Final four Friday: Jacksonville-area teams close in on football finals. Who will advance?
CLASS 4M STATE SEMIFINAL
Mandarin (10-3) at Coconut Creek Monarch (11-2), 7:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Tampa Plant (11-2) or Miami Columbus (11-2) in Tallahassee on Dec. 8.
Road here: Mandarin d. Winter Park 29-16, d. Lake Mary 36-10, d. Sanford Seminole 28-24; Monarch d. Parkland Douglas 40-7, d. Santaluces 50-27, d. Palm Beach Central 35-13.
Past championship game appearances: Mandarin, 2018; Monarch, none.
The skinny: Before this month, Monarch owned a grand total of one playoff win, but they're dangerous, averaging more than 36 points per game. Senior A.J. Hairston, one of three Knights to see time at QB this year, has been nearly errorless since his return, hitting 73% of his completions and delivering 20 touchdowns with no interceptions to 1,000-yard wideouts Jabari Brady and Samari Reed. Running backs Malik Kesley and Emmanuel Lavaud both average more than 9 yards per carry. Gabriel Birnbaum and Trevon Chisholm menace quarterbacks with nearly 40 combined sacks, part of a defense that's held eight opponents under 10 points, a major challenge for Miami commit Deryc Plazz and the Mandarin line. The Mustangs counter, though, with a triple threat on offense: proven stars at quarterback (Tramell Jones, 158 of 260, 2,797 yards, 29 TD), running back (Tiant Wyche, 1,558 yards, 22 TD) and receiver (Jaime Ffrench Jr., 52 catches, 1,048 yards). Add what might be Florida's best secondary with A.J. Belgrave-Shorter, Jon Mitchell and Hylton Stubbs, plus Jackson Copeland and Grant Pettigrew on the front seven, and Mandarin has a shot to join the 2018 Mustangs and Raines (1997, 2017 and 2018) as Duval County public school FHSAA champions.
CLASS 2M STATE SEMIFINAL
Bolles (8-5) at Miami Norland (13-0), 7:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Berkeley Prep (11-2) or Plantation American Heritage (10-1) in Tallahassee on Dec. 9.
Road here: Bolles d. Bishop Kenny 45-14, d. Raines 14-7, d. Bishop Moore 34-14; Miami Norland d. St. Brendan 55-0, d. Monsignor Pace 52-27, d. Miami Central 31-28 (OT).
Past championship game appearances: Bolles, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020; Miami Norland, 2002, 2010, 2011.
The skinny: It's five years in a row for Bolles in the final four, and as they showed last year against American Heritage, the Bulldogs are never an easy out no matter the opposition. Cincinnati commit Garrison Butler (10 sacks) leads a wrecking-ball front seven that had too much for Bishop Moore, with big nights for Martin Geary, Trey Railey and Noah Cole. Naeem Burroughs (1,001 yards) and Chase Collier (557 yards) make up one of Jacksonville's best receiver tandems, Emmett Grzebin (1,085 yards) and Ty Neal (636 yards) are dogged ground gainers, D.J. Moore (126 of 254, 2,109 yards) is a three-year starter and the line is young but tough. But the task in South Florida is daunting. Norland junior QB Ennio Yapoor (181 of 258, 3,791 yards, 26 TD) is already Miami-Dade County's all-time record-holder for passing yardage and might eventually capture the state record, with Jade Card and Isaiah Scott as top targets. Nearly a dozen Viking defensive prospects are rated three stars or higher: edge rushers Tyclean Luman and Tycoolhill Luman (both Rutgers) and Darryll Desir and Mandrell Desir (both uncommitted), defensive tackle Dimitry Nicolas (Auburn), linebacker Jeremiah Marcelin (Pitt) and defensive backs Jamari Howard (FSU), Larry Tarver Jr. (Maryland), Jaheim Miller (FAU) and Donavan Philord (Campbell).
Eye on statewide football: What you need to know about the 2023 state semifinals
CLASS 1M STATE SEMIFINAL
Trinity Christian (9-3) at Clearwater Central Catholic (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Archbishop Carroll (11-1) or Chaminade-Madonna (12-0) in Tallahassee on Dec. 7.
Road here: Trinity Christian d. University Christian 28-22, d. Orlando Christian Prep 48-20; Clearwater Central Catholic d. Indian Rocks Christian 42-14, d. Carrollwood Day 45-41.
Past championship game appearances: Trinity Christian, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021; Clearwater Central Catholic, 2013, 2022.
