After being a giant killer during the regular season Booker T. Washington, which knocked off the Norland Vikings in the first round, now face Belen Jesuit High School in the second round.

The Miami Central Rockets again take on the Northwestern Bulls in a rematch of last season’s second round playoff game.

Such athletic drama would appear to create more excitement around these high school campuses. But that isn’t the case. There are other more pressing considerations.

“No,” said Northwestern Principal Charles Hankerson, Sr., when asked whether or not there is a different atmosphere around campus for a playoff game than a regular season game.“There is no more meaning.

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry. We’re an F School. There is something more paramount to me. I have to do things to insure these kids graduate. No matter what happens Friday night at the end of the day we (he and Miami Central Principal Douglas Rodriquez) will wake up Saturday morning with 500 students reading below grade level.”

That is the academic aspect which has Bulls Head Coach Billy Rolle declining media interviews.

“I’m not talking to the media,” said Rolle. “I don’t want to throw fuel on the fire, or escalate things beyond what they are. Right now we’re in the middle preparing for the FCAT.”

So, as the ball rolls along with an academic focus, the athletic aspect has the community primed for some highly competitive competition on the gridiron.

The 6A picture has the Carol City Chiefs advancing to the second round under second year Head Coach Harold Barnwell, who saw his team get knocked out of the playoffs by Miramar High in the first round last year.

There is Southridge High School back in the playoffs after several unproductive years. The Spartans advanced to this week’s second round against the South Dade Buccaneers.

And there is that much anticipated rematch between the Bulls and Rockets. Last year the Rockets beat the Bulls during the regular season to claim the District 136A title, only to get stopped by the Bulls in the second round of the playoffs.

This year the Bulls knocked off the Rockets to claim the district title. The Bulls defeated the Coral Gables Cavaliers and the Rockets routed the Christopher Columbus Explorers.

Now, the two teams meet again. The Friday evening showdown will be at FIU Stadium.
“It’s a shame these two teams are in the same district where they have to play each other,” said Miami Dade Police Officer R. Brown. “It seems like they should be playing for the championship.”

Unfortunately, that’s not the way it is set up. Still the excitement is in the air throughout the community, despite the academic obstacles looming at hand.

At Booker T., the atmosphere is pretty much the same as the burden of being an F School haunts the Tornadoes, too.

“There’s no difference in the atmosphere between the play-offs and the regular season,” said Booker T. Athletic Director Lisa Starks. “Academics, attendance and discipline always come first. If their grades aren’t in order, or they have attendance or discipline problems they can’t play anyway.

“Nothing really changes for us. The excitement builds as we get closer to game day. The community knows what’s going on. We love it when we’re in the playoffs. But we can’t have kids ready to go to college if they haven’t passed the FCAT. They know where their priorities are.”

Ironically, the Belen Jesuit Wolverines, being a private school, don’t have to take or pass the FCAT in order to graduate. Yet, by virtue of their 17-13 controversial win over the Miami Jackson Generals in the first round of the playoffs, they now face the Tornadoes, who acted as giant killers with impressive wins over some 6A schools, including the Bulls.