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We have arrived to the final week of Florida high school football and what a season it has been! No rankings this week, but we will have our final Top 25 rankings coming out next week when all the championship games are complete.
The favorites took care of business during championship week one of the Florida High School Athletic Association football state championships. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood), Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah) and Madison County were overwhelming favorites going into the week and each team let everyone know why they were considered the favorite with each team dominating in the 3A, 2A, and 1A state championship games.
The most noteworthy of events during the week was the fact that the single-game rushing record in a championship game was not broken once but twice in a span of 24 hours. Junior Thaddius Franklin rushed for a record 333 rushing yards on 47 carries scoring five touchdowns in a 35-20 win over Florida State High (Tallahassee) in the 3A championship last Friday night.
On the following night, senior running back Tre’ven Smith of Blountstown rushed for 365 yards on 24 carries scoring five touchdowns in a 70-35 loss to Madison County in the 1A championship. Obviously two of the best performances in the history of high school football in the state of Florida.
Tre’ven Smith, RB, Blountstown
Tre’ven Smith Madison County Game Film
The game however clearly belonged to Madison County. The senior class won 50 games, an unprecedented feat for the Cowboys. Senior Quarterback Vinsonta Allen accounted for seven touchdowns and ran for a career-high 247 yards and also completed 4 of 6 for 166 yards passing.
Vinsonta Allen, QB, Madison County
MC scored 28 unanswered in the 2nd and 3rd quarter to pull away from the previously undefeated Tigers. The Cowboys completed the three-peat and are one of the best small schools in the entire country.
In the 2A championship, Champagnat roared to a 35-14 victory over Victory Christian (Lakeland). Senior quarterback Ryle Aguila finished off his career as one of the most prolific passers in the state.
2A @FHSAA State Championship game M-V-P @ryle_aguila 2020 QB Ryle Aguila talks post game about the “surreal” feeling of being a state champion. His 3TD performance on 9 of 16 passing paced @ChampagnatCS on their way to a 35-14 title WIN. @SouthFLExpress @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/MAyHqk0T2n
— Brandon Odoi (@Brandon_Odoi) December 6, 2019
State Championship Preview (4A, 6A, 8A, 5A, 7A)
4A
Miami Booker T. Washington Vs. Bolles (Jacksonville) Wednesday 7:00 PM At Daytona Stadium
Miami Booker. T. Washington (12-2)
State Championships: 5
Last Championship: 2015
Best Win: Defeated Columbus 34-11
Worst Loss: IMG Academy (Bradenton) 52-14
The Tornadoes can flat out play with anybody in any class and have beaten teams in multiple classes this season to prove so. Booker T. has arguably gone through the most this offseason losing their legendary head coach Tim “Ice” Harris to Florida Memorial University and losing several players to different schools including five-star defensive end Donnell Harris to Gulliver Prep. Somehow the resilient Tornadoes blew threw most of their competition and find themselves in the title game for the first time in four years. Head Coach Ben Hanks has ridden the ship and should be commended for a remarkable coaching job given the circumstances.
Booker T.’s explosive offense is led by the Torey and Jacorey show. Juniors Torey Morrison and Jacorey Brooks have combined for touchdowns in each game this postseason and big-play TJ Summerall, Macho Arza, and Theodore Richardson provide mismatches all over the field. Washington’s defense is strong as well with Anthony Hundley clogging the middle and Washington’s resume to the 4A championship game include wins over Apopka in the spring, Columbus (34-11), Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (20-7), Miami Carol City (35-14), Gulliver (34-31), Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) (31-21), and Lakewood (St. Petersburg) (9-7).
Bolles (Jacksonville) (11-1)
State Championships: 11
Last Championship: 2011
Best Win: Cocoa 20-14
Worst Loss: University Christian (Jacksonville) 21-14
The Bolles School of Jacksonville is back in the state title game for the first time since 2016 and much of everybody outside of Jacksonville did not have the Bulldogs back in the title game in 2019. After a 21-14 season-opening loss to University Christian (Jacksonville), the Dogs reeled off 11-straight wins to make their way south to Daytona for the 4A title game. Senior quarterback Jeremiah Johnson will perhaps need to play the best game of his career if he and his Dogs are looking to pull off the upset. The Bolles opportunistic defense forced four turnovers in the semis against Cocoa and will need a similar effort on Wednesday night to come out winners. Bolles lost to Booker T. in the 4A title game back in 2014 and a win in Daytona would secure sole possession of the most state championships in Florida history. St. Thomas Aquinas is currently second with ten state championships.
Prediction: Miami Booker T. Washington 49, Bolles 13
6A
Miami Central Vs. Escambia (Pensacola) Thursday 7:00 PM at Daytona Stadium
Miami Central (11-3)
State Championships: 5
Last Championship: 2015
Best Win: Miami Booker T. Washington 32-29
Worst Loss: Chaminade-Madonna 27-7
The Rockets had somewhat of an up and down year but find themselves in the state championship game for the first time since their 2015 title run. In 2019, Central did not have to go through long-time district foes Miami Northwestern and Miami Carol City but had to fight hard to get to the championship game defeating Palmetto 34-30 two weeks ago.
Katravis Marsh, QB, Miami Central
Quarterback Katravis Marsh, athlete Yulkeith Brown and Miami commit Chamon Metayer make it difficult for opposing defenses to keep up and the Rockets are expected to continue to blast off.
