JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The third round of the high school football playoffs is in the books and it was a tough night for area teams.
Only six area teams survived the second round — Baker County, Bolles, Nease, Pierce County, Trinity Christian and Union County.
The seasons of Bartram Trail and Riverside ended in blowout fashions. State championship contender University Christian was bounced in the second round by Quincy Munroe. And Raines couldn’t atone for a slew of turnovers in a loss to visiting Wakulla.
It wasn’t better for the area’s South Georgia teams either. Unbeaten Brunswick saw its perfect season end with a 29-21 loss to Dacula. And Ware County lost a shootout to Calhoun, 49-42.
The biggest upset of the night belonged to Nease. The Panthers, seeded seventh in Region 1-7A, went on the road to beat No. 3 seed Niceville, 24-19. Nease (8-3) got a 29-yard touchdown run by Marcus Stokes with five minutes to play to put the Panthers up for good. They’ll need a Herculean effort playing at top-seeded Gainesville Buchholz next week.
Nease hasn’t been to the regional finals since 2007 under former coach Craig Howard. The Panthers reached their third straight state championship game that year.
TV highlights
Game of the week: Union County rocks Hilliard
Highlights Part I: Bartram Trail-Apopka
Highlights Part II: Raines-Wakulla; Baker County-West Florida
Highlights Part III; Bolles-Gadsden County; Trinity Christian-St. John Paul II
Florida playoff results
Friday’s scores
Regional semifinals
Region 1-8A
1. Seminole 18, 5. Lake Mary 7
3. Apopka 34, 2. Bartram Trail 3
Region 1-7A
1. Gainesville Buchholz 39, 5. Orange City University 7
7. Nease 24, 3. Niceville 19
Region 1-6A
1. Pine Forest 32, 5. Riverside 12
2. Mosley 31, 7. Gulf Breeze 28
Region 1-5A
1. Baker County 13, 5. West Florida 10
3. Wakulla 32, 2. Raines 27
Region 1-4A
1. South Walton 35, 4. Baldwin 14
2. Bolles 27, 6. Gadsden County 6
Region 2-4A
1. Cocoa 41, 4. South Sumter 0
2. Villages Charter 34, 3. Keystone Heights 6
Region 1-2A
1. Trinity Christian 44, 4. St. John Paul II 7
2. Quincy Munroe 36, 3. University Christian 23
Region 3-1A
1. Chiefland 28, 4. Lafayette 27, OT
3. Union County 52, 2. Hilliard 14
Region 4-1A
1. Hawthorne 50, 4. Wildwood 14
2. Pahokee 38, 3. Bradford 20
Georgia high school football results
Second round
Friday’s scores
Class 6A
3. Dacula 29, 1. Brunswick 21
Class 5A
2. Calhoun 49, 1. Ware County 42
Class 3A
1. Pierce County 49, 2. Dawson County 0
Florida playoff schedule
Regional finals
Friday, Nov. 26
Region 1-7A
7. Nease (9-3) at 1. Gainesville Buchholz (11-1)
Region 1-5A
3. Wakulla (10-2) at 1. Baker County (10-2)
Region 1-4A
2. Bolles (7-2) at 1. South Walton (10-1)
Region 1-2A
2. Quincy Munroe (8-2) at 1. Trinity Christian (7-4)
Region 3-1A
3. Union County (12-0) at 1. Chiefland (10-1)
Georgia playoff schedule
Friday, Nov. 26
State quarterfinals
Class 3A
2. Peach County (8-3) at 1. Pierce County (10-2)