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1. Central Rockets (3-0) vs. Bradenton IMG Academy Ascenders (2-0)
Friday at Bradenton IMG Academy, 7 p.m.
Miami Central has pretty much become the darling of South Florida.
How?
The Rockets went out Las Vegas and defeated a national powerhouse team in Bishop Gorman on national television. But where they won over everyone’s heart was what happened after the game.
Central’s team, cheerleaders, coaches, and administrators were essentially stuck in “Sin City” for nine days.
The team knew the risk it was taking by traveling out of state the Wednesday before the hurricane was due to arrive in South Florida. The Rockets played on Friday and figured they’d have to spend an extra two, maybe three days out west after the storm.
Instead, the had to stay in Nevada for nearly 10 days.
The extended stay created financial hardship and left everyone there not only worrying about their families back home through the storm but also worrying whether they’d be able to get back home.
Thankfully the Rockets made it back – flying back home in small groups – thanks to the generosity of Bishop Gorman and the Miami Dolphins and are ready to play football again.
Call it cruel irony that as soon Central returns home, it has to go on the road again this week. The Rockets will travel – by bus – to Bradenton, Florida to take on the nation’s No. 1 team – IMG Academy.
IMG Academy is an independent school that specializes in sports. While it is not a part of the FHSAA and cannot compete for any state championships, IMG Academy has quickly proven itself to be one of the top football factories in the country.
Looking at the Ascenders’ roster, it’s easy to see why a lot of people think they headed for a 2017 mythical national championship.
2018 University of Miami verbal commit, 6-foot-5 quarterback Arthur Sikowski leads their balanced offense – which also relies on junior running back and 2019 Alabama commit Trey Sanders.
If Central is going to have a shot at winning this game, it is going to have to employ a carbon copy of the strategy it used against Bishop Gorman – run the ball and play great defense.
The Rockets have five high-caliber ball carriers. Lexington Joseph and Kijon Owens are the table setters; Willie Davis – when he’s completely healthy – is the workhorse; freshman Amari Daniels is a speedy spark plug, and James Cook is “the closer”.
Central has the luxury of keeping Cook fresh and using him in other spots – on offense and defense – before they start handing the ball off to him in the crucial moments of the game. Opposing teams have to deal with tackling the other four ball carriers then have to try to contain a fresh “Jimmy” Cook – which is a tall task.
The thing that I believe could give Central an edge in this game is the fact that the team was practicing and working out while they were stuck in Vegas. Because they used that time to team build and stay in a football rhythm, the Rockets could look a lot sharper than IMG Academy does.
Central will need a huge game from its defense as a whole – the secondary specifically must play better than it has in the previous three games if the Rockets want to come out with another big win.
I will give the Rockets the nod, in a close game. Cook and Rob Hicks come up big.
Bald Prediction = Central wins 20-18
