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Columbus Discovers Another Gear, Pulls Away From Palmetto 34-7: Live Score Updates from Florida High School Matchup

Columbus looks to rebound from a narrow loss to St. Thomas Aquinas when it faces unbeaten Miami Palmetto in a key Class 6A, District 16 matchup.
Kendall Webb|
Columbus is off to a strong start in 2026 as it heads to Palmetto on Thursday evening to face an undefeated Miami rival.
Columbus is off to a strong start in 2026 as it heads to Palmetto on Thursday evening to face an undefeated Miami rival. | Jeff Klein

MIAMI — The Columbus Explorers broke open a close game in the second half to pull away from the Palmetto Panthers for a 34-7 win Thursday night in Miami.

On a muggy night on a soggy field, the two teams played a sluggish first half to match the conditions, going to the lockers halfway through with the game knotted up at 7-all. Palmetto had scored quickly for a 7-0 lead, and that stood until the second quarter when Columbus finally evened things up on a short touchdown run of its own.

The second half was a different story, however, for the Explorers who discovered a new world of possibilities virtually anywhere and everywhere they lined up in the second half. They scored on offense, defense and special teams, including a blocked punt for a touchdown and two safeties to surge into the lead at 34-7.

That’s where it stood when the final gun sounded, ending a miserable night for the Panthers who were no match for the Explorers on this night.

Columbus improves to 3-1 with the win heading into next Friday's game at South Dade. Palmetto drops to 3-1 with the loss as the Panthers host Coral Gables that same evening.

If you missed the live-blog of the game in progress, you can still catch up with a full recap of our updates and highlights below.

FINAL — Columbus 34, Palmetto 7

And that's all she wrote in Miami, as the Explorers use a dominant third quarter to pull away for the 34-7 victory.

THIRD QUARTER — Columbus 34, Palmetto 7

Columbus 34, Palmetto 7

It's been a tale of two halves in Miami. Columbus closes out the third quarter with a field to make it 34-7 headed in the fourth quarter. That was a brutal 12 minutes for Palmetto after battling Columbus to a draw in the first half.

We did confirm that was a second safety:

Columbus 31, Palmetto 7

And we're seeing another safety for Columbus. We'll make sure that isn't an error, and that's it's not the 2-point conversion that was originally reported as no good. But either way, the math is the same ... it's 31-7, Columbus starting to run away with this.

Columbus 29, Palmetto 7

It's starting to get out of hand in Miami, and to be honest, it feels like it might be out of reach. About three minutes to go in the third quarter, and Columbus has scored again. The 2-point conversion run fails, but that's little consolation for a Panthers' team that suddenly finds itself in a three-touchdown hole.

Columbus 23, Palmetto 7

About five minutes to go in the third, and it's been all Columbus in the second half. They add a safety to go up 23-7 now.

Columbus 21, Palmetto 7

Columbus with the blocked punt! And they get another quick touchdown on the play after stopping Palmetto's offense. Suddenly this game has a very different feel. The Panthers have to get control of this right now and answer or this thing could start to slip away from them.

Columbus 14, Palmetto 7

And Columbus takes its first lead on a touchdown run by their five-star talent Amir Sears. PAT is good, and the Explorers have double-up Palmetto just like that to open the second half.

Third quarter is under way, and Palmetto will kick to Columbus to get the second half started.

We've got a highlight from the first half with Palmetto's first touchdown of the night, too.

HALFTIME — Columbus 7, Palmetto 7

The first half ends with a blocked field goal:

And that's where it stands headed into the halftime. Columbus-Palmetto all knotted at seven apiece so it should be quite a second half. Palmetto beat Columbus twice last year, but after Columbus beat Bishop Gorman and then went wire-to-wire with St. Thomas Aquinas, you still figure this has to be turning a few heads tonight as people see the score for this one.

Columbus 7, Palmetto 7

And Columbus finally gets on the board. It's Ahmad Summerall doing the honors from five yards out. The PAT is good, and they're all knotted up at seven apiece in soggy Miami.

