Miami Northwestern & Raines Title Preview

     The Miami Northwestern Bulls challenge the Raines Vikings in the FHSAA Class 3A state championship game in Pitbull Stadium at the Florida International University campus on Saturday night. It will be the last one of seven FHSAA Football Finals to be played this week in South Florida. 

     Miami Northwestern(11-2) is the only representative from Dade County that will play for a high school football state title in Miami this year. The Bulls have won nine straight contests and outscored opponents 546-133 this season. They dominated Barron Collier 69-0 in the regional quarterfinal, hammered Lely 64-12 in the regional semifinal, blanked Cypress Lake 48-0 in the regional final and shut out Eau Gallie 40-0 in the state semifinal. The West has allowed just 12 points in four FHSAA postseason games in 2024. 

     Bulls quarterback Leon Strawder will have plenty of targets to throw the ball to. They include wide receivers Daruis Johnson, Nicholas Lennear, Calvin Russell Jr., Nicsaint Joseph Jr. and Kenyan Thompkins. Running backs King Davis, Elijah Hardy, Tarvail Mathis and Omari Harris will help the rushing attack. 

     Raines(13-0) showed their dominance in the regular season with an average margin of victory by 31 points. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 599-187 during the season.