Region 1-2S Final preview: Can Pensacola Catholic erase years of frustration against Florida High?
The Pensacola Catholic High School football team wasn't shy about it or running from it.
Both the players and coaches had revenge on its mind.
And through a perfect game plan, they got it last week, bulldozing through Walton 42-15 in a regional semifinal. Earlier in the regular season, the Braves nabbed the district title with a narrow victory.
Everyone draped in green, white and gold basked in the sweet triumph for a few moments at Yates Memorial Field, a celebration that went into the weekend. But now, with the stakes raised even higher, the Crusaders have a much bigger monkey to knock off their back.
The area's last team still alive for a state title, Pensacola Catholic is set to face Florida State University High School on Friday in the Region 1-2S Final from Mike Hickman Stadium in Tallahassee. Each team has with a 10-2 record, with the Crusaders entering as the No. 4 seed in the region while Seminoles are the No. 3 seed.
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"We've been looking forward to redemption against Walton, so that was really nice," Catholic head coach Matt Adams said. "That was great win for the program, but we've played Florida High for a lot of years and pretty much as soon as the game was over that, we knew that was our next opponent, so we had to get our minds right pretty quickly and start over the weekend to get ready."
It isn't just that Florida High has had the Crusaders' number, it's how close Catholic has come to exercising those demons.
The Seminoles have ended Pensacola Catholic's season four of the last five years at regionals, with each game being decided by seven points or less. Three of the four matchups have come in the semifinal round, with the other coming in a 2019 regional final where the Crusaders saw their perfect season come crashing down at home.
"We've had some great games over the past five years. Unfortunately, it's not quite a rivalry because they beat us every year," Adams said. "It's come down to the end every year and unfortunately we've been on the wrong side every year. Hopefully, this is the year."
Most of the players weren't on the roster to experience most of the heartbreak, but many were on the field last year when the Crusaders fell at Florida High 18-14 in the region semis.
Those players have had 12 months to put that loss in their rear view mirror. But when reflecting back, they say it was less about what the Seminoles did and more about what they didn't do.
"Every loss that we have had over the past few years, it feels like there was nothing that the team did special. It was more about things that we didn't capitalize on, especially last year," Catholic junior athlete Nigel Nelson said. "It feels like we left a lot of points on the board and couldn't get crucial stops. So we're going into this Friday with a whole different mindset looking to win the game."
Making their eight consecutive appearance in a regional final, the Seminoles have captured 29 of their last 30 home games. The one blemish of that mark arrived in the team’s season opener this year - a 23-22 defeat to Ponte Vedra. Since falling 37-7 on Oct. 6 at Carrollwood Day, Florida High has won its last six games.
The team's victories, whether within the winning streak or earlier in the year, haven't just come against easy opponents. FSUH entered the postseason with the second-highest strength of schedule (6.52) in all of Class 2A.
What makes the Seminoles such a dangerous opponent this year is a plethora of weapons and their balance, as they have run nearly as many passing plays (254) as running plays (258), and do so both effectively.
Senior quarterback Jeremy Johnston has completed 69 percent of his pass for 2,521 yards, 29 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. Meanwhile, junior running back Jayden Threatts has been the team's most productive player out of the backfield, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. He's emerged due to a mid-season injury to Florida State commit Micahi Danzy.
Meanwhile, Clemson commit Ashton Hampton is FSUH's best two-way player. Catching 50 balls for 841 yards, the senior athlete is tied with Danzy and Keisean Inman for the team-high in touchdowns with 10. Defensively, he paces the Seminoles in interceptions (3) and is fourth on the team in tackles (52).
Leading the team in the tackling category are linebackers Josiah Broxton (119) and Darrick McGhee Jr. (111) while fellow linebacker Noah Deem tops all defenders with six sacks.
There are a whole lot of people to account for on both sides of the ball, but as was the case last week, Catholic is confident that the coaches can put together another strong game plan and that the players will buy in 100 percent.
Defensively, the Crusaders swarmed to limiting Corniulis McKenzie to the tune of 72 rushing yards. Aside from two decent gains, the Braves star had no where to go.
On the other side of the ball, Pensacola Catholic pounded the Walton by running 46 of 48 plays out of the Wildcat formation. That meant the Crusaders' great options on the outside did not see the field offensively, but all had no trouble cheering on the sideline or contributing in other ways.
"I just wanted to do whatever it takes to help my team win," said Catholic senior wide receiver Jayvion Showers, who played primarily on defense at Walton. "I told coach I just want to play. Wherever he puts me, I'll get after it."
"I said a lot throughout the year that this is a very special group," Adams said. "They've been through some ups and downs. ... They believe in the coaching staff and we believe in the kids. And that's a great recipe for success. As as everybody saw last week, we went out of the box to do what we had to do to win. I think each week in the playoffs we evaluate the teams we face and as coaches we just try to put our teams in the best situations to be successful."
Pensacola Catholic is in search of its first regional title since 2010. Most of the players weren't even in elementary school back then.
It's been a while since the program got to experience practice on Thanksgiving, but that's the path it takes to be on the level of the Seminoles. The question is, can the Crusaders beat them?
"We want to be one of the best teams. And to be one of the best teams, you have to practice too on the Thanksgiving holiday," Nelson said. "So we're going to eat right on Thursday and hopefully come out Friday with the win."
Region 1-2S Final
Pensacola Catholic (10-2) at Florida High (10-2)
When: 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST Friday
Where: Mike Hickman Stadium
Key players: Pensacola Catholic - Jayvion Showers (WR, Sr.), Demontrae Gaston (LB/WR, Sr.), C.J. Nettles (RB, Jr.), Ryland Bragg (OL, Sr.), Desjon Robertson (DL, Sr.), Nigel Nelson (LB, Jr.), Ryan Huff (QB, Jr.), Courtney Clark (DL, Sr.), Turner McLaughlin (LB, Sr.); Florida High - Ashton Hampton (DB/WR, Sr.), Micahi Danzy (RB/DB, Sr.), Jayden Threatts (RB, Jr.), Maurice Adams (DL/TE, Jr.), Josiah Broxton (LB, Jr.), Jeremy Johnston (QB, Sr.), Noah Deem (LB/WR, Jr.)
FHSAA RPI Rankings: Pensacola Catholic (11.019) - fourth in Region 1-2S, 10th in Class 2S, 62nd overall; Florida High (14.111) - third in Region 1-2S, seventh in Class 2S, 35th overall
Regional Semifinal results: Pensacola Catholic - 42-15 win at Walton; Florida High - 42-28 win at Wakulla
Last meeting: Nov. 18, 2022 - Florida High 18, Pensacola Catholic 14
Patrick’s prediction (sure to be wrong): Pensacola Catholic 21, Florida High 16
Patrick's prediction record after the regional quarterfinals: 66-28
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Region 1-2 Final: Can Pensacola Catholic finally take down Florida High?
