Mandarin knocks off Wekiva in regional final
Four turnovers were too much to overcome for Wekiva in Friday night’s Class 8A, Region 1 football final.
Visiting Jacksonville Mandarin recovered a fumble and intercepted three passes, the last of which went 55 yards for a score, to hand Wekiva a 19-7 loss.
The game was halted for several minutes with 22 seconds to play after players from both sides began pushing and shoving along the home sideline.
Mandarin (9-4) advances to host Sarasota Riverview in a state semifinal Friday.
Wekiva (11-2) led 7-6 late in the third quarter when it was penalized for roughing the punter while Mandarin faced fourth-and-21 deep in its own territory. Four plays later Mustangs quarterback Carson Beck threw deep to Kris Mitchell for a 54-yard score to make it 12-7.
Wekiva had the ball inside the 10-yard line but turned it over on downs with 8:20 left in the game with Mandarin ahead 12-7. The Mustangs pieced together long drives of 10 and eight plays on their next two possessions but again turned the ball over on downs each time.
Mandarin’s Demario Douglas intercepted Larry Preston and went 55 yards down the visiting sideline for a touchdown inside the final minute.
Wekiva opened the game with an interception on the first play from scrimmage when defensive end Norell Pollard hauled in a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage. Then with Mandarin threatening to score from the 1-yard line on its next possession, Pollard recovered a fumble when Terrell Jennings failed to haul in a pitch while heading for the left side of the field.
Wekiva was unable to put points on the scoreboard each time, first missing badly on a 28-yard field goal attempt and then getting picked off in the corner of the end zone by Kasimir Absolu to end what was a 14-play drive.
Edgewater reaches final four: Edgewater quarterback
FOOTBALL R.J. Harvey scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half as the Eagles jumped on Jacksonville Lee early Friday night and finished off the Generals in the second half of a 41-7 victory in the Class 7A, Region 1 final.
Harvey had 16 rushing yards in the first half but picked up 143 more as the Eagles (12-1) expanded upon their 21-7 halftime lead by capitalizing on five second-half turnovers by Lee (10-2).
Edgewater, the No. 7 seed in the region based on the FHSAA power rankings system, scored its third consecutive postseason road win to advance to a state semifinal next week. The Eagles will travel again to play at Lakeland (13-0).
Next week’s state semifinal will be the sixth in program history for Edgewater. The Eagles’ most recent previous final-four berth was in 2009 when they lost at Niceville.
The FHSAA state finals will be played Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 6-8, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
The Class 1A and 4A finals are set for Dec. 6. The 2A, 5A and 7A title games will be played Dec. 7. And the 3A, 6A and 8A tripleheader will be Dec. 8.
Riverview ousts DP: Dr. Phillips eliminated Sarasota Riverview from the football state playoffs four times in the past 12 years.
But the Panthers saw their streak end Friday night with a 33-7 road loss to the Rams in the Class 8A, Region 2 final. The defeat snapped the Panthers’ five-game winning streak that allowed them to reach a region championship game for the fifth consecutive time.
The Panthers (7-6) struggled offensively against the Rams (10-3), gaining just 174 yards and averaging only 2.4 yards per carry.
Panthers quarterback Brenden Cyr also threw three interceptions, two of which were mishandled by his intended receivers. One of the picks was returned for a touchdown.
DP’s defense entered the game having allowed just 54 points total over a five-game winning streak but struggled Friday. Riverview running back Ali Boyce, who reached 5,000 career rushing yards last week, rushed 22 times for 131 yards, and Rams quarterback Sean White completed 14 of 21 passes for 131 yards.
Riverview kicker Dorian Hall also was four-forfour on field goals.
DP was the 8A runnerup two years ago and the large-class state champion last season.
TFA loses in final seconds: The First Academy quarterback Matthew Edwards found JohnMatthew Collard in the back of the end zone for a touchdown pass that gave the Royals the lead with 22 seconds to go in their 3A region final against King’s Academy in West Palm Beach.
The victory was snatched away from the Royals when the host team responded with a 66-yard TD pass with 11 seconds to go to win 23-22.
King’s Academy will play at Tallahassee Florida High (8-3) next week.
Foundation falls hard: For the third time in a span of four seasons, Foundation Academy faced Lakeland’s Victory Christian in the Class 2, Region 2 football final.
And, for the third time, the Lions saw their hopes of advancing to a state semifinal dashed by the Storm.
The Lions (9-3) scored on the opening drive at Southeastern University in Lakeland but would not score again, ultimately falling 36-7 to host Victory Christian.
Cornelius Shaw, a sophomore for the Storm (11-1), put on a performance to remember, rushing for a game-high 269 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns. Shaw’s touchdown runs of 63 and 87 yards in the third quarter dashed any hopes that Foundation had for a comeback.
Foundation scored on the game’s opening drive, punctuating a 70-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Henry Austad to Joey Zagame. But the Lions failed to score on their next 11 possessions.