Predicting the winners of the 2024 Florida high school football playoffs 4A state semifinals

High School On SI is going on the record to make our predictions on the FHSAA 4A playoffs

Gregory Thomas and his American Heritage teammates have a huge date on Friday night at Traz Powell Stadium against Miami Central. / Matt Christopher

The Class 4A state playoffs continued in the state of Florida last week and the classification did not disappoint. 

Heading into Friday, it’s helped set up some fantastic state semifinal matchups, and the talented field of 4 teams is going to get sliced in half. Round 4 will feature several intriguing matchups, and several long road trips across the Sunshine State.

>>>FHSAA 2024 PLAYOFF BRACKETS<<<

While the state semifinal round might not see its tournament favorites fall, it has the potential to see several really good teams have their seasons upended a lot shorter than they anticipated. 

Check out who High School On SI predicts will win their region final matchups on Friday, and who will secure a spot in the Class 4A state championship.

CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINALS

(4) St. Augustine (11-1) at (1) Plantation American Heritage (10-2)

Andy V's quick hits: St. Augustine reached the Class 3S state championship last year, falling to Mainland in the final. The Yellow Jackets' lone loss this season came against Nease. Featuring USF commit Locklan Hewlett at quarterback, St. Augustine has one of the better passing attacks in all of 4A. St. Augustine needed its run game, led by the duo of Christian Coleman and Trendell Anderson, to lead the way in a gritty 13-6 win over Choctawhatchee last week. Texas commit Dia Bell went down with a leg injury in the Patriots' 24-14 win over Dillard and in the 35-14 victory over Miami Norland, Mike Smith went to Malachi Toney under center. The Miami (FL) was able to rally the Patriots to a dominant 35-14 win over Miami Norland and we have a feeling he will lead his team to another win this week.

Prediction: Plantation American Heritage, 42-20

(3) Naples (11-2) at (2) Jones (13-0)

Andy V's quick hits: Against Lake Region this season, Miami (FL) commitment Dereon Coleman threw seven first half touchdowns before being pulled out of the game. That should just give you a little idea of how good this particular Fightin' Tigers offense really is, with Coleman having Vernell Brown III (Florida commitment) and Larry Miles to throw to. The Tigers looked good again last week when they defeated a solid Vanguard group out of Ocala, 27-13. Naples finally broke through to the state semifinals after consecutive seasons in falling just short. The Golden Eagles will lean on Toledo commitment Shawn Simeon (1,948 yards, 20 touchdowns) to fuel the flexbone attack of Naples.

Prediction: Jones, 31-17

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl