JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – High school football season is back, and so are our weekly predictions for local games. Each Thursday during the season, News4JAX sports editor Justin Barney will offer his picks on the games.
Last week: 4-1. Season: 382-76 (.834).
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State championship
Class 2A
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Pitbull Stadium, FSU
Bolles (13-1) vs. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (13-1): I’ve felt since the start of the season that Bolles had the talent to win a state championship. This is the best team of the Matt Toblin era, and perhaps the best at Bolles from top to bottom since Corky Rogers’ last title team in 2011. This is no walk in the park, though. Cardinal Mooney is a team that matches up very well with the Bulldogs. It’s going to be tight and close to the finish. N4J pick: Bolles 34, Cardinal Mooney 30.
Class 3A
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Raines (13-0) vs. Miami Northwestern (13-0): The rematch a year in the making. The Bulls are elite, and so are the Vikings. We all saw what happened last year in this game. Raines was shellshocked almost from the outset. But there’s something different that this year’s Raines team has that last year’s didn’t. Perhaps it’s maturity or just a laser-locked focus, but it’s there. Head coach Donovan Masline was on staff when the Vikings went to the championship game and collapsed in the fourth quarter against Booker T. Washington (29 points allowed in a game they were leading). That Vikings staff went back to the drawing board, then won back-to-back titles in their next trips to the final. I believe Masline and his staff will be more ready than ever for this one. In an upset ... N4J pick: Raines 28, Northwestern 26.