Meet the rivals: Football foes await St. Augustine, Mandarin, Bradford in FHSAA final
Meet the rivals: Cocoa. Mainland. Miami Columbus.
They're the three teams standing between Jacksonville-area high school football teams and the Florida High School Athletic Association championship trophies in this week's championship games at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.
St. Augustine faces Daytona Beach Mainland in the FHSAA Class 3S championship at 3 p.m. Thursday, Mandarin battles Miami Columbus in the Class 4M final at 3 p.m. Friday and Bradford takes on Cocoa in the Class 2S title game at 8 p.m. Friday.
Here's what Northeast Florida fans need to know about each of these opponents.
COCOA TIGERS
Matchup: vs. Bradford, 8 p.m. Friday, Class 2S.
Head coach: Ryan Schneider, sixth year.
Team record: 13-1 (W 22-20 vs. Orlando Jones, W 31-21 vs. Venice, L 37-36 vs. St. Thomas Aquinas, W 28-7 vs. Eau Gallie, W 38-0 vs. Treasure Coast, W 28-3 vs. Sanford Seminole, W 28-3 vs. Titusville, W 63-0 vs. Astronaut, W 49-14 vs. Palm Bay, W 26-0 vs. Rockledge; playoffs, W 54-7 vs. Eustis, W 35-0 vs. Dunnellon, W 34-14 vs. South Sumter, W 41-3 vs. Sarasota Booker)
FHSAA year-end ranking in Class 2S: No. 1.
Top recruit to watch: DE Javion Hilson. At 6-3, 225 pounds, the junior edge rusher is a top-10 2025 recruit at the position and numbers Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Ohio State among many offers.
Taking the snaps: QB Brady Hart. Just how effective has Hart been in his sophomore year? The numbers: 261 of 399 for 3,517 yards with 40 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He passed for 408 yards against Class 4S finalist Venice and 493 against Class 3M finalist St. Thomas Aquinas, a highly controversial 37-36 loss on Sept. 1 marred by numerous disputed late rulings in favor of Aquinas. Penn State and Texas A&M are among Hart's early offers.
Big-play threat: WR Jayvan Boggs. Receivers don't come much more dangerous than Boggs, who has 86 catches for 1,445 yards and 23 touchdowns and racked up 203 yards against a depleted Bradford secondary in last year's semifinal. A four-star recruit for ESPN, On3 and Rivals, Boggs is committed to Ohio State.
Previous finals: 2008, won 7-6 (OT) vs. Tallahassee Godby; 2009, won 27-13 vs. Glades Central; 2010, won 14-13 vs. Glades Central; 2016, won 31-17 vs. Bolles; 2017, lost 13-10 vs. Raines; 2018, lost 27-13 vs. Raines; 2021, lost 21-19 vs. Cardinal Gibbons; 2022, won 38-31 vs. Florida High.
Last meeting vs. Bradford: Cocoa 31, Bradford 21, Class 2S semifinal, Dec. 2, 2022.
MAINLAND BUCCANEERS
Matchup: vs. St. Augustine, 3 p.m. Thursday, Class 3S.
Head coach: Travis Roland, third year.
Team record: 13-1 (W 43-31 W vs. DeLand, W 35-0 vs. West Broward, W 28-24 vs. Bartram Trail, W 26-0 vs. Raines, W 31-28 vs. Lake Minneola, W 45-0 vs. Pine Ridge, W 65-0 vs. Deltona, W 22-0 vs. Kissimmee Osceola, W 48-14 vs. Seabreeze, L 33-0 vs. Lake Mary; playoffs, W 62-0 vs. Satellite, W 22-14 vs. Rockledge, W 35-14 vs. Sebring, W 34-12 vs. Ocala Vanguard)
FHSAA year-end ranking in Class 3S: No. 2.
Top recruit to watch: DL L.J. McCray. The 6-6, 260-pound McCray is a five-star lineman committed to Florida and ranked by 247Sports as the No. 6 prospect nationwide.
Taking the snaps: QB D.J. Murray. It's multi-threat time when Murray gets the football, particularly in postseason, when his passing numbers have made a jump. He's completed 120 of 210 passes for 1,349 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he's also rushed for 700 yards and nine touchdowns. Around a dozen colleges have offered the speedy quarterback.
Big-play threat: RB Khamani Robinson. The Bucs are loaded with running threats — Corey Hill, Rodney Hill and Murray all help carry the load — but Robinson stands out as Mainland's ground-game leader. The junior has rushed for 1,091 yards on the season, including 155 against another St. Johns County team, Bartram Trail, on Sept. 8.
Previous finals: 2003, won 24-13 vs. Naples; 2022, lost 32-30 vs. Lake Wales.
Last meeting vs. St. Augustine: St. Augustine 13, Mainland 10, Sept. 13, 1996. Mainland also defeated St. Augustine 7-0 in a 12-minute leg of a three-way district tiebreaker on Nov. 18, 1996.
MIAMI COLUMBUS EXPLORERS
Matchup: vs. Mandarin, 3 p.m. Friday, Class 4M.
Head coach: Dave Dunn, fifth year.
Team record: 12-2 (W 28-21 vs. Clearwater Academy International, W 38-0 vs. Miami Killian, W 42-14 vs. Tampa Jesuit, W 15-0 vs. Miami Palmetto, W 24-7 vs. Miami Northwestern, W 44-0 vs. Miami Senior, L 32-16 vs. Homestead, W 44-8 vs. Doral Academy, L 16-3 vs. Miami Norland, W 24-6 vs. Miami Goleman; playoffs, W 49-6 vs. Miami Goleman, W 34-20 vs. South Dade, W 31-13 vs. Davie Western, W 27-7 vs. Tampa Plant)
FHSAA year-end ranking in Class 4M: No. 3.
Top recruit to watch: DE Willis McGahee IV. The son of the former Pro Bowl running back is quick off the edge at 6-1, 225, a three-star recruit committed to Nebraska.
Taking the snaps: QB Alberto Mendoza. The starter for last year's state champions, the James Madison commit is back for his senior year, and he's been reliable: 159 of 223, 1,950 yards, 22 touchdowns and only five interceptions, in addition to 319 yards on the ground. Back after missing two games in October, Mendoza has completed at least 54 percent of his passes in every contest.
Big-play threat: TE Benjamin Blackburn. A tight end as a home-run option? Definitely. Standing at 6-6 and 235 pounds and committed to Stanford, Blackburn is a nightmare matchup for defenses. He's reeled in 40 receptions for 641 yards and eight touchdowns.
Previous finals: 1980, lost 35-7 vs. Cantonment Tate; 1982, lost 23-14 vs. Pensacola Woodham; 2014, lost 30-23 vs. Apopka; 2018, lost 37-35 vs. Mandarin; 2019, won 21-20 vs. Apopka; 2022, won 16-13 vs. Apopka.
Last meeting vs. Mandarin: Mandarin 37, Columbus 35, Class 8A championship, Dec. 8, 2018.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FHSAA football final opponents 2023: Mandarin, St. Augustine, Bradford
