Columbus 38, Mandarin 19: Live score updates, Florida 4M football state championship
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – This Florida Class 4M state championship showdown between Columbus and Mandarin is part of the 2023 Florida high school football championships, which will feature nine games over three days at Florida A&M University.
Stay with SBLive Florida for reports from this state championship game and others as we cover all nine title games at Bragg Memorial Stadium on the campus of Florida A&M.
Below is our Live Update Feed created and updated as the contest progresses. Read from the bottom up to follow the action chronologically from beginning to end.
Live Updates:
FINAL: COLUMBUS 38, MANDARIN 19
4Q: COLUMBUS 38, MANDARIN 19
- Mandarin punts it away. With 31 seconds left, Columbus will take a knee and celebrate its second straight Class 4M state championship.
- Mandarin has it first and 10 at the nine and completes a first down throw to Witherup.
- Mendoza is stopped after a short gain. The Explorers turn it over on downs.
- A penalty pushes the Explorers back. It will be fourth and seven as the clock is stopped with 2:11 to go.
- Bandy takes the ball down to the eight on back-to-back runs. First down with 3:28 remaining.
- Mendoza runs for a first down at the 13.
- Columbus keeps the ball on the ground with Bandy, with less than six minutes left. Mandarin only has timeout remaining.
- The Explorers complete the hook and latter play, but they still come up short on fourth down. Columbus takes over and remains in full control in the fourth quarter.
- We have a water break with 6:24 left. Mandarin will face a fourth and 16 decision when action gets back underway.
- Jones slings it out to the left to Westcott. It's third and 16.
- A penalty and sack move Mandarin back. 7:25 left.
- Jones finds Watkins for another first down at the 34.
- Jones makes a first down strike to Ffrench. The Mustangs are out to the 22.
- A reverse on the kickoff doesn't work out for Mandarin. They are pinned at their own 10. First down.
- FIELD GOAL! Czermcha boots a 37-yard field goal to stretch the Columbus lead to 19. 8:54 left.
- Columbus is facing a fourth and two at the Mustang 20. Clock is stopped with 9:08 left.
- TURNOVER! Jones tried to run out of the pocket, but he kicked the ball out of his hand with his knee and it is recovered by Daylen Russell of Columbus. The Explorers are inside the Mandarin 30.
- Robert Czeremcha adds his fifth extra-point of the game. We have a 11:41 left and Columbus is inching closer to a second straight state championship.
- TOUCHDOWN! Mendoza finds Fitzgerald on a slant, who sees two Mandarin defenders collide before he makes his way to the end zone. The is an injury timeout before we try the extra-point.
- On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mendoza escapes pressure and throws the ball away.
END 3Q: COLUMBUS 28, MANDARIN 19
3Q: COLUMBUS 28, MANDARIN 19
- After a short run by Bandy, Columbus has second and eight at the Mandarin 29, as the third quarter comes to a close.
- Mendoza has been a magician with the RPO. He keeps it, gets outside and runs for 37-yards.
- Mendoza runs for a first down to the 31.
- Mandarin is turned away without points as Ben Hipp's 31-yard field goal attempt is no good. Columbus takes over.
- Jones has his pass broken up by Jeff Bandy on third down.
- A couple of short runs brings up third and seven as the clock goes under two minutes in the third quarter.
- Ffrench gets open again and is down to the 22. First down.
- Josiah Watkins finds an opening in the middle and gains 28 on a throw from Jones. Mustangs are back in Columbus territory.
- Mendoza fires complete to Bryce Fitzgerald who comes up one yards short of the first down. Columbus punts for the first time today and the ball is down at the Mandarin 27.
- Justin Squire puts a big hit on Mendoza. It's third and 15 for Columbus. Timeout at the 5:26 mark.
- TOUCHDOWN! Jones with a bullet on the right sideline to Ffrech, who ducks out of a tackle at the 10 and he runs into the end zone. Willis McGahee IV stuffs the two-point try with a tackle in the backfield. 6:34 left in the third quarter.
- Jones flairs it out to Westcott in the flat. He runs to a first down at the Columbus 28. Mandarin is back on the move.
- Wyche takes the kickoff nearly 60-yards down to the Columbus 41. First down Mandarin with 8:20 left in the third.
- TOUCHDOWN! Bandy dives in from the one for his second score of the game. The Explorers add the PAT. They now lead by 15.
- On a second down play-action, Jose Leon makes a first down catch inside the 10. Bandy then runs it down to the one. The Explorers are at the doorstep with 8:40 left in the third quarter.
- Mendoza drops back to pass, but escapes the pocket through middle for a fist down run down to the Mandarin 27.
- Mendoza finds Bandy out of the backfield, on the check down, and runs across midfield, for a big 38-yard gain.
- The Explorers lose five on a false start. Mendoza gets it back with a first down run.
- The second half is underway. Columbus has the ball at its own 23 after the kickoff.
HALF: COLUMBUS 21, MANDARIN 13
2Q: COLUMBUS 21, MANDARIN 13
- After the kickoff, Columbus takes a knee to bring the first half to an end.
- TOUCHDOWN! Wyche runs for the first down, steps out of a tackle and sprints to the end zone for the 21-yard score. For the second time in the game, Mandarin commits a false start on a two-point conversion attempt. They settled for the kick and they are back within eight. 33-seconds left in the half.
