Round three of the FHSAA football state playoffs has seven Orlando area teams still in the running to get to Miami for state championship games.
It’s region final night and top seeds DeLand (7A), Edgewater (5A), Jones (4A) and Bishop Moore (3-A) have homefield advantage. Lake Mary plays at DeLand and 7A Dr. Phillips and 6A South Lake also go on the road.
We have reporters providing live updates on games as they unfold (below). Check back frequently to see the live updates.
Our Scoreboard at SentinelVarsity.com posts scores from every game involving an area team.
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Rankings in bold are regional seeding, based on FHSAA power rankings generated at the end of the regular season.
Friday’s winners advance to next week’s semifinals. Those matchups will not be official until the FHSAA updates its rankings to re-seed the final four games. The FHSAA told the Sentinel the pairings will not be finalized until Saturday night’s Miami Northwestern vs. Miami Central game is played.
Teams are listed with region seeding.
No. 2 Lake Mary (9-3) at No. 1 DeLand (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Coverage by Chris Hays
This is a Class 7A Region 1 championship game, played at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
A year ago, Lake Mary spanked the visiting Bulldogs 49-14 on the way to a state runner-up finish to Venice.
This year DeLand is the favorite with the No. 1 ranking in 7A.
The FHSAA power rankings rate the ‘Dogs as No. 1 across all eight classifications but there is a big discrepancy between that position and DeLand’s No. 13 MaxPreps rankings.
The Bulldogs are averaging 49.8 points per game and allowing 17. They scored 65 and 70 in their two previous playoff games.
Lake Mary is averaging 46.3 points in its four-game winning streak.
No. 2 Lakeland (10-2) at No. 1 Edgewater (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Coverage by Steve Gorches
This is a Class 5A Region 2 championship game.
Edgewater is No. 2 behind 2024 state champ St. Thomas Aquinas in the FHSAA rankings, just ahead of Lakeland, last year’s state runner-up. The MaxPreps rankings have Lakeland No. 2 behind Aquinas, with Edgewater third.
The Dreadnaughts only losses were 10-6 to California power De LaSalle (12-0) and 35-28 in double-overtime against The First Academy.
Lakeland has won nine state championships — a Florida public school record.
Edgewater is hunting its first football state title after five runner-up showings (2002, 2003, 2004, 2019, 2020).
No. 3 Lake Wales (10-2) at No. 1 Jones (10-2), 7:30 p.m.
Coverage by Jean Racine
This is a Class 4A Region 2 championship game. It’s a rematch of an Oct. 22 district game Jones won 48-22.
Jones is ranked No. 2, Lake Wales No. 5 in the FHSAA 4A rankings.
Jones, seeking its first FHSAA state title, was the 4A runner-up to American Heritage-Plantation last year and made the final four in each of the past four seasons.
The Tigers have won eight in a row since losing back-to-back games against Evans, 28-25, and Edgewater, 20-17, in September.
Lake Wales was the 2022 state champ in the Suburban division in a format that was revised last year.
No. 3 Eau Gallie (9-3) at No. 1 Bishop Moore (11-1), 7 p.m.
Coverage by Chris Martucci
This Class 3A Region 2 championship game is a rematch of last year’s region final, where Eau Gallie pulled out a 26-24 win at home. The Commodores also beat the Hornets 20-17 and 12-10 in tight 2022 and 2023 regular season games.
Bishop Moore’s loss was to Lake Mary, which is alive in 7A.
The Hornets won state titles in 1970 and 2015 and are in a region final for the third year in a row.
No. 2 South Lake (11-1) at No. 1 Armwood (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
This is a Class 6A Region 2 championship game.
Armwood is ranked No. 1 in 6A by MaxPreps and is third in the FHSAA power ratings.
South Lake is No. 11 in the FHSAA rankings and No. 12 by MaxPreps.
The Eagles have won nine in a row since losing to Villages Charter and posted a second round playoff win for the first time in program history last week — defeating Kissimmee Osceola 19-13. That broke the school record for wins in a season.
Armwood won state titles in 2003, 2004 and 2011 — but the third of those was stripped by the FHSAA due to recruiting violations.
No. 7 Dr. Phillips (9-3) at No. 1 Vero Beach (12-0), 7 p.m.
This is a rematch of the 2024 Class 7A Region 3 championship game, won by DP 21-14 at home. That gave the Panthers a 3-0 record in playoff games vs. the Indians since 2016.
Vero is rated No. 1 in 7A by MaxPreps, No. 2 in the FHSAA power rankings.
DP is rated No. 12 by MaxPreps and No. 13 by the FHSAA after scoring a wild 22-21 road win at Fort Pierce Central last week.
The Panthers were 2017 state champs and are making their ninth region final appearance.
Vero Beach won a FHSAA final in 1981.
FHSAA football playoff what-ifs: 7 Orlando-area teams eye Miami state finals
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
