsed the 40-point mark this past week.

Many people are familiar with the Patriots because of the stories done on Adam Reed, Heritage's 4-foot, 95-pound senior running back. While Reed's story is an amazingly courageous and inspiring one, the team as a whole is having a great season and is ranked nationally.

American Heritage head coach Mike Rumph, a former Miami Hurricane and NFL defensive back, has built this program to become a perennial contender – as they're currently back-to-back defending Class 5A state champions.

Two players to watch – because it's hard not to see them – are offensive tackle TJ Slaton (6-foot-6, 330 pounds) and defensive tackle DeCarlo Hamilton (6-foot-4, 315 pounds), as they anchor their respective lines.

Coconut Creek has an explosive offense led by quarterback Jhakari Harrison and receivers Binjimen Victor, Trayvon Mullen and Malek Young. Harris threw seven touchdown passes Boyd Anderson this past weekend and is capable of putting those kinds of numbers any week.

Did You Know
This past week Miami Jackson defeated Booker T. Washington 38-35 as Booker T.'s kicker missed what would've been the game-tying field goal during the final moments of the game.

You probably knew that part.

What you probably didn't know was that it was the first time that Jackson defeated the Tornadoes in a football game since Booker T. Washington became a high school again in 1999.

Credit to Generals head coach Earl Little and his team on the victory – their first of the young season.

Little is no stranger to the South Florida football landscape. He graduated from North Miami High School, where he starred as a defensive back, and went on to the University of Miami before playing eight seasons in the National Football League.

As a coach, he's been an assistant at Dr. Krop, Cypress Bay, Miami Central, Cooper City before becoming the head coach at Jackson before the start of the 2014 season.

He's quickly become one of the best defensive minds and motivators in the South Florida high school coaching ranks and he has his Jackson team very much in the mix in Class 5A.

For more information and coverage of high school sports in South Florida, visit www.SFHighSchoolSports.com

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