Prep primer: Matanzas hosts New Smyrna in district showdown; Mainland gets Cocoa

The FHSAA released playoff points for every team in the state earlier this week, and while there is still plenty of football left, it certainly raised some eyebrows.

In this area, Flagler Palm Coast (5-0) appears to be in the best position as of today. Not only are the Bulldogs tied with Spruce Creek atop District 1-8A, but they're also leading all area teams with 41.20 points. 

However, before getting to next week's FPC-Spruce Creek showdown, there's still business to take care of this week in Palm Coast, where district rivals Matanzas and New Smyrna Beach will square off.

After falling to FPC in the season opener, Robert Ripley's Pirates have reeled off three in a row, and sit at 3-1 and 1-0 in the district. NSB, meanwhile, has been equally impressive, also sitting at 3-1 with a key district win over Deltona. 

The difference, right now, are those pesky playoff points. The Pirates go into Friday night's showdown with an impressive 39 points. The Barracudas, meanwhile, have just 36.50. Will that make an already intense district game even more critical?

"Without question," NSB head coach Kevin Hubbard said. "We want to go to the playoffs. Our kids have busted their butts since January, and that wasn't to play 10 games. We're aware of the points and how they work, but my message to the kids is the same: you don't have to worry about points if you just win the district. We can't do that if we don't beat Matanzas."

3 THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

1. Make 'em work

Both coaches admitted this showdown likely will come down to defense, and the ability to limit the big plays. So far, the NSB defense has allowed just 18 points per game. The Matanzas defense, meanwhile, has allowed a measly 15.5.  

"No cheap ones," Ripley said. "We need to make them drive the field. They have to go 10, 12, 13 plays to get points. If we give up one or two plays and they score, it's going to be a long night."

2. Dynamic duo

The Barracudas certainly have the ability to score quickly, especially with the the talented receiving duo of Einaj Carter and Zazion Hudson. Carter scored six touchdowns in the two games NSB played two weeks ago, while Hudson has averaged nearly 19 yards per catch. Combined, the two have 29 catches, 502 yards and nine total touchdowns. 

"They're doing some good things on offense," Ripley said. "They've put some good thought into their formations and making people line up and be true to them."

3. Trench play

While the 'Cudas have plenty of weapons, containing that Matanzas front-four and allowing plays to develop will be critical on Friday. 

"The last two years we've played them they've kind of lived through their defensive front, and it seems like it's going to be the same thing this year," Hubbard said. "They have big kids up there who come off the ball really well, but I have a good crew that I think is up to the challenge."

STAFF PICKSChris Boyle (@ChrisBoyleDBNJ): NSB 20, Matanzas 17. Overall: 35-10 

Zach Dean (@ZachDeanDBNJ): NSB 24, Matanzas 21. Overall: 36-9 

Godwin Kelly (@godwinkelly): Matanzas 14, NSB 10. Overall: 31-14

IN OTHER ACTION

Mainland (2-2) at Cocoa (4-0), 7

Hurricane Matthew postponed this showdown in 2016, but all signs point to these two Central Florida powerhouses finally getting together on Friday.

This game is coming at arguably the best time for the Bucs, who had dropped two straight before dominating Deltona, 37-0, in the district-opener last week. One of the biggest reasons for the turnaround was mobile quarterback Richard Kamara, who earned his first start of the season last Friday over Jake Novello. Kamara was solid in both the pass and run game, throwing for a pair of scores — including a 55-yard touchdown to D'marcus Adams — and rushing for 51 yards on just three carries. Speaking of running the ball, D'Andre McMillian put up 137 yards on just nine carries last week. 

Cocoa, the defending 4A champion, is off to a 4-0 start with impressive wins over Jacksonville-Trinity Christian and Viera. Senior running back Javian Hawkins is the obvious name to watch on the Tigers, leading the team with over 800 yards and eight touchdowns. Cocoa is power-ranked seventh in the state of Florida.

Picks: Chris — Cocoa, 41-21; Zach — Cocoa, 38-21; Godwin — Cocoa, 35-24

Deltona (1-3) at Flagler Palm Coast (5-0), 7

Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions. The Bulldogs picked up two wins last week over Sandalwood and Seabreeze, while the Wolves were shut out by Mainland for their third straight loss. 

First-year head coach Travis Roland has the Bulldogs firing on all cylinders right now, including a tenacious defense (five turnovers against Seabreeze), and an offense that's scored over 30 points in all but one game. Meanwhile, Deltona head coach Allen Johnson made it clear that his offense needs to start finding the end zone after Friday's shutout loss. The Wolves have now been outscored 110-49, and have scored over 20 points just once. 

