Florida high school football Fact or Fiction: Chaminade Madonna will snap winless start vs. American Heritage

Plus, will St. Thomas Aquinas win its 15th state championship this winter?

Matt Christopher

We are just two weeks into the Florida high school football season and it feels like we are just scratching the surface of what’s shaping up to becoming a very interesting 2024 campaign.

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With upsets taking place around the Sunshine State and crucial state and national matchups as well, it’s been unpredictable on many fronts when it comes to the prep gridiron.

Now we play a little ‘Fact or Fiction’ when it comes to some early thoughts and predictions we feel like we can see happening down the road. Obviously nothing is set in stone whatsoever, but let’s touch on five topics and see what we get.

Chaminade Madonna will snap 0-2 start with a win over Plantation American Heritage

Villamarzo’s view: Fiction

Chaminade Madonna wide receiver Jansen Lopez running against St. John Bosco’s defense / Matt Christopher

We’ve all been truly spoiled the previous two years when it comes to what Chaminade Madonna was able to trot out week to week. It was truly a very special time for the Lions, in which they had virtually Power 4 level talent at practically all of the key positions offensively and even defensively. You at some point had to believe the good times weren’t always going to remain rolling ala like the Golden State Warriors of the NBA, thus some kind of decline was going to happen. Losses against nationally ranked St. John Bosco (California) and Blanche Ely have folks scratching their heads, but what’s the likelihood the Lions could start 0-3? We figure they don’t snap their winless streak against a Plantation American Heritage team that drubbed a solid Western bunch 51-12. That’s going to be a difficult ask of Chaminade to snap the losing skid, which was an unfathomable line to even attach to a program that’s seen so much dominance over the years. Not to say it would be any surprise to see that they turn it around very soon, with talent out the wazoo, but for now, it seems like a bridge too far.

St. Thomas Aquinas will win the Class 5A state championship

Villamarzo’s view: Fact

St. Thomas Aquinas quarterback Andrew Indorf, who lacks major college offers thus far, showed is worthiness with 198 yards passing and two touchdowns against national power Bishop Gorman on Aug. 24, 2024. / Matt Christopher

We know everyone in Polk County has to be shaking their collective heads on this one, but hear us out on this one (or not). St. Thomas Aquinas has the talent to add another title to the already filled up trophy case and Week 1 was really all we needed to see. Why’s that you may say? The Raiders in many ways looked outmatched, outsized but were absolutely prepared for Bishop Gorman (Nevada) and nearly came away with the dub. A 51-0 drubbing of Boyd Anderson was to follow, which incumbent Derek Baker got to see a lot of time under center for the Raiders. We’re not taking anything away from the Dreadnaughts and what they have done. This team features an elite defensive secondary and a front seven led by arguably one of the top 2026’s in Malik Morris. If and when these two teams meet, we expect nothing less than a barn burner between two storied programs. We give a slight edge to St. Thomas Aquinas and it’s not by much in Class 5A.

Zarephath Academy’s Jordan Durham will throw for over 4,500 yards this season

Villamarzo’s view: Fiction

No player is off to a more torrid pace through the air than Jordan Durham of Zarephath Academy. How good has the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback been through three games (independent)? Durham has completed 67-of-93 passes for 1,422 yards and 11 touchdowns. If you’re busting out your calculator for the average per game, don’t bother. That’s 474 yards per game that Durham is throwing for and that begs the question can he surpass 4,500 and beyond. We’re going to say no because later on during the season, Durham won’t have it so easy like he has it now. Games down the stretch include Lafayette, North Florida Christian and Zephyrhills Christian Academy, all formidable opponents. At some point Durham will cool down and we think he falls just short of the 4,500-yard plateau. Impressive season nonetheless.

IMG Academy will lose another game

Villamarzo’s view: Fact

No. 4 IMG Academy (Florida) visits No. 19 Corner Canyon (Utah) on Friday to kick off its 2024 high school football season. / Tyler Hart

This one is hard to type because you got to like all of the talent that’s over in Bradenton, but there seems to be something missing from this group. Not to say the mystique is gone about IMG Academy, but a blueprint has been provided on how to exactly beat the Ascenders is there on tape. Seeing that Corner Canyon (Utah) defeated IMG only to lose the following week to Lone Peak (Utah) has us believing someone down the stretch will hand the Ascenders another loss. Cocoa, Mandarin, Phenix City Central (Alabama), St. Frances Academy (Maryland) and Venice are among the teams that will have their shot at IMG and could possibly knock them off. We’re going to say it’s more likely than not, to happen.

Armwood is the best team in Class 6A right now

Villamarzo's view: Fact

Armwood soundly defeats Miami Norland Saturday afternoon at Traz Powell Stadium / Marcus Benjamin/Canes County

I’m sure teams like Buchholz, Monarch and West Boca Raton will all want to revisit this come December and they rightfully should. At the end of the day, Armwood seems to be the best all around team in Class 6A. Quarterback play has been on point from junior passer Rhys Brush and having Georgia commitment Tyler Williams and Miami (FL) Girard Pringle in the backfield are nice luxuries for sure. Impressive wins over Gaither and Sumner to begin the season has us liking this to the old Sean Callahan-led Hawks teams. Year in and year out, Armwood was always in the mix then and they certainly are now. We like the overall outlook of this team and they certainly seem plenty worthy of being dubbed the classification’s team to beat right now.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl