Columbus at Miami Palmetto Live Score Updates: Florida High School Football

Two of Miami-Dade County's top high school football programs meet Thursday night when Miami Palmetto hosts Christopher Columbus in a matchup that could have significant implications in Class 6A, District 16.

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Weather conditions according to AccuWeather indicate there are light thunderstorms and rain in the Miami area this afternoon. We'll keep an eye on conditions and update you on any significant changes.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET

Preview

Who: Columbus at Miami Palmetto
When: Thursday, Sept. 10 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Southridge Stadium, Miami, Florida

Palmetto enters the game with the upper hand in the standings at 3-0, while Columbus is 2-1. However, the Explorers have played back-to-back games against teams ranked No. 1 in at least one national poll. They defeated then-No. 1 Bishop Gorman, 33-28, two weeks ago before losing 31-24 last week to St. Thomas Aquinas, which is currently ranked No. 1 by multiple selectors.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have recorded dominant wins against a much easier schedule, including Killian (35-0), Mater Academy Charter (42-7) and Southridge (28-6) last Friday night. That most recent game, however, offers a point of comparison to Columbus, whose second win this season also came against Southridge in a slightly more lopsided outcome, 45-7.

That could indicate a slight edge for Columbus, and history has certainly favored the Explorers in this series. The teams played only sporadically in the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Columbus winning all three meetings by lopsided margins in 2010 (35-3), 2013 (22-7) and 2018 (42-0).

Since then, they have become regular combatants in South Florida's District 16 through several realignments, moving from Class 8A to Class 4M to Class 7A and now Class 6A. In nine meetings since 2021, Columbus has gotten the better of Palmetto six times, including two playoff contests in 2021 and 2022.

The Explorers won their second football state championship in the weeks after that 2022 meeting, and they added a third title the following year. But at least until the final gun Thursday night, it's the Panthers who currently hold the bragging rights in this series, with two of their three wins against Columbus during that span coming last season.

The Panthers defeated the Explorers 24-21 in the regular season before winning again in a 27-10 thumping in the second round of the playoffs. They came excruciatingly close to playing for their own state championship last fall, which would have been the school's first. They lost 45-44 in double overtime to Vero Beach in the Class 7A state semifinals, and Vero Beach then went on to lose the state championship by a single point to Lake Mary, 28-27.

Both teams feature plenty of FBS-level talent. Columbus senior A'mir Sears is a five-star athlete committed to the University of Miami who had a game for the ages against Bishop Gorman, catching two touchdowns on offense while intercepting three passes on defense. He's joined by classmates such as safety Ajavion Willis (Pitt), running back Cecil Smith (Northern Illinois) and quarterback Kai Moore (Northern Illinois), along with junior star wide receiver Sanjae Green.

Palmetto counters with stars such as wide receiver Kaden Howard (Georgia Tech), quarterback Jamison Larsen, running back Aiden Butler, defensive end Brandon Howard and linebacker Mathias Augustin, among others.

Game time is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Southridge Stadium in Miami, Florida.

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