JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eight area high school football teams are headed to the third round of the state playoffs.
Baker County, Bartram Trail, Bolles, Bradford, Mandarin, St. Augustine, Trinity Christian and Union County all won second-round games on Friday night.
One of the most impressive wins came courtesy of Mandarin (9-3), which went on the road and crushed top-seeded Lake Mary 36-10 in Region 1-4M. Running backs Deshard Westcott and Tiant Wyche did most of the heavy lifting for the Mustangs. Westcott’s rushing score gave Mandarin an 8-3 lead and it never let go.
Wyche scored three touchdowns, two in the fourth quarter, to help the Mustangs turn a 16-10 game in the final frame into a romp. The defense smothered the Rams (10-2), who used a 510-yard passing game from Noah Grubbs last week to edge Boone. Grubbs entered the game with 49 touchdown passes on the season and ended the season with 49 touchdown passes as Mandarin’s defense dominated. The Mustangs visit Sanford Seminole next week in the regional finals.
In Region 1-1M, Trinity Christian held on at the finish to beat rival University Christian 28-22 in another installment of one of the area’s top rivalries. The Conquerors (8-3) lost to UC (5-6) in the regional final last year, but have won back-to-back games against the Christians. UC had one final shot at a win, getting inside the Trinity 10 with less than a minute to play. But the Conquerors stopped UC on downs and hung on. Trinity will host Orlando Christian Prep (10-1), which edged Providence 28-25.
In Region 1-3S, host St. Augustine used four touchdowns from Devonte Lyons and a smothering defense to beat Pensacola Escambia. The Yellow Jackets (11-0) were in a 17-14 game at the break but clamped down on the Gators in the second half.
In Region 1-2M, Riverside’s season ended at home in a 37-35 loss to Orlando Bishop Moore. The Generals (9-3) fell into an early hole and never caught back up.
In Region 1-4S, Ponte Vedra’s season ended with a 34-21 loss at top-seeded Gainesville Buchholz. The Sharks got a pair of touchdown runs from Brian Case but couldn’t slow down the 12-0 Bobcats. Buchholz will host Bartram Trail (8-4), which went on the road to beat Niceville, 28-21. Riley Trujillo’s touchdown run with less than three minutes to play proved the final margin for the Bears.
In Region 2-2S, host Bradford allowed a rare touchdown, but rolled past Gainesville Eastside 28-7. The Tornadoes (12-0) surged into next week’s regional final where they will host rival Baker County (8-3) in a rematch of last year’s third-round game. The Wildcats beat host Yulee 32-14 for the fourth time in two seasons behind another sharp defensive showing. The Hornets lost quarterback Nikao Smith to injury early and got a couple scoring runs from Benny Lewis to end Yulee’s season at 9-3.
In Region 3-1R, visiting Union County used a touchdown pass from Trent Klein to Ibn Williams late in the third quarter to go ahead for good in a 17-10 win at Fort White. The Tigers (8-3) will visit top-seeded Madison County (8-1) in the regional final next week. Fort White’s season ends at 9-2.
Regional semifinals
Friday’s results
Region 1-4M
- (2) Seminole 42, (3) Apopka 14
Region 1-2M
Region 1-1M
- (2) Orlando Christian Prep 28, (3) Providence 25
Region 1-4S
- (1) Gainesville Buchholz 34, (4) Ponte Vedra 21
- (3) Bartram Trail 28, (2) Niceville 21
Region 1-3S
- (3) Choctaw 38, (2) Tallahassee Lincoln 7
Region 2-2S
Region 3-1R
- (3) Union County 17, (2) Fort White 10
- (1) Madison County 60, (4) Lafayette 7
Regional finals
Friday, Nov. 24
Region 1-4M
- (5) Mandarin (9-3) at (2) Seminole (10-2)
Region 1-2M
- (4) Bolles (7-5) at (3) Orlando Bishop Moore (9-3)
Region 1-1M
- (2) Orlando Christian Prep (10-1) at (1) Trinity Christian (8-3), 7:30 p.m.
Region 1-4S
- (3) Bartram Trail (8-4) at (1) Gainesville Buchholz (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Region 1-3S
- (3) Choctaw (10-2) at (1) St. Augustine (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
Region 2-2S
- (3) Baker County (8-3) at (1) Bradford (12-0), 7:30 p.m.
Region 3-1R
- (3) Union County (8-3) at (1) Madison County (8-1), 7:30 p.m.