Seven Orlando-area teams moved on to the region final round of the FHSAA state football playoffs, regional semifinal rounds with victories Friday night.
Dr. Phillips stuns Ft. Pierce Central
Down nine points with just under a minute left in the Class 7A Region 3 semifinal at second seed Fort Pierce Central, it looked bleak for No. 7 seed Dr. Phillips in a Class 7A, Region 3 semifinal.
But after a long touchdown pass from Camren West to Zhytrez Ervin for 45 yards, DP regained possession and was aided by a two personal-foul penalties and a couple of first downs, setting up Federico Montalvo for a second-chance, 22-yard field goal at the horn to pull off the victory.
“We’ve had some crazy finishes, but that is right up there,” said 14th-year Panthers head coach Rodney Wells. “We had several guys go down [with injuries], but we didn’t stay down. Some young guys came through and got us two defensive stops late to give us a chance.”
DeLand rolls past Boone
Senior standout Marceles Carey, who has zero FBS scholarship offers, continued his recent offensive tear, scoring five touchdowns as the DeLand offensive juggernaut made Boone its latest victim 65-17 in a Class 7A, Region 1 semifinal. For the second straight week, DeLand racked up more than 400 offensive yards.
Pictures: DeLand Beats Boone in Football Playoffs
“They were about what we thought,” Boone coach Andy Johnson said. “Really freaking good. I don’t know who is going to stop them. They might get in a shootout. But it’s gonna take a really good team to beat them.”
Carey ran the ball 8 times for 203 yards, a whopping 25 yards per carry. He has scored nine TDs in two playoff games. Teammate Taihj Moore, the sophomore running back in DeLand’s Dynamic Duo, was equally impressive, rushing for 152 yards on six carries, also a 25-yard average, and caught a 47-yard touchdown pass, all in the first half.
High school football playoff report: DeLand scores 65; South Lake, DP win dramatically
Lake Mary hitting its stride
Lake Mary, which at one point this season was sitting 2-2 after having made the Class 7A state final a year ago, seems to be peaking at the right time. The Rams rolled Spruce Creek 50-20 in a 7A, Region 1 semifinal, behind, as usual, the passing of senior Notre Dame commit Noah Grubbs.
Grubbs threw for 252 yards and three touchdown passes, and ran for two scores. The scoring passes were to FIU commit Barrett Schulz, O’Shea Faison and Donovan Little. He also climbed up another rung on the state’s all-time passing list, now sitting No. 7 in career yards at 10,618.
“It feels great, but the job’s not finished,” Grubbs said. “We’ve just been rolling as a team and I think going into this third round, it’s big for us. This could be the last time playing at home, so how do you want to be remembered? I want to be remembered the right way.”
South Lake wins 9th straight
Junior quarterback Tre Kelly threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns, both to Isaiah Pina, who had 6 catches for 80 yards as South Lake knocked off Class 5A runner-up from last year Osceola 19-13 in a Class 6A, Region 2 semifinal game. Kelly also rushed for a touchdown.
Kelly threw a 14-yard game winner to Pina with 4:26 remaining.
Malik Holman added 115 yards rushing, Keydrick Powell had 9 catches for 93 yards. On defense, Tyson Williams had 12 tackles, including the game-winning stop, and Chase Coello had 10 tackles.
Edgewater avenges last year’s loss
The Edgewater defense posted its second straight shutout 23-0, recording five sacks and holding Tampa Bay Tech without a fourth-down conversion on four attempts, in a 5A, Region 2 semifinal. The Titans knocked Edgewater out of the playoff last season.
Quarterback Carter Emanuel rushed for 150 yards on 15 carries. Damian Moore, who was nursing an ankle injury last week, returned to rush for 97 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns to lead the Eagles.
Edgewater defense has gone 11 straight quarters without allowing a point. Friday night, the Eagles had eight sacks — three by senior Appalachian State commit Michael McClenton, 2 from Aiden Anderson, and one each from Gentry Woods, Lawrence Pipkin and Keyshawn Spear.
Jones on track for return to Miami
Jones, the state runner-up in Class 4A a year ago, extended its winning streak to eight games with a Region 2 semifinal win over Ocala Vanguard 29-21.
Senior Miami commit Dereon Coleman hooked up with receiver DJ Hicks for 59-yard TD pass to put the Tigers up 19-8 midway through the second quarter. Coleman extended the lead to 26-8 in the third quarter with an 18-yard touchdown run.