The skinny: After up-and-down moments earlier in the year, the Conquerors really broke out in the ground game with 343 yards against Orlando Christian Prep, combining two-way starter Cameron Anderson and Darnell Rogers (1,149) to inflict serious damage. As long as Trinity can protect LSU-committed QB Colin Hurley (134 of 237, 1,997 yards, 25 TD), wideouts Miles Burris (42 catches, 585 yards) and Kyle Boylston (26 catches, 434 yards) are deadly downfield. Trinity also stifled OCP's running game last week, allowing only 37 yards. Watch for linebacker Bryce Kazmierczak, who has forced three fumbles. The still-perfect Marauders have faced few major tests aside from Carrollwood Day and Berkeley Prep, but Clearwater Central Catholic's offense can pulverize teams in several ways: Junior quarterback Jershaun Newton is a double threat, scoring double-digit touchdowns both rushing and passing, while Justin Stephens has topped 700 yards on the ground and receivers Caleb Goodloe, Artrevian McClellan and Purdue commit Shamar Rigby are all effective pass-catchers. On defense, the Marauders have a future SEC safety in Ole Miss commit Andy Jaffe plus two prolific sack masters in Tyrique Harris and Keo Jenkins.
CLASS 3S STATE SEMIFINAL
Fort Myers Dunbar (11-2) at St. Augustine (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Ocala Vanguard (11-2) or Daytona Beach Mainland (12-1) in Tallahassee on Dec. 7.
Road here: Dunbar d. Fort Myers 21-17, d. Golden Gate 12-7, d. Naples 12-10; St. Augustine d. Middleburg 52-14, d. Escambia 31-14, d. Choctawhatchee 35-26.
Past championship game appearances: Dunbar, none; St. Augustine, 2001, 2005, 2007.
The skinny: Can the Jackets reach their fourth FHSAA final? Their offense is red-hot, particularly senior running back Devonte Lyons and a collection of receivers -- senior Myles Simmons, juniors Carl Jenkins Jr. and Trenton Jones, sophomore Somourian Wingo -- that's among the best in Florida. Junior quarterback Locklan Hewlett (2,293 yards) fought through a few miscues last week against Choctawhatchee but still has only four picks all year. On defense, Drake Lusk, Ja'ki Singleton and Julian Quintero led the Jackets on a night of sure tackling. Dunbar's Cardiac Cats have reached the semifinal the tough way with three nail-biters decided on the final play, none more dramatic than Kelby Tyre's 96-yard kickoff return touchdown as time expired to beat Naples 12-10 last week. Defense stands out for the Tigers. Kyeran Garcia and Jaylon Christmas combine for 15 sacks, Mint Edwards has 22 tackles for loss and Tyre (4 INT) leads a unit that's grabbed 19 takeaways. Receivers Tawaski Abrams (41 catches, 599 yards) and Eric Fletcher (38 catches, 661 yards), headed to Florida and East Carolina respectively, are reliable targets for junior QB Austin Price (127 of 223, 1,932 yards, 22 TD), and St. Augustine must watch the quickness of junior running back Chris Singleton (1,017 yards).
CLASS 2S STATE SEMIFINAL
Pensacola Catholic (11-2) at Bradford (13-0), 7:30 p.m.
Winner gets: Sarasota Booker (9-4) at Cocoa (12-1) in Tallahassee on Dec. 8.
Road here: Bradford d. Port Orange Atlantic 42-0, d. Gainesville Eastside 28-7, d. Baker County 43-0; Pensacola Catholic d. Suwannee 41-6, d. Walton 42-15, d. Florida High 17-10.
Past championship game appearances: Pensacola Catholic, 2004; Bradford, 1965, 1966, 1985.
The skinny: A defense that's limited opponents to 49 points through 13 games has the Tornadoes one game from their first final for 39 years. The senior-led unit is devastating: Torin Brazell and Duke Lewis are fumble-forcing machines off the edge, Chalil Cummings and Malakai Murphy command a secondary that's grabbed 10 interceptions and Marshall-committed Chason Clark and Devon McBride rank among Northeast Florida's most complete linebackers. Bradford doesn't usually need many points, but junior Jeremiah McKenzie ran the offense efficiently last week against Baker County after starting QB Dae'Jon Shanks drew a controversial ejection for celebration. The visiting Crusaders, winners of six straight, are coming off road wins over No. 1 seed Walton and 2022 state runner-up Florida High. Yes, they can throw the ball with Ryan Huff (123 of 219, 1,902 yards, 13 TD), but Pensacola Catholic is mostly a ground-game steamroller in the postseason with the combination of Nigel Nelson (1,250 yards, 23 TD) and C.J. Nettles (852 yards, 10 TD). Nelson rumbled for 251 yards last week against Florida High, and he's also picked off five interceptions on a defense led by Georgia Tech-committed linebacker Demontrae Gaston (71 tackles, 12 TFL).
They said it: "I knew the [2022] junior class was really special, and they've kept it going. They really wanted to be one of the elite defenses." - Bradford head coach Jamie Rodgers.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Football state semifinal previews: Jacksonville area in FHSAA final 4
