JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mandarin has been one of the area’s constant Super 10 teams all season. Can the Mustangs win just the second state championship in program history when they face Miami Columbus on Friday at 3 p.m. in Tallahassee? It’s a rematch of the 2018 Class 8A championship game, won by Mandarin. A look at the title game matchup below.
Looking for the Class 3S championship matchup? Find that here.
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Class 4M state championship
Mandarin (11-3) vs. Miami Columbus (12-2)
When: Friday, 3 p.m.
Where: Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
Watch it: Games will be streamed on Ballysports.com. Games are also shown on select television providers in the area. Free trials are available and so are monthly packages.
Road here: Mandarin d. Winter Park, 29-16; d. Lake Mary, 36-10; d. Seminole, 28-24; d. Monarch, 51-21; Columbus d. Goleman, 49-6; d. South Dade, 34-20; d. Western, 31-13; d. Tampa Plant, 27-7.
Glance: A rematch of the 2018 state championship, won in an epic battle by the Mustangs, 37-35, five years ago to the day. Mandarin has already produced one of the most incredible road playoff runs ever for an area team, winning four consecutive road playoff games. Area teams have won three consecutive road or road/neutral site playoff games before — Bolles (2004, 2014), Clay (2016), Fletcher (2011), Trinity Christian (1997) and University Christian (1989, 1992) — but never stacked four straight wins away from home like Mandarin. ... A win would mark just the fifth FHSAA football championship won by a Duval County Public School. Raines has won three and Mandarin has the other. ... The Mustangs have been as complete of a team as coach Toby Bullock could have asked for. Bullock was the offensive coordinator under Bobby Ramsay when Mandarin won the title in 2018. While that team featured eventual Mr. Football Carson Beck and Patriots draft pick DeMario Douglas, this one is more diverse. Mandarin doesn’t have multiple players going both ways like it did in 2018, allowing it to stay fresh in games. The ground game has set things in motion, with RBs Tiant Wyche (1,709 rushing yards, 25 TDs; 300 receiving yards, 3 TDs) and Deshard Westcott (1,103 rushing yards, 6 TDs; 210 receiving yards, TD) dictating the flow of the game. Wyche is in the conversation as the area’s top RB (Bartram Trail’s Laython Biddle and St. Augustine’s Devonte Lyons are also in that mix) because of what he allows the offense to do. The ground game has taken the pressure off QB Tramell Jones to sit back look for a target. He’s got six pass catchers at 205 yards or more receiving. WR Jaime Ffrench Jr. (1,139 receiving yards, 12 TDs) is the big name, but WR Ethan Sherman (394 receiving yards, 8 TDs) has had a slew of big grabs this year. The defensive side of the ball is wicked tough. S Drake Stubbs had a career game, picking off two passes and returning a fumble 80 yards for a TD. Bullock said entering the state semifinal that he liked the matchup because his secondary was so good at taking away lines of sight and locking up receivers. Monarch had a ton of yardage (411 through the air) but it labored badly in actually breaking the coverage for anything more than yards. CB Jon Mitchell had a pick and forced two fumbles. Mandarin had four sacks, solos by Jackson Copeland, Israel Ratliff and Kemari Spriggs, and a combined sack by Grant Pettigrew and Phillip Makauskas. This is a defense that is strong and physical at all three levels. … Edge Willis McGahee IV, son of the former Miami running back, leads the Explorers defense. The three-star Nebraska commit has 14 sacks. He’ll try and help Columbus defend its Class 4M state title.