Jones senior kicker Kason Mullis booted a career-best and Jones school record 55-yard field goal.
Coleman had159 yards passing and 86 yards rushing. He has not thrown an interception this season in 213 passing attempts.
Johnson leads Bishop Moore
West Virginia transplant Amar’e Johnson is perhaps saving the best for last at Bishop Moore. The senior running back, who moved to Orlando prior to last season, rushed for 234 yards on 32 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Hornets rolled past Gainesville Eastside 36-8 in a Class 3A, Region 2 semifinal.
Bishop Moore had more than 400 yards of offense, with sophomore quarterback Blake McCullough throwing for 142 yards and two TDs on 7-of-12 passing. Senior Illinois commit Kenyon Alston had three catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Lemuel Bass had a 97-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown, Malachi Smith had an interception and Trenton Gummer had a fumble recovery.
DeLand defensive lineman Joe Johnson celebrates a sack against Boone on Friday night in the Bulldogs’ 65-17 victory in a Class 7A, Region 1 semifinal game. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
FHSAA Football Playoffs
Region Semifinals
Friday results
7A, Region 1
DeLand 65, Boone 17
Lake Mary 50, No. 3 Spruce Creek 20
7A, Region 2
Venice 40, West Orange 35
Sumner 31, Sarasota Riverview 21
7A, Region 3
Vero Beach 56, Lake Nona 7
Dr. Phillips 22, Ft. Pierce Central 21
6A, Region 2
South Lake 19, Kissimmee Osceola 13
Armwood 49, Viera 0
5A Region 2
Edgewater 21, Tampa Bay Tech 0
Lakeland 15, Gaither 8
4A, Region 2
Jones 29, Vanguard 21
Lake Wales 47, Zephyrhills 35
3A, Region 2 semifinal
Bishop Moore 36, Eastside 8
Eau Gallie 35, Merritt Island 14
FHSAA Region Championships, Friday, Nov. 21
(Teams will reseed after region finals; Games at 7:30 p.m., unless notes)
Class 7A
Region 1 — No. 2 Lake Mary (9-3) at No. 1 DeLand (12-0)
Region 2 — No. 3 Sumner (10-2) at No. 1 Venice (8-3)
Region 3 — No. 7 Dr. Phillips (9-3) at No. 1 Vero Beach (12-0)
Region 4 — No. 3 Goleman (8-4) at No. 1 Miami Palmetto (10-2)
Class 6A
Region 1 — No. 2 Mandarin (11-1) at Buchholz (11-1)
Region 2 — No. 2 South Lake (11-1) at No. 1 Armwood (12-0)
Region 3 — No. 5 Mitchell (10-2) at West Boca (10-2)
Region 4 — No. 2 West Boca (10-2) at Southridge (11-1)
Class 5A
Region 1 — No. 2 Mainland (9-2) at No. 1 Ponte Vedra (10-20
Region 2 — No. 2 Lakeland (10-2) at No. 1 Edgewater (12-0)
Region 3 — No. 3 Manatee (6-6) at No. 1 Riverdale (11-1)
Region 4 — No. 6 McArthur (10-2) at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
Class 4A
Region 1 — No. 2 Choctawatchee (11-2) at No. 1 St. Augustine (11-1)
Region 2 — No. 3 Lake Wales (10-2) at No. 1 Jones (10-2)
Region 3 — No 2 Port Charlotte (10-2) at Jesuit (11-1)
Region 4 — No. 2 American Heritage (6-5) at No. 1 Archbishop McCarthy (10-2)
Class 3A
Region 1 — No. 3 Bishop Kenny (10-2) at Raines (11-0)
Region 2 — No. 3 Eau Gallie (9-3) at No. 1 Bishop Moore (11-1)
Region 3 — No. 2 Nature Coast (10-2) at Sarasota Booker (11-1)
Region 4 — No 2 Miami Central (10-1) at Miami Northwestern (11-0)
SSAA Playoffs
8-Man Championship
Fridays result
Real Life Christian 38, Bradenton Christian 14
11-Man Championship
Saturday, 7 p.m., at The Villages
Jupiter Christian (11-1) vs. Mount Dora Christian (12-1)
Philip Rossman-Reich, Jean Racine, Chris Martucci, J. Daniel Pearson, Steve Gorches all contributed to this report.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
