South Broward @ Miami Southridge
6A PLAYOFFS ROUND 1 | 2024 SEASON
November 18, 2024
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Spartans Slice Through Bulldogs”
Florida Man Sports is here with PLAYOFF coverage of the South Florida high school football season. That’s right, the playoffs are here and it’s as exciting as ever. After an incredible regular season, it is time for it to get real. Single game elimination. This is the real deal. With the commencement of Round 1, we have a matchup between the South Broward Bulldogs and the Southridge Spartans. The Bulldogs, at 4-6, were coming off of a couple of tough losses to Flanagan and Piper. Southridge has had a fantastic season, at 9-2, and finished off the regular season strong with a blowout victory against South Dade a couple weeks ago. It was a 1-seed vs. 8-seed matchup, and the stakes were high. Win or go home.
The Bulldogs came out guns blazing in this game. After an early PBU by Southridge 2026 DB Tyler Brown, 2026 RB Derrick Simmons got the run game going with a burst up the middle. 2028 QB Steven Wright then got a screen over to 2026 WR/DB Donovan Abras for another first down. Simmons then bursted up the middle for a huge first down run to set South Broward up on the goal line. On a wild play, the ball was snapped directly to 2027 RB Jayden Johnson who was looking to run, then, backed up with pressure coming at him, Johnson just threw the ball up to 2028 ATH Aden Johnson who mossed a defender and came down with the ball in the endzone. The Bulldogs missed the PAT but took an early 6-0 lead.
2027 QB James Perrone and the Southridge offense had a response locked and loaded for the Dawgs. After a personal foul and a first down run by 2026 RB William Williams, Perrone found 2025 WR Darius Clements in the endzone for an easy score to give Southridge the lead at 7-6. South Broward’s offense just could not get a single thing going for them after this. 2025 DB Xyiem Pitter and 2025 DL Spencer Voss each had tackles for loss on the next drive, and then Voss finished off the Bulldogs with a sack on the ensuing play.
Perrone continued to dice up the Bulldogs. After a defensive pass interference call, Perrone found 2025 WR James Gatewood for a first down, and then 2026 WR Jhakari Johnson for another nice touchdown strike.
From here on out, it just kept getting worse for South Broward. 2025 CB Delton Jones blocked a punt, which was returned by Pitter to the goal-line. Perrone found Johnson once again for another score and all of the sudden it was 21-6 Spartans.
Brown finally got his interception that he had been coveting for so long on the next drive. And of all people, the do-it-all incredible 2025 LB Joshua “Hot Dog” McDowell ran in for a touchdown. More defense continued for the Spartans, with Brown getting another PBU and 2026 DE Kamron Wilson having a sack that forced yet another punt for the Bulldogs.
Perrone then locked in on Clements. First, they connected for another first down, and then in the back of the endzone for yet another Southridge touchdown. What’s that? You want to hear more about the Southridge defense? I thought you’d never ask.
Wilson and 2025 DB Bobby Brooks each had sacks on the next South Broward drive. And then of course, a Hot Dog interception. Hot Diggity Dog. 2027 K Michael Quinones kicked a field goal to make it 37-6 at the half.
The 2nd half was largely inconsequential to the outcome of the game. Southridge took a backseat on offense, and South Broward just couldn’t get much of anything done. The youngsters got a chance to show out for the Ridge. 2026 DB Antwone Francois had a great play where he stripped a Bulldogs receiver and then recovered the ball. 2026 DB Jaidon Scott had a late-game interception for the Spartans. Abras had an interception of his own for South Broward and 2028 DL Zion Warner recovered a late fumble. All in all, the score remained the same as it was at half. 37-6 in favor of Southridge.
Southridge moves to 10-2 on the season. They have shown out all season long. It is a fun group that they are working with here. Bubbling personalities, great players on both sides of the ball,
and a young signal caller who just continues to impress. Perrone has incredible weapons at his disposal in Clements, Gatewood, and Johnson. McDowell is the unquestioned leader of a very strong defensive unit with great supporting acts in Brown, Wilson, and Voss. This team is truly dangerous, and what is even more dangerous is the fact that they may be playing at home during the entire postseason.
But next week is a stiff test, as the Spartans will host 2025 ATH and Ole Miss commit Samari Reed and the Monarch Knights, who respectively squeaked out a win over a loaded Homestead team. This upcoming matchup is sure to be a great one.
Overall, this was a tough performance to finish the season for South Broward. The Bulldogs had some real quality talent head out on them after last season, and it showed with their inconsistent record. I would say that the bright side is that the future could be very bright for this program. They are young. Wright is only a freshman at quarterback and will continue to grow with experience. Simmons is certainly a dynamic player at the running back position and he figures to be the engine for this South Broward offense heading into the 2025-26 season. And Johnson is a specimen. This kid is gigantic for a freshman and will be an incredible developing weapon for the next years to come.
FINAL SCORE:
Miami Southridge beats South Broward 37-6
About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.
