State finals at FAMU precede FHSAA reclassification vote
Year 2 of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s experiment with splitting high school football teams into separate Metro and Suburban classifications culminates with nine state championship games at Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium this weekend.
The trips to Tallahassee are almost certainly to be the end of the road for a concept that was approved by a slim 9-7 vote by the FHSAA’s board of directors ahead of the 2022 football season.
The board is scheduled to hold another vote during a Tuesday 2 p.m. virtual meeting and will likely approve another classification plan in hopes of achieving better competitive balance.
The FHSAA has talked at length about mimicking California and Arizona in creating an Open Division that would pull powerhouse programs out of the traditional classifications, based on power rankings.
Tuesday’s meeting can be viewed on the FHSAA’s YouTube channel.
The 2023 finals showcase some of the best teams in the country — including undefeated national-title contender Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna.
Chaminade kicks off the finals with a 10 a.m. Thursday Class 1 Metro game against also-unbeaten Clearwater Central Catholic.
The Lions, with fewer than 600 students grades 9-12, provide proof that enrollment counts don’t matter much for power programs. Chaminade has at least eight major-college commits.
That list is topped by Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith, a 6-3, 210-pound gazelle of a wide receiver who is regarded by many as the nation’s No. 1 prospect. He has 77 catches for 1,206 yards and 18 TDs.
Chaminade QB Cedrick Bailey Jr. (NC State) is up to 112 career TD passes with 47 last year and 43 this season.
The Lions have won seven state championships since 2003 and their run of five titles and a 27-1 playoff record since 2017 is an unprecedented seven-year span. The Lions are the first team in FHSAA history to play in eight consecutive finals.
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which holds the state record with 14 championships, can become the first to win five in a row. The Raiders are 22-0 in playoff games since 2019.
Homestead makes the longest trip to FAMU: 515 miles one way.
Madison County has the shortest trek: 59 miles.
The games can be seen on the BallySports.com/Packages streaming platform or cable service.
Here are the FHSAA finalists that have top 25 national rankings:
Blue Star Media
5. Chaminade
8. Aquinas
17. Norland
High School Football America
3. Chaminade
6. Aquinas
11. Cocoa
15. Norland
Max Preps Top 25
2. Chaminade
10. Aquinas
11. Norland
20. Cocoa
USA Today
2. Chaminade
8. Norland
10. Aquinas
18. Cocoa
Championship matchups CLASS 1M, THURSDAY, 10 A.M. Chaminade (14-0) vs. Clearwater Central Catholic (13-0)
The Lions mauled the Marauders 48-14 in the 2022 final and are 4-0 against CCC in playoff games since 2017.
Chaminade’s closest call in its 2022 and 2023 playoff games so far was 49-16.
CCC edged Carrollwood Day 45-41 on a score with 10 seconds to go and then came from behind to beat Jacksonville Trinity Christian 39-32 in its semifinal.
CLASS 3S, THURSDAY, 3 P.M. Mainland (13-1) vs. St. Augustine (13-0)
Mainland lost 32-30 to Lake Wales (15-0) in the 2022 final. The Bucs were a state champ in 2003 when its coach, Travis Roland, was an All-State linebacker.
St. Augustine was a state champ in 2005 and runner-up in 2001 and 2007. The Yellow Jackets have passed for 3,536 yards.
CLASS 1R, THURSDAY, 8 P.M. Hawthorne (12-0) vs. Madison County (10-1)
Reigning champ Hawthorne is in its fourth consecutive final
The Hornets were runners-up in 2020 and again in 2021 when they were stopped on two 2-point conversion tries in a 13-12 loss to Madison County. That marked the Bulldogs’ sixth state championship since 2001.
Last week Hawthorne blitzed Blounstown 49-0 while Madison routed Bozeman 61-22.
CLASS 1S, FRIDAY, 10 A.M. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (11-2) vs. Ocala Trinity Catholic (6-7)
Trinity is the first team to reach an FHSAA final after a 3-7 regular season.
The Celtics won championships in 2005 and 2010 and were runners-up three times — including a loss to Naples First Baptist a year ago. TC scored a 51-36 revenge semifinal win last week.
CLASS 4M, FRIDAY, 3 P.M. Miami Columbus (12-2) vs. Jacksonville Mandarin (11-3)
Carson Beck — now the Georgia Bulldogs QB — threw 5 TD passes as Mandarin outscored the Explorers 37-35 in the 2018 Class 8A final.
Columbus lost to Apopka 30-23 in the 2014 8A final then topped the Blue Darters for titles 21-20 in 2019 and 16-13 last year for titles.
CLASS 2S, FRIDAY, 8 P.M. Cocoa (13-1) vs. Bradford (14-0)
The Tigers topped Bradford 31-21 in a semifinal last year on the way to capturing their fifth championship since 2008. Cocoa was a runner-up three times, including 2021.
Cocoa junior Jayvan Boggs has 23 TD catches.
The Tornadoes’ two titles were in 1965 and 1966.
CLASS 2M, SATURDAY, 10 A.M. Miami Norland (14-0) vs. Tampa Berkeley Prep (12-2)
Norland ousted Miami Central, a champion in the past four seasons (nine titles in all), with a 31-28 overtime win last week. The Vikings won their own titles in 2002 and 2011.
Norland junior QB Ennio Yapoor has passed for more than 10,700 yards and 89 TDs in four varsity seasons.
Berkeley, a 3A runner-up to Chaminade in 2021, upset nationally ranked Plantation American Heritage 17-14 last week. Buccaneers coach Dominick Ciao, 70, is in his 34th year as a head coach.
CLASS 3M, SATURDAY, 3 P.M. Aquinas (13-1) vs. Homestead (12-1)
Aquinas beat the Broncos 38-21 for the 2022 title.
The Raiders lost their opener 20-7 against St. John Bosco of California — a national top-five team.
Homestead won semifinals against Jones 30-24 in 2022 and 42-35 this year.
CLASS 4S, SATURDAY, 8 P.M. Venice (12-2) vs. Lakeland (11-3)
This is a rematch of last year when Lakeland won 21-14 for its eighth championship.
Venice has claimed three titles, including a 2021 victory vs. Apopka in 8A, and a 2017 win in 7A.
Lakeland trailed 14-0 early but rallied to beat top-ranked Buchholz 21-20 on a missed PAT last week.