Northeast Fl- The day after Thanksgiving is always “Black Friday” for shoppers. But for high school football, it’s a time to play one more football game in hopes of surviving another week toward the goal of a state championship. Several teams indeed survived Friday night, and we take a look at four of them below.
Check out Bolles win over Bishop Moore Here!
Class 2S
Bradford 43 Baker County 0
Duke Lewis recovered a fumble on 4th & 1 and returned it 49-yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the game. The score put Bradford up 7-0 over Baker County, and fittingly their first score would be on defense. Offensively, Jyquez Cason scored on a 49-yard touchdown run on their first offensive possession. He’d score another in the second half as well. Dae’jon Shanks scored on a 1-yard touchdown to put Bradford up 20-0, however Shanks would be ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. Yet, the Tornadoes were not affected by the ejection as Jeremiah McKenzie stepped into the quarterback role and kept the train rolling with several long runs. He also scored a touchdown in the contest.
Defensive end Torin Brazell had three sacks in the first half and four in the game. Bradford would go on to sack Baker County 12 times on their way to a 43-0 victory. It’s the Tornadoes sixth shutout of the year, including their second against Baker County. Coach Jamie Rodgers takes the Tornadoes back to the Final 4 for the second straight year. Bradford (13-0) will host Pensacola Catholic (11-2) next Friday.
Class 4M
Mandarin 28 Seminole 24
Mandarin (10-3) has been the road warriors in the playoffs taking down top teams in Central Florida again. Yes, that’s right again. In their 2018 state championship campaign, Mandarin went to Central Florida and defeated Deland, Winter Park, and Wekiva. Fast forward to their 2023 campaign, and they’ve defeated Winter Park, Lake Mary, and Friday night they took down powerhouse Seminole (10-3). The Noles won it all in 2020, but Mandarin is looking to win it all in 2023.
Mandarin wins it 28-24 at Seminole to advance to 4M state semis as ‘Noles threw incomplete along the sideline then had a pass picked off in the end zone with 3 seconds to play. pic.twitter.com/jdbyatI8Rw
— J.C. Carnahan (@JCCarnz) November 25, 2023
Florida State commit Tramell Jones Jr tossed three touchdown passes, his first to Alabama commit Jaime Ffrench to put the Mustangs up 7-0. Tiant Wyche ran for another playoff touchdown, while Jones completed his other touchdown passes to Josiah Watkins and his final one to Ethan Sherman which eventually decided the game in the fourth quarter. Mandarin visits Monarch (11-2) next Friday, to keep the road show going.
Class 3S
St Augustine 35 Choctawhatchee 26
St. Augustine remained undefeated increasing their record to 12-0 defeating visiting Choctaw. After falling behind 7-0 when Jonathan Boyd scored a 2-yard touchdown run. The Yellowjackets however responded as they’ve done all year. An 80-yard drive was capped by Trendell Anderson 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game in the first quarter. Choctaw would build a 17-7 lead, yet two touchdown runs by Devonte Lyons gave the Jackets their first lead of the game.
St. Augustine gashing Choctaw’s secondary.
— Seth Stringer (@SethSnwfdn) November 25, 2023
Jenkins Jr. 43-yd TD on third down makes it two possession game. 35-26 Yellow Jackets with 9:58 to play. pic.twitter.com/B4OqRtfD0L
Leading 21-17, St. Augustine’s Locklan Hewlett would score on a 12-yard touchdown run to go up 28-17 in the third quarter. He’d top that with a 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Carl Jenkins Jr as well, guiding St. Augustine to victory and a destination in the Final 4. Jenkins picked up an offer from SEC Arkansas after the game. St. Augustine’s last trip was at Lake Minneola where they fell 49-48 in overtime.
Class 1 M
Trinity Christian 48 Orlando Christian Prep 20
Trinity Christian jumped out early and never looked back en route to a 48-20 dominating performance over Orlando Christian Prep (10-2). The Conquerors rode the legs of running back Darnell Rogers, who ran for touchdowns of 1-yard, 33-yards and 43-yards in the game. Rogers wasn’t alone in the effort as quarterback Colin Hurley tossed multiple touchdowns, including ones to Jayke Jones for 80-yards and Lenox Hires for 44-yards. Cam Anderson added an 81-yard touchdown in the contest to stop an OCP comeback. Trinity (9-3) will go on the road as a #3 seed to face #2 Clearwater Central Catholic (12-0).
