With Eisenhower not playing this spring, Jacksonville currently does not have a game. If that changes, I will add a prediction for them. The other 4 games are all scheduled for Friday night.
Lanphier (1-2) at UHigh (1-2)
Both teams struggled on the road last week after getting nice wins in Week 2. Lanphier was shut out by Jacksonville, and UHigh was running clocked by halftime by Rochester. UHigh played well at home against Southeast in Week 2 and Lanphier is a comparable opponent. UHigh 33 Lanphier 13
Springfield (2-1) at Southeast (0-3)
Southeast has really struggled to score points so far. Springfield won at MacArthur after falling behind 14-0 early. Should be another big night for QB Rashad Rochelle. Springfield 47 Southeast 7
MacArthur (1-2) at Chatham (2-1)
Chatham should rebound at home after last week’s beating by SHG. MacArthur has underperformed a little so far this season. They are struggling to score points and lost a winnable game at home to Springfield last week. Chatham 29 MacArthur 14
And that leaves the Leonard Bowl.
Rochester (3-0) at SHG (3-0)
SHG has abused two of the better teams in the CS8 the last two weeks at home, beating MacArthur and Chatham by a combined 115-14. Of the 15 drives I saw by the SHG offense in these games, they scored 13 TD’s, missed a FG on the last play of the half, and had 1 turnover. Rochester has also played very well, except for one bad stretch in the 2nd Quarter against Springfield. The alternating of Beatty and Friedewald at QB has been successful, and the Defense has been better than I expected.
While Rochester certainly has a chance, SHG has an easier path to victory for several reasons. First, Rochester has never won at Ken Leonard Stadium and several of the worst losses I’ve witnessed in person have been at SHG (56-14 in 2014 and 45-6 in 2018). Second, one of Rochester’s biggest advantages in both 2019 wins against SHG was the experience of QB Clay Bruno, who ended his high school career with 25+ starts. This has flipped this year, as QB Isiah Thompson now has 15 or so career starts and Beatty/Friedewald will have 4 on Friday. Finally, the SHG defense, which was a weak link in 2019, is much improved. In particular, their Secondary has been very aggressive and has forced turnovers in all three games played. Which defense can get more stops Friday?
For the Rochester seniors, this is the last class of kids I personally know well, as my kids overlapped with them. They are a great group and have shown plenty of heart and guts, going back to their JFL days. They will graduate having won 2 state titles in the 3 full years they played. I’d love for my guess to be wrong. SHG 47 Rochester 37
Lanphier (1-2) at UHigh (1-2)
Both teams struggled on the road last week after getting nice wins in Week 2. Lanphier was shut out by Jacksonville, and UHigh was running clocked by halftime by Rochester. UHigh played well at home against Southeast in Week 2 and Lanphier is a comparable opponent. UHigh 33 Lanphier 13
Springfield (2-1) at Southeast (0-3)
Southeast has really struggled to score points so far. Springfield won at MacArthur after falling behind 14-0 early. Should be another big night for QB Rashad Rochelle. Springfield 47 Southeast 7
MacArthur (1-2) at Chatham (2-1)
Chatham should rebound at home after last week’s beating by SHG. MacArthur has underperformed a little so far this season. They are struggling to score points and lost a winnable game at home to Springfield last week. Chatham 29 MacArthur 14
And that leaves the Leonard Bowl.
Rochester (3-0) at SHG (3-0)
SHG has abused two of the better teams in the CS8 the last two weeks at home, beating MacArthur and Chatham by a combined 115-14. Of the 15 drives I saw by the SHG offense in these games, they scored 13 TD’s, missed a FG on the last play of the half, and had 1 turnover. Rochester has also played very well, except for one bad stretch in the 2nd Quarter against Springfield. The alternating of Beatty and Friedewald at QB has been successful, and the Defense has been better than I expected.
While Rochester certainly has a chance, SHG has an easier path to victory for several reasons. First, Rochester has never won at Ken Leonard Stadium and several of the worst losses I’ve witnessed in person have been at SHG (56-14 in 2014 and 45-6 in 2018). Second, one of Rochester’s biggest advantages in both 2019 wins against SHG was the experience of QB Clay Bruno, who ended his high school career with 25+ starts. This has flipped this year, as QB Isiah Thompson now has 15 or so career starts and Beatty/Friedewald will have 4 on Friday. Finally, the SHG defense, which was a weak link in 2019, is much improved. In particular, their Secondary has been very aggressive and has forced turnovers in all three games played. Which defense can get more stops Friday?
For the Rochester seniors, this is the last class of kids I personally know well, as my kids overlapped with them. They are a great group and have shown plenty of heart and guts, going back to their JFL days. They will graduate having won 2 state titles in the 3 full years they played. I’d love for my guess to be wrong. SHG 47 Rochester 37