Chamon Metayer, DE/TE, Miami Central
Escambia (14-0)
State Championships: 2
Last Championship: 1985
Best Win: Gaither (Tampa) 45-21
The undefeated Gators are back in the title game for the first time this century and should be a tough out. Escambia’s regular season is not something to write home about, but the Gators have been chomping it up this postseason with impressive wins over New Smyrna Beach (44-0), Mainland (Daytona) (27-7), Lee (Jacksonville) (39-13), and Gaither that make us believe that they should hang around in this game. A.V. Smith at quarterback and Frank Peasant at running back pose a serious threat on offense and if the Gators can force some turnovers they have a shot to win it, if not it will be a long ride back to Pensacola.
Prediction: Miami Central 38, Escambia 24
8A
Columbus (Miami) Vs. Apopka Friday 7:00 PM
Columbus (10-4)
State Championships: 0
Best Win: Deerfield Beach 28-21
Worst Loss: University School (Davie) 35-0
Could this be the year that Columbus takes a state championship back to Westchester? Last year the Explorers suffered a heartbreaking loss to Mandarin (Jacksonville) in one of the most exciting games of the 2018 season. This year, with new head coach David Dunn, Columbus seems like a team of destiny. After a one-point loss to Dillard (Fort Lauderdale), Columbus was exploring for answers at 4-4 but churned out six straight wins to travel north to Daytona Beach. Pittsburgh commit Henry Parrish Jr., who leads Dade County in rushing with 2,315 yards, is the engine of the offense and can only hope to be contained by opposing defenses.
Henry Parrish Jr., RB, Columbus
The Columbus defense, led by Miami commit Elijah Roberts, needs a championship effort to bring home the hardware for the first time in school history.
Apopka (13-1)
State Championships: 3
Last Championship: 2014
Best Win: Seminole (Sanford) 20-0
Worst Loss: Jones (Orlando) 21-12
The Blue Darters last won the title in 2014 30-23 against Columbus and since then four different teams have won the state title in 8A. It is the only class that does not have multiple championships from a single team in that time span. Apopka has been as impressive as any in these playoffs dominating their opponents in each round and seem to be getting better with each game. Their only loss of the season is to 5A title team Jones 21-12 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Jones completed big plays to their receivers in that game and if the Blue Darters want to win their fourth state title in school history they will need to contain four-star receiver Xzavier Henderson. Junior quarterback Jaquan Lowman is the guy for the Darters with the run-heavy Wing-T offense who can do it with his legs and his arm.
Jaquan Lowman, QB, Apopka
Prediction: Columbus 28, Apopka 27
5A
Miami Northwestern Vs. Jones (Orlando) Saturday 12:00 PM at Daytona Stadium
Miami Northwestern (12-2)
State Championships: 6
Last Championship: 2018
Best Win: Miami Central 30-20
Worst Loss: Lowndes (GA) 48-21
The Bulls defense has been a model of consistency all year. From the first game, a 32-0 shutout of Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale), to the last game a 42-21 win over Tampa Jesuit, not many games were in doubt because of the stout defense from “The West.” The offense has grown over the year with the running game led by senior running back Nathaniel Noel grinding out tough yards and freshman quarterback Taron Dickson making plays on the ground and in the air when needed to score points.
Taron “Tyga” Dickson, QB, Miami Northwestern
The Bulls are going for a third straight state title and a commanding seven total championships leading all of Dade County. If they accomplish the feat it would be with their third different starting quarterback.
Jones (Orlando) (13-1)
State Championships: 0
Best Win: Apopka 21-12
Worst Loss: Edgewater (Orlando) 28-14
Let’s welcome Jones to the party for the first time. In the long history of the high school, Jones will be making its first appearance in the state title game behind the hard running by Avarius Sparrow. Sparrow, a 2,000-yard rusher, is rolling into Daytona after back to back 200-yard games and is looking to make history for the Tigers. Jones has a strong defense as well as they held Wakulla (Crawfordville) to a total of 136 rushing yards but needed a missed PAT to prevail in the state semis.
Prediction: Miami Northwestern 34, Jones 14
7A
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) Vs. Edgewater (Orlando) Saturday 7:00 PM Daytona Stadium
St. Thomas Aquinas (13-0)
State Championships: 10
Last Championship: 2016
Best Win: De La Salle (CA) 24-14
The main event of the week was supposed to be a rematch of epic proportions. St. Thomas Aquinas returns to the 7A state championship still stinging from last year’s loss to Lakeland looking right their wrongs. In a disappointment for fans, Lakeland was ousted by Armwood (Seffner) in the regional final and Armwood was eliminated in the state semis by Edgewater. The hunger for a championship does not change for the Raiders although the opponent is different from what many presumed. The Raiders have elite talent at every level, but the question going into the season was who will lead the team at quarterback. Insert sophomore quarterback Zion Turner.
Zion Turner, QB, St. Thomas Aquinas
Turner limits mistakes with the offense and takes advantage of openings scrambling for first downs making the offense virtually impossible to stop with the running game led by sophomore running back Anthony Hankerson and the passing game led by big-play receiver and Georgia commit Marcus Rosemy. The best player in the state may be senior linebacker and Florida commit Derek Wingo who anchors the defense and roams around creating confusion for opposing offenses.
Edgewater (13-1)
State Championships: 0
Best Win: Armwood 38-27
Worst Loss: Marietta (GA) 39-24
The Eagles of Orlando, a top ten team in our Football Hotbed Rankings for most of the year, proved why they have been ranked as high as they have been scoring 38 points on a dominant defense in Armwood in the state semifinals. Edgewater went to three state championship games from 2002 to 2004 and has been hungry ever since to get back. Running back Isaiah Connelly and quarterback Canaan Mobley combine for 4,552 yards and 48 touchdowns and should challenge St. Thomas in the game.
Prediction: St. Thomas Aquinas 37, Edgewater 21
