The year was 1985, “We are the World” was recorded for charity by USA For Africa, Coca Cola release the “New Coke” and Wrestlemania debuts at Madison Square Garden in New York.

It was also the year that the Hallandale Chargers football team won the district before losing to then powerhouse Clewiston.

While the names have changed, the objective in 2010 is the same as 1985 when head coach Bob Leibowitz turned the Chargers into one of the better teams in the county.

Twenty five years have passed since Hallandale last won a district football title, but last Friday night, that all changed for a program that was 0-10 in 2009!

The 12-10 win over Archbishop McCarthy put the Chargers in a position to host a first round playoff game for the first time.

Hallandale had started to climb the football ladder four years ago, finishing second to Miami Booker T. Washington, but then Jones stepped aside for a year and this young team never got thing together.

During the summer, the Chargers worked hard and attended as many events as possible to expose the young athletes to talented teams throughout South Florida. That off season, and the return of Jones, who was a standout running back for the Chargers back in the day, was the recipe for success.

“We told the players on this team that if they worked hard and did the things needed to be successful, they would enjoy plenty of positives,” Jones said. “They saw by winning this district title that what the coaches told them early on, came true.”

The Chargers will host Merritt Island in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 19!

A FIRST FOR COOPER CITY
Another district winner this past week included head coach Art Taylor and the Cooper City Cowboys, who won their district for the first time ever, beating Coral Springs.

Taylor, who had led Deerfield Beach to a few tremendous runs in his years with the Bucks, coached last year at Zion Lutheran before taking over at Cooper City.

The Cowboys parlayed a favorable schedule with plenty of off season work to come up with a winning record and the title.

While the good news reached all Cowboy fans and alumni, the reality of a first round game against running back Kevin Grooms and the South Broward Bulldogs will give Cooper City plenty to think about.

Next week, we will break down all the playoff games with predictions involving the BCAA schools.

Here is a look at Week 11 around the BCAA:

BROWARD
FRIDAY
St. Thomas Aquinas at Cypress Bay, 7
Archbishop McCarthy at Nova, 7
Flanagan at Cooper City, 7
Western at Coral Glades, 7
Coral Springs at Taravella, 7
Deerfield at South Plantation
Miramar at Dillard
Douglas at Coconut Creek, 7
Ely at Northeast, 7
Plantation at Everglades
Hollywood Hills at McArthur, 7
South Broward at Piper, 7

SATURDAY
West Broward at Monarch, 7

You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at Floridakids1@hotmail.com. Blustein is the co-host of the High School Gridiron Show each Wednesday night from 9-10 on WQAM (560 AM) or www.wqam.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/larryblustein