Florida high school football state semifinals: Top 5 games to watch
Well, can you believe it? The 2023 regular season has now come and gone, with plenty of surprises, upsets and superb performances from the athletes. Now, we are ready to see what high school football state semifinals have in store for us. But to know where you’re going, we’d like to help you out a little bit.
We are back with the Top 5 list of games, with so many great matchups on the schedule once again this week as we are almost to the end of high school football in Florida. Check our list out and chime in via our social media handles with football games you think we may have missed.
Football State Semifinals Top 5 Games to Watch
Lakeland at Buchholz (4S): Are the defending Class 4S champions starting to play their best football? The Dreadnaughts are as healthy as they've been all season long after putting up 77 points against Lake Minneola last week. You can't help but notice the Bobcats are steadily taking care of business and now Florida commit Myles Graham is having a bigger hand on offense. This game should be a packed house at Citizens Field Friday night.
Pensacola Catholic at Bradford (2S): You want hard hitting football? Take a drive over to Starke and find yourself a seat at Tornado Alley as this contest will involve a lot of ground-and-pound type football. Question marks swirl on the availability around Bradford quarterback Dae'Jon Shanks, who had two personal foul penalties, that had him tossed from the 43-0 win over Baker County. Nigel Nelson will be the go-to-back for the Crusaders paired with CJ Nettles.
Jones at Homestead (3M): This is a rematch from last year's state semifinals, in which Homestead traveled into Orlando and defeated Jones 30-24. You best believe the Fightin' Tigers have not forgotten that loss and would love to pay back the Broncos by giving them a loss at Harris Field. Jones head coach Elijah Williams has done a masterful job to this point, but will need to contain the playmaking abilities of quarterback Joshua Townsend, running back Isaac Brown (Louisville commitment) and wide receiver Cortez Mills. Texas commitment D'antre Robinson will need to be a difference maker for Jones if they look to pull off the win in Homestead.
Bolles at Miami Norland (2M): Now on paper, this might not seem like it's a great matchup. Something tells us, however, this contest could play out a lot differently. The Bulldogs last year traveled down to South Florida and nearly upended Plantation American Heritage in the state semifinal round. Despite having five losses, Bolles has a slew of playmakers like DJ Moore, Naeem Burroughs that can keep them within striking distance of Norland. Ennio Yapoor, Miami-Dade's new passing record holder, needs to have his best game to lift the Vikings into the state championship game.
Vanguard at Mainland (3S): Whenever you have two teams with pretty talented dual-threat quarterbacks, you know you're in for a treat. Vanguard features USF commitment Fred Gaskin III under center and he's a do-it-all kind dude for the Knights. You can ask Lake Wales' defense, which yielded 52 points last week to Vanguard. On the other side, Travis Roland's bunch are one step away from getting back to the state championship game with Dennis Murray Jr. at the controls. The talented signal caller can beat you with his arm or legs and the Knights will need to slow down the playmaker.
FHSAA 2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKETS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1R STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