Picks: Chris — FPC, 38-6; Zach — FPC, 35-14; Godwin — FPC, 30-14

Oviedo (2-3) at University (2-1), 7

Former Atlantic head coach Matt Dixon will be back in town Friday, this time leading the Lions into Pine Ridge High School to take on the Titans in a rare "home" game for University. 

The Titans are coming off back-to-back district wins over Lake Brantley and Lyman, and would take another big step toward that first district title with a win here. Expect another heavy dosage of Miami commit Lorenzo Lingard in this one, as he's run for 346 yards and a pair of scores the past two weeks and appears to be heating up. Quarterback Cody Braden and wide receiver Jacob Moss have also caught fire over the past few games, connecting for four touchdowns.

In this game last year, University cruised to a 60-32 victory. The Lions are coming off a 42-6 loss to Lake Mary. 

Picks: Chris — University, 48-14; Zach — University, 52-21; Godwin — University, 60-35. 

Seabreeze (2-3) at Atlantic (0-5), 7

The Sandcrabs reeled off two straight wins, including an impressive 28-7 triumph over Pine Ridge last Friday, before coming back down to earth against FPC earlier this week. Atlantic, meanwhile, is still searching for that elusive first win of the Kendall Bradley era. The Sharks have been outscored 286-28, including losses of 63-0, 62-0 and 60-6. 

Seabreeze will be going for three wins in a season for the first time since 2014, and assuredly will rely on a defense that forced two turnovers and blocked a kick in the win over Pine Ridge. The Sharks will look to senior running back Zaquan Davis for a spark on offense. 

Picks: Chris — Seabreeze, 31-6; Zach — Seabreeze, 42-8; Godwin — Seabreeze, 35-18

Father Lopez (1-3) at Trinity Christian (0-5), 7

The Green Wave don't look great on paper, but they could very well be 3-1, losing close games to Pine Ridge (14-11) and Space Coast (14-7). Trinity Christian, meanwhile, has clearly struggled to replace do-everything star Amorie Archibald, suffering four shutouts and being outscored a stunning 216-6. 

Junior quarterback Jacob Mullee has nearly 400 rushing yards and TCA's lone touchdown. For Lopez, running back Elijah Rone (277 yards, three touchdowns) figures to lead the offense.

Picks: Chris — Father Lopez, 44-14; Zach — Father Lopez, 35-0; Godwin — Father Lopez, 28-15

Pine Ridge (2-2) at Mount Dora (2-3), 7

The Panthers came out of the gates firing, starting 2-0 in the Kenny Pickens era with a pair of wins over Father Lopez and Atlantic. However, Pine Ridge has come back down to earth recently, blowing a 12-point lead against DeLand two weeks ago and then falling 28-7 to Seabreeze. Mount Dora already will be playing the third area team, beating NSB in the preseason before losing to Deltona in Week 1. 

Pine Ridge quarterback Dillon Torres threw for four touchdowns a few weeks ago against Atlantic and has so far shown a good command for the offense. Running back Aaron Edmunds is also a name to watch, as he's averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. 

Picks: Chris — Mount Dora, 33-12; Zach — Mount Dora, 35-14; Godwin — Pine Ridge, 21-14

Interlachen (2-3) at Taylor (4-1), 7

The Wildcats rebounded from their 16-9 loss at Wildwood last Friday with an easy win over Warner Christian earlier in the week. Now at 4-1 and currently projected to make the postseason based on their 37.60 points — good for third in the region — the Wildcats will look to make it two in a row over a Rams' team they beat by 13 last season.

Against Warner, the three-headed monster of Shug Williams, Vicandi Ward and Daniel Gemeinhardt accounted for 382 of the 424 total yards. 

Picks: Chris — Taylor, 30-20; Zach — Taylor, 34-31; Godwin — Taylor, 45-38

Space Coast (2-2) at Warner Christian (2-2), 7 

The Eagles look to get back on track as they welcome in a Space Coast team that's already beaten one area team — Father Lopez — earlier this season. Running back Marvin Scott — the area's leading rusher the past two years — must get back on track. Scott was held to under 40 yards in the loss to Taylor. 

Picks: Chris — Space Coast, 28-23; Zach — Space Coast, 42-28; Godwin — Space Coast, 25-10

Halifax (2-2) at Cocoa Beach (2-2), 7

The Minutemen pummeled Trinity Christian, 36-0, a few weeks ago, and will look to make it 2-0 against the area on Friday. Halifax, meanwhile, fell to Eagle's View last week after back-to-back wins. Expect this one to be a defensive struggle, as both units are allowing less than 18 points per game.

Picks: Chris — Cocoa Beach, 35-9; Zach — Cocoa Beach, 36-18; Godwin — Cocoa Beach, 40-7