END OF FIRST QUARTER — Palmetto 7, Columbus 0

And that's where it stands with one quarter in the book. Columbus unable to get on the board so far, and the underdog Panthers lead this one 7-0 headed to the second quarter.

Palmetto 7, Columbus 0

Our live feed is down, but we're going to keep you posted on everything coming our way. And it doesn't take long for Palmetto to jump on the Explorers, who despite the records, are the higher-ranked team here. Maybe a little bit of a surprise to start as the Panthers jump on front roughly a minute into the game.

It's muggy in Miami, and the field conditions are wet so this could be a little sloppy in Miami tonight. But it's mostly what you would expect for an early September game in South Florida.

We're sneaking up on the kickoff between Miami Palmetto and Christopher Columbus! Stay tuned, and we'll check back in shortly.

Weather conditions according to AccuWeather indicate there are light thunderstorms and rain in the Miami area this afternoon. We'll keep an eye on conditions and update you on any significant changes.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET

Preview

Who: Columbus at Miami Palmetto
When: Thursday, Sept. 10 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Southridge Stadium, Miami, Florida

Palmetto enters the game with the upper hand in the standings at 3-0, while Columbus is 2-1. However, the Explorers have played back-to-back games against teams ranked No. 1 in at least one national poll. They defeated then-No. 1 Bishop Gorman, 33-28, two weeks ago before losing 31-24 last week to St. Thomas Aquinas, which is currently ranked No. 1 by multiple selectors.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have recorded dominant wins against a much easier schedule, including Killian (35-0), Mater Academy Charter (42-7) and Southridge (28-6) last Friday night. That most recent game, however, offers a point of comparison to Columbus, whose second win this season also came against Southridge in a slightly more lopsided outcome, 45-7.

That could indicate a slight edge for Columbus, and history has certainly favored the Explorers in this series. The teams played only sporadically in the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Columbus winning all three meetings by lopsided margins in 2010 (35-3), 2013 (22-7) and 2018 (42-0).

Since then, they have become regular combatants in South Florida's District 16 through several realignments, moving from Class 8A to Class 4M to Class 7A and now Class 6A. In nine meetings since 2021, Columbus has gotten the better of Palmetto six times, including two playoff contests in 2021 and 2022.

The Explorers won their second football state championship in the weeks after that 2022 meeting, and they added a third title the following year. But at least until the final gun Thursday night, it's the Panthers who currently hold the bragging rights in this series, with two of their three wins against Columbus during that span coming last season.

The Panthers defeated the Explorers 24-21 in the regular season before winning again in a 27-10 thumping in the second round of the playoffs. They came excruciatingly close to playing for their own state championship last fall, which would have been the school's first. They lost 45-44 in double overtime to Vero Beach in the Class 7A state semifinals, and Vero Beach then went on to lose the state championship by a single point to Lake Mary, 28-27.

Both teams feature plenty of FBS-level talent. Columbus senior A'mir Sears is a five-star athlete committed to the University of Miami who had a game for the ages against Bishop Gorman, catching two touchdowns on offense while intercepting three passes on defense. He's joined by classmates such as safety Ajavion Willis (Pitt), running back Cecil Smith (Northern Illinois) and quarterback Kai Moore (Northern Illinois), along with junior star wide receiver Sanjae Green.

Palmetto counters with stars such as wide receiver Kaden Howard (Georgia Tech), quarterback Jamison Larsen, running back Aiden Butler, defensive end Brandon Howard and linebacker Mathias Augustin, among others.

Game time is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Southridge Stadium in Miami, Florida.

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Kendall Webb
KENDALL WEBB

Kendall began covering high school sports in East Texas as a high school student in the late 1980s. He served as the sports editor for the Gladewater Mirror early in his career while attending Kilgore College where he received an Associate of Arts with a major in journalism. He later completed his Bachelor of Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin. Webb later founded the College Football America Yearbook, publishing an annual edition every year from 2011 through 2022. Webb added a Master of Liberal Arts with a major in journalism from Harvard University in 2023, simultaneously completing a Graduate Certificate in Digital Storytelling. He has also written for The Sporting News and remains a passionate fan of sports at all levels. He began contributing to High School On SI in 2026.

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