- On third down, Jones connects with Wyche. The Mustangs are a half yard short. We have a timeout prior to a fourth and one play, from the 21, with 43 seconds left in the quarter.
- Jones throws to Ffrench in the end zone but the ball falls incomplete.
- Witherup makes a 7-yard catch to the 23. Timeout with 1:03 remaining.
- Jones his Ffrench at the 30 for another first down. The Mustangs are trying to pull closer.
- Wyche breaks his biggest run of the day, going 48 yards. Unfortunately, as he was trying to stiff arm the defender, he gets his hand caught in the face-mask. He'll give back 15 yards but it is still first down.
- Jones rolls left and makes a spectacular throw to Joshia Watkins for a first down.
- Mandarin faces a third and 14 from its own 10. Columbus calls timeout with 2:07 left in the half.
- TURNOVER! Addae finds a crease for a big gain, but Mandarins' Jon Mitchell rips the ball away during the tackle to get the ball back for his team at their own eight.
- Another great RPO read by Mendoza who runs for six on second down. 3:20 on the second quarter clock.
- Addae runs twice and it is another first down, inside the 40.
- Mendoza hits Javi Mirabel with a first down throw at midfield.
- Columbus gives back five with a false start.
- Ever elusive, Mendoza breaks two tackles to gain eight to start the drive.
- Jones takes a deep shot but Ffrench was double-covered and the ball was knocked away. The football goes over to Columbus on downs, at its own 39, with 6:23 left in the quarter.
- Jones avoids a sack, runs all the way across the backfield and finds Ffrench for a short gain. It's fourth down and four.
- Columbus stops Wyche twice for no gain. It's third and 10 from the 45.
- Wyche runs for 12 for yet another Mandarin first down. The Mustangs have crossed midfield.
- Jones makes a pair of first down throws, to Tyrone Summerall and Carlos Witherup. The Mustangs are moving.
- Get kick coverage by the Explorers. Mandarin will start at their own 17 with 10:12 left in the first half.
- TOUCHDOWN! Bandy gets it again and takes it 8-yards to pay-dirt. The extra-point is tacked on. The Explorers answer.
- After losing a yard on second down, Bandy breaks run inside the 10. He is stripped of the ball, but fortunately for the Explorers, JJ Gomez covers it at the eight.
- On the first play of the second quarter, Bandy runs left for 14 yards.
END 1Q: COLUMBUS 14, MANDARIN 6
1Q: COLUMBUS 14, MANDARIN 6
- Mendoza converts the first down with a run out to the 48 and that will complete the first quarter.
- Prior to a third and five from the 42, Columbus calls timeout. There are 27-seconds left in the quarter.
- Bryce Fitzgerald gives Columbus good field position with a kick return out past the 35.
- TOUCHDOWN! Jones with a beautiful toss into the end zone where Jamie Ffrench Jr. hauls it in for a 15-yard score. The Mustangs convert the two-point conversion, but it was wiped off by a penalty. The Stangs then miss the extra-point kick, but they are on the board with 1:09 left in the opening quarter.
- After a nine-yard gain on a pass, Wyce rambles down to the 15.
- On third and one, Wyche gets loose for 15 yards. Mandarin is across midfield at the Columbus 45.
- Mandarin has its first first down. The Mustangs are at their own 30. Westcott follows with his fourth straight carry, gaining five.
- After another touchback, Deshard Westcott gets his first carry and gains eight to start a big drive for Mandarin.
- TOUCHDOWN! One play later Agyeman Addae powers into the end zone for a score. It's 14-0.
- Mendoza hits tight end Benjamin Blackburn in stride, over the middle for a huge gain, 47-yards. First and goal.
- Starting at its own 43, Columbus loses one on a Mendoza carry. His first pass of the day is broken up by Joshua Burton. It's third and 11 and we have a timeout with 6:03 on the first quarter clock.
- There was some confusion on the rout and no one was home for Jones' pass into the flat. Mandarin punts it back to Columbus with 6:34 left in the opening quarter.
- Wyche adds two, it's third and one.
- Wyche gets some positive yardage on first down, going up the middle for seven.
- It's another touchback on the kickoff. Mandarin will start at the 20 once again.
- TOUCHDOWN! Hector Chavez, in the wildcat, takes the snap scores easily. The kick is good and just like that, the Explorers are on top with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter.
- After another first down run, inside the 10, by Mendoza, Edward Bandy takes it to the two. Second and goal.
- Mendoza fools the Mustangs on the RPO for another first down run.
- QB Alberto Mendoza runs twice and gets a first down.
- A backwards bounce on the punt gives Columbus great starting position at the Mandarin 43.
- QB Tramell Jones completes his first throw, in the flat to Wyche, but the Columbus defense swarms and limits the gain to two yards.
- Tiant Wyche tries the middle of a short gain and then gains nothing on a sweep left. It's third down.
- The opening kick is a touchback. The Mustangs start at their own 20.
COLUMBUS VS. MANDARIN
- Both squads are set to take the field. Columbus will kick it away to the Mustangs.
- The Columbus Explorers are wearing red pants and jerseys with white numbers and blue trim, with dark navy helmets with white decals trimmed in orange.
- Mandarin is wearing all white uniforms and white helmets, trimmed with their Miami Dolphins-style green and orange.
- We are gearing up for kickoff in 30 minutes.
- Kickoff is schedule for 3:00 p.m. (EST)
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