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(9) Chaminade-Madonna Lions (0-1) vs. (14) Miramar Patriots (0-0)
Friday at Miramar, 7 p.m.
Here’s another game that has multiple storylines to watch.
It’ll be interesting to see how Chaminade responds to being pushed around by Miami Central this past week.
The problem isn’t necessarily the Lions’ roster – they have plenty of talent all over. Where the problem may lie is depth and physicality. Chaminade can matchup with the “big school” teams, but they run into issues as the game wears on and the big school team trots out more quality athletes and maintain the same physical brand of football with little to no fall off.
That being said, I am still having a hard time giving Miramar the outright edge in this game.
Miramar had its bye week in week one, so we don’t really know what to expect from the Patriots beyond their 26-0 win over Palm Beach Lakes in the preseason kickoff classic. And, not for nothing, but Palm Beach Lakes lost to Pahokee 6-2 this past week.
Don’t get me wrong, I know Miramar has the talent to be a major player in the Class 8A race. Also, I think that A.J. Scott is the perfect coach for the program and I know he’ll re-instill those core “Dark Side Defense” values that made the Patriots so great circa 2009 through 2011.
But Chaminade is still an impressive football team.
Even though he had a very rough night against the Rockets – something to the tune of negative (-14) rushing yards – Lions running back Shaun Shivers is “big time”. He’s still able to take any given handoff the distance.
Daelen Menard got my attention with his performance this past week, as did Xavier Williams and Marvin Alexander.
Where Miramar will ultimately gain the decisive edge is in the trenches.
The Patriots have the big bodies on both the offensive and defensive lines to lean on Chaminade and Miramar’s “Dark Side Defense” will do enough – especially if newcomers defensive end Hansky Paillant and linebacker Jesse Smith have productive nights – to stymie the Lions’ offense.
No, Miramar isn’t Central, but the Patriots should be able to flex their “big school” muscle on Chaminade, too.
Bald Prediction = Miramar wins 24-22
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