Florida high school football has had plenty of ups and downs through the regular season and now the entire state is now in the thick of the playoffs as the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) heads into the state semifinals. Upsets and close calls have filled the scoreboards as we try and configure every week […]
Florida high school football has had plenty of ups and downs through the regular season and now the entire state is now in the thick of the playoffs as the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) heads into the state semifinals.
Upsets and close calls have filled the scoreboards as we try and configure every week who are exactly the Sunshine State’s top football programs week in and week out.
This past week was no different. Plenty of exciting state semifinal games were on tap, bringing to you a whole new perspective on the best out of Florida.
Here’s the Top 25 Florida high school football teams after the state semifinals and heading into the state championship finals, as we see it.
Probably wondering how on earth can a team that didn’t play leapfrog not one, but two teams. Well, we got to thinking and came up with that the Dreadnaughts own victories over Miami Central and Lake Mary, two ranked clubs. Unfortunately, Lakeland doesn’t play Chaminade-Madonna or IMG Academy, but whose to say each one of these teams couldn’t beat one another? The Dreadnaughts now face their final test with St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state championship game on Thursday night.
Sooner or later, you had to imagine these guys would be back near the top of the rankings. The Lions have opened up the playoffs by out-scoring their first four opponents 217-12. Hard not seeing these guys just winning it all in Class 1A when they face Clearwater Central Catholic on Wednesday night.
Of course the argument is there on why IMG Academy could be second or even still the top-ranked club, but last week’s blowout loss to St. Frances Academy has us taking a step back on the Ascenders. IMG Academy ended their season with a 28-7 win over St. Thomas More (Connecticut).
John Peacock’s crew took care of business once again when they defeated Columbus, 33-27. Next up is the finale when they take on Lake Mary for the Class 7A state title on Saturday afternoon.
There’s no reason to drop the Patriots too far down the rankings as they lost in the final seconds to Miami Norland a few weeks ago, only to get a win from that contest via a forfeit. Without Dia Bell at the helm, Malachi Toney has taken the reigns and led the Patriots to back-to-back playoff wins over Miami Norland and St. Augustine. Now for the final test against Jones in the Class 4A title game.
Last time the Raiders had three losses in a season was 2017, when they lost to Venice in the Class 7A state championship. St. Thomas Aquinas just barely edged out Manatee, 16-13, last week in a 5A state semifinal. Now they return to Pitbull Stadium to face top-ranked Lakeland.
The Fightin’ Tigers have been playing as well as anyone and showed why once again in a 18-7 defeat of a very good Naples group. A showdown with Plantation American Heritage is next in a 4A state championship down in Miami.
Cocoa ended the regular season against Rockledge, winning the rivalry game handily. The Tigers made easy work of Lake Placid, 63-0, to open the playoffs and have followed it up with wins over last year’s Class 2M champs, Berkeley Prep, Newberry and Cardinal Mooney. The Tigers take on Gadsden County on Thursday afternoon for the 2A state championship.
Teddy Bridgewater’s bunch continued their winning ways into the postseason with a 40-0 thumping of Eau Gallie. The Bulls now return to Dade County to face Raines for the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday night at Pitbull Stadium.
It’s a luxury when you can play your sophomore backup quarterback and still win by double-digits in a region final. That’s what the Marauders did last week against Lakeland Christian. Now Chris Harvey will lead his team down to South Florida to take on Chaminade-Madonna for the Class 1A state championship game for the third year in a row.
We kind of thought Lake Mary would be at this point and a 24-13 win over Dr. Phillips in the 7A state semifinal. Now a Noah Grubbs-led will go up against a high-powered Venice offense on Saturday for the 7A title.
The Jaguars proved back in the preseason that they would be a contender for the 2A title when they competed with Venice, who is now competing for the 7A crown. Gadsden County will now face Cocoa on Thursday for the 2A title.
There’s really a lot to like about this Vikings squad. Raines finished out the regular season undefeated and have rolled during this postseason, beating Sarasota Booker, 28-23.
The Bulls end up being undefeated after all, with news that Western will be forfeiting its win to West Boca Raton. Dylan Potts’ bunch cruised to their first three playoff wins over Steinbrenner, Mitchell and Wiregrass Ranch before just narrowly beating Southridge in the state semifinal, 14-11. Now they’ll take on Kissimmee Osceola for the 6A title.
If you remember from back during the regular season, these very Kowboys gave Jones everything they wanted in a Thursday night 34-28 loss. We circle back now to Kissimmee Osceola’s 17-7 win over Armwood and defeating Buchholz and can say that Eric Pinellas has the experience and talent on this team to win the 6A state championship. The win over the Hawks spoke to the club’s ability to play with anyone in the state, kinda like when the Kowboys were right there with Jones.
Jacquez Green’s crew saw it’s season end in a 16-13 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in a Class 5A state semifinal last week. The Hurricanes made a viable run through the playoffs.
Cardinal Mooney proved they were a serious contender in Class 2A after hanging with Cocoa, last year’s Class 2S state champion, in last week’s state semifinal. The Cougars ended up falling, 31-21.
What looked like a state title run was upended last week in Seffner when the Hawks fell to Kissimmee Osceola. Armwood had the talent across the board on offense and defense, but come up short in its quest to get back to Miami.
The stars were looking like they might be aligning for a potential Miami Norland run back to the state championship game. Ennio Yapoor, Florida’s all-time leader in passing yardage, career ended with a 35-14 loss to Plantation American Heritage last week.
I mean, how could we not keep Tampa Bay Tech in this week’s rankings? An immpressive 28-17 victory over Edegwater then was followed up with a heartbreaking loss to Lakeland.
Making their debut into the rankings last week this season was the Explorers after defeating Western in a tight Class 7A, Region 4 final. Dave Dunn’s bunch took Venice to the brink, but fell narrowly, 33-27.
Ernst Peters/The Ledger / Ernst Peters/The Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Eagles were at the bottom of these rankings last week, but we move them up three spots after falling 34-33 on the road against top-ranked Lakeland. Niceville deserves a bunch of credit for walking into Bryant Stadium and nearly coming away with a dub.
The Bobcats’ season came to a close in last week’s Class 6A state semifinal loss to Kissimmee Osceola at home. Buchholz has reached the state semifinals three years in a row.
Tim ‘Ice’ Harris is back to his old tricks of having the Tornadoes compete for a state championship. Miami Booker T. Washington saw its season come to a close in a 2A state semifinal against Gadsden County, falling 47-27.
The Spartans have really begun making believers out of everyone lately. A 20-14 over previously ranked Monarch vaulted Southridge into the rankings for the first time all season. Southridge could easily be in the 6A final if not for what looked like a controversial fumble call in the 6A state semifinal loss to West Boca Raton.
On the outside looking in: Cardinal Newman, Dr. Phillips, Eau Gallie, Hawthorne, Madison County, Naples, Oakleaf, Port Charlotte, Sanford Seminole, St. Augustine, Western
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— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
