South Plantation’s Alex Collins, Deerfield’s Brandon Powell show why they’re among Broward’s best November 4th, 2012
Friday night’s District 11-8A matchup between South Plantation and Deerfield Beach had plenty of major playoff implications.
It was also a showdown between two of Broward County’s top running backs: South Plantation’s Alex Collins and Deerfield’s Brandon Powell. Neither of them disappointed.
Collins, the reigning Sun Sentinel Player of the Year, a Miami commit and one of the nation’s most recruited prospects, had 24 carries for 154 yards. He scored the Paladins’ lone touchdown and scored on a two-point conversion. Meanwhile, Powell, a junior, finished with 21 carries for 147 yards and scored all three of the Bucks touchdowns.
Ultimately, it was a defensive play from Powell that helped make the difference in Deerfield Beach’s 21-14 win over South Plantation. With South Plantation driving late in the fourth quarter of a tie game, the Buck defense forced a Collins fumble. Powell came up with the loose ball and later, scored the eventual game-winning touchdown.
For Deerfield Beach, the win meant forcing a 3-way tiebreaker on Monday between the Bucks, Paladins and Taravella (which beat Coral Springs on Friday). For South Plant, it was a missed opportunity. The Paladins could have clinched the district title and a playoff berth with a win.
Here’s what Powell had to say about his team’s big win, and matching up against Collins–who he believes is the top running back in the nation:
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PrepVolleyball.com ranks St. Thomas Aquinas among nation’s best August 22nd, 2012
As volleyball teams across South Florida prepare for the upcoming season, one of them will enter the new year with a national ranking.
The website PrepVolleyball.com has ranked St. Thomas Aquinas as the No. 44 team in the nation and calls the Raiders “undisputed favorites” to win the Class 7A state title. St. Thomas returns a number of starters from last year’s state-tournament team including middle blocker Brooke Lyons, setter Mackenzie Zielinski and reigning Sun Sentinel Class 8A-7A-6A Player of the Year Allison Belanger.
St. Thomas is one of five Florida teams ranked in PrepVolleyball’s Century Club Pre-Season Rankings. Winter Park comes in at No. 41, Bishop Moore is No. 66, Tampa Berkeley Prep is No. 83 and Orlando First Academy is No. 96.
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Each spring, writer Joe Pinko puts together a weekly power rating of the state’s top flag football teams. This week, both Broward and Palm Beach counties are well represented.
Despite a 14-13 loss to top-ranked Dr. Phillips last week, Seminole Ridge is ranked No. 2, while Fort Lauderdale comes in ranked at No. 3. Boynton Beach (No. 5), Palm Beach Gardens (No. 6) and Western (No. 10) are also ranked in the top 10.
Here’s the complete ranking for this week (with an explainer on the power ratings at the bottom).
THE FLORIDA FLAG FOOTBALL POWER 25
1. Dr. Phillips (9-0) 86.3
2. Seminole Ridge (9-1) 85.4
3. Fort Lauderdale (10-0) 84.7
4. Chamberlain (7-0) 79.8
5. Boynton Beach (9-0) 78.3
6. Palm Beach Gardens (7-2) 77.6
7. Robinson (9-1) 77.4
8. Boone (10-0) 74.8
9. Boca Ciega (10-0) 74.6
10. Western (9-1) 74.4
11. Northeast-St. Pete (8-1) 72.2
12. North Broward Prep (9-0) 71.9
13. East Bay (8-2) 71.3
14. Harmony (7-0) 71.1
15. Dixie Hollins (7-2) 70.1
16. Alonso (8-2) 69.4
17. Archbishop McCarthy (6-0) 69.0
18. Mandarin (7-0) 68.4
19. Baldwin (7-1) 67.6
20. Douglas (9-1) 67.2
21. Durant (6-1) 66.9
22. Leon (5-4) 66.8
23. Plant City (6-1) 66.3
24. Apopka (7-2) 65.5
25. Chiles (7-2) 64.9
About the rankings: Joe Pinkos’ Power Ratings are calculated using a formula based on strength of opposition and margin of victory. To determine the forecasted margin of victory between any two teams, simply figure the difference in the respective power ratings.
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Local soccer teams among national elite January 8th, 2012
the latest HSESPN Powerade Fab 50 high school soccer national rankings were released this week and several Broward County and Palm Beach County boys and girls team are recognized.
The St. Thomas Aquinas girls team holds steady at No. 13 as did American Heritage at No. 17. American Heritage-Delray, ranked No. 18, will have a chance to move up the polls when the Stallions play top-ranked Boyd (Tx.) in the National Elite Showcase Jan. 12-14
On the boys side Cypress Bay is ranked No. 3, Boca Raton is No. 4, Heritage-Delray No. 7, while St. Thomas Aquinas moved up six spots to No. 20
Oklahoma strangely absent so far among Area Top 100 July 4th, 2011
Regional baseball championships will be decided on Friday, and four Broward County–Flanagan, Archbishop McCarthy, North Broward Prep and Highlands Christian–are still in the hunt for state championships.
But as the season draws closer to a finish, Flanagan and McCarthy are in line to possibly compete for a bigger prize: the mythical national title.
Both are ranked in three major polls, including the Baseball America/National High School Baseball Coaches poll, the ESPN Powerade Fab 50 and the MaxPreps XCellent 25.
What’s interesting though is how wildly the rankings vary.
In Baseball America’s poll, for example, McCarthy is ranked No. 4, while Flanagan comes in at No. 18. In ESPN’s Powerade Fab 50, the Falcons are No. 2, while McCarthy is No. 12 and in MaxPrep’s poll, the Falcons are again, No. 2 while McCarthy is No. 13.
It doesn’t seem likely either team will be a consensus national champion if they continue their success all the way to the state tournament, but with such high rankings right now, either one could find themselves at the top of at least one poll by season’s end.
Is there one poll in particular baseball fans find more meaningful? Which one is it?
For a full look at each of the polls, click on the links below:
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At the conclusion of each sports season–fall, winter, and spring–the Florida High School Athletic Association recognizes teams that have done well in the classroom and Broward County had a good showing in the most recent rankings.
The Cypress Bay boys basketball team finished No. 1 in the state among Class 6A programs with a team GPA of 3.319. Also finishing as academic team champions in basketball were the Westminster Academy girls (who were tops in Florida with a 3.867 team GPA) and the Posnack girls, who had a team GPA of 3.774.
For a complete list of all the academic team champions in the sports of basketball, soccer, wrestling and weightlifting, CLICK HERE.
Also, for the first time, the FHSAA will award an overall Academic Team Champion at the end of the school year and Posnack’s impressive showing during the winter season has the Rams atop the overall Class 1A standings.
Other Broward teams that could be in the mix come the end of the school year include Westminster Academy, which is No. 4 among Class 2A programs, Pine Crest which is No. 6 in Class 3A, St. Thomas Aquinas which is No. 2 in Class 5A and West Broward which is No. 6 in Class 6A.
For a look at the complete overall academic champion standings, CLICK HERE.
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