Marcus Benjamin @_BenjaminReport
Orlando, FL – What we learned in this game is that Carson Beck can make all the throws necessary to be a D-1 quarterback and beyond. The 6’4” 225 junior put the state on notice and put Mandarin (Jacksonville) on officially on the Florida high school football map. Beck completed 25-36 329 yards and five touchdowns in a 37-35 win over Columbus (Miami) to earn the first 8A state title in school history.
“Unreal,” said Beck describing the season. “At the beginning of the season, this was the goal, we talked about it as a team and we did it, we finished.”
Beck transferred from 3A Providence to 8A Mandarin and now the Carson Beck story has taken a new direction. Beck committed to Alabama in June and now has turned around Mandarin (Jacksonville) from a 2-8 season in 2017 to now an 11-4 season and a state championship. Beck also received offers from Miami, Florida, FAU, and Boston College.
That eleventh win probably the most impressive of them all. Beck simply put on a show at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, the last of eight state championship games from the weekend felt like the main event of a fight night.
Columbus struck first with a 71-yard pass from play from junior quarterback Brandon McDuffey to junior receiver Xzavier Henderson.
Senior Demario Douglas would counter with a touchdown of his own 23-yard touchdown catch from Beck to help tie the game at seven.
Henderson and Douglas would battle for most of the game as both players played on both sides of the ball and were often matched up with each other.
Henderson had 7 catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns while his counterpart Douglas celebrated a birthday on Saturday and had nine catches for 141 yards and four scores. He started working with Beck in the off-season and the two developed a high level of trust.
“One out ten I say a thousand,” said Douglas describing his trust level with Beck. “When I knew he was coming to our school, we worked every day, we worked on perfection.”
McDuffey and Norris would trade touchdown passes throughout. McDuffey made a nice play avoiding the rush and hit Kalani Norris for a 14-yard touchdown. Beck countered with a precision pass to Douglas for his second score. Douglas would also intercept a McDuffey pass in the end zone to end the half.
Halftime: Mandarin – 24 Columbus – 14
McDuffey went back to Henderson in the second half and threw it up for his 6’4” receiver. Henderson and Douglas wrestled for it in the air but Henderson came down with the ball for a 45-yard touchdown.
Beck then found Douglas open on the sideline and the 5’8” playmaker raced and reached for the pylon for a 39-yard touchdown. Now in the fourth quarter, Beck rolled to his right and delivered a strike on the money to Douglas again for a 29-yard touchdown. The score was 37-21 when Columbus would punch back once again. McDuffey found Norris again for a 32-yard pass and Henry Parrish Jr. added the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game with 9:23 remaining. Parrish was a workhorse for the Explorers carrying the ball 23 times for 147 yards averaging 6.4 per rush.
At the 4:14 mark Columbus needed a drive to keep their championship hopes alive. Parrish began to wear on the Mandarin defensive line started to get chunks of yardage. On 2nd and goal from the nine, McDuffey lofted a perfect pass in the corner that Henderson caught and got his feet down for the touchdown. McDuffey went 15-25 for 293 yards scoring five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Columbus down by two went for two and decided to toss it to Parrish who was stopped behind the line of scrimmage.
“Fortunately, we stepped up on the two-point play and that was the difference,” said Head Coach Bobby Ramsay. “We’ve been in that situation a couple times this year we had to make a stop on a late two-point conversion to win the game. I was confident in our kids.”
An onside kick attempt was recovered by Devron Lewis and Beck rushed for the game-sealing first down to clinch a championship.
“I knew we had good players here, the culture’s changing I knew we would have a good football team this year.”
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