The five biggest games in South Florida this week

These are the five South Florida games this week that our team rankings rate as the best matchups on the board, and the players to watch in each. We rank every game by where the two programs sit on our state and national team boards, rewarding a close pairing of two strong teams over a lopsided one, with extra weight for ranked opponents and unbeaten records. We do not rank these games by recruiting totals. The slate runs from September 10 to September 13. Every figure here comes from our canonical database.

1. Cardinal Newman at West Boca Raton

Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach, FL #4, 3-0, #36 nationally) visits West Boca Raton (Boca Raton, FL #6, 2-0, #45 nationally). The top rated South Florida matchup this week, two unbeaten teams that both sit inside our state top ten and our national top fifty.

Players to watch:

  • Cardinal Newman: Kahlil Gabaud, QB, class of 2028, and Logan Stepp, WR, class of 2027, its top performers by our in-season Performance Score.
  • West Boca Raton: Terriel "Wally" Harmon, RB, class of 2028, and Billy Clancy III, WR, class of 2027, its top performers by our in-season Performance Score.

2. Miami Central at Buford

Miami Central (Miami, 2-0) travels to Buford (Buford, GA, GA #1, 2-0, #2 nationally). A cross state test for an unbeaten Miami program against Georgia's top ranked team, the number two team in the country on our national board.

Players to watch:

  • Buford: AJ Granville, RB, class of 2029, its top performer by our in-season Performance Score, with Ethan Hauser, LB, class of 2027 and a Vanderbilt commit, among its most recruited names on the current roster.
  • Miami Central: we are holding individual names until Miami Central's 2026 roster is confirmed in our database.

3. St. Thomas Aquinas at Dillard

St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL #1, 3-0, #6 nationally) visits Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, FL #40, 2-1, #302 nationally). Our top ranked team in Florida, and the number six team nationally, on the road for a Fort Lauderdale meeting.

Players to watch:

  • St. Thomas Aquinas: Ri'chard Bowe, DB, class of 2027 and a Western Kentucky commit, and Llewelyn Peets, DE, class of 2028, its top performers by our in-season Performance Score.
  • Dillard: we are holding individual names until Dillard's 2026 roster is confirmed in our database.

4. Columbus at Miami Palmetto

Columbus (Miami, FL #28, 2-1, #184 nationally) visits Miami Palmetto (Miami, FL #16, 3-0, #97 nationally). An all Miami matchup between a state top thirty Columbus side and an unbeaten Palmetto team that our board rates inside the state top twenty.

Players to watch:

  • Columbus: Tony Brown III, ATH, class of 2028, and Parker Gervais, TE, class of 2027, among its most recruited names on the current roster.
  • Miami Palmetto: we are holding individual names until Miami Palmetto's 2026 roster is confirmed in our database.

5. True North Classical Academy at Chaminade-Madonna

True North Classical Academy (Miami, FL #48, 0-2, #396 nationally) visits Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, FL #2, 2-1, #26 nationally). Our second ranked team in Florida hosts a True North side still looking for its first win, the widest rating gap on this week's board.

Players to watch:

  • Chaminade-Madonna: Amos Bradford, RB, class of 2027 and a Purdue commit, and Ah'Mari Stevens, WR, class of 2027 and an LSU commit, its top performers by our in-season Performance Score.
  • True North Classical Academy: Zac Katz, QB, class of 2027 and a Florida International commit, and Ricky Cater, OLB, class of 2028, its top performers by our in-season Performance Score.

How we picked these

We ranked every South Florida game in the window by our team board, using each program's overall rating, its state and national rank, its record, and how far it has moved this season. A game between two strong, closely rated teams rates above a lopsided one, and ranked opponents and unbeaten records add weight. The players to watch are each team's top performers by our in-season Performance Score, the RPM measure of on field production adjusted for the strength of the opponent. When a team had no player above the score threshold, we named its most recruited players on the current roster instead. Where a team's 2026 roster is not yet confirmed in our database, we held its names rather than guess. Records and rankings were pulled on September 10. Full boards and every player page are at recruit-intel.io.