Mainstreet Daily News
After a one-year adjustment for COVID-19 safety considerations, the Florida high school football state championships will return to a multiple location format in both 2021 and 2022.
This week the Florida High School Athletic Association announced that the state championship contests for Classes 1A-3A will return to Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee Dec. 9-11, while Class 4A-8A will take place Dec. 16-18 at the newly renovated DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
“The FHSAA is thrilled to partner with both the Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale communities to host the 2021 and 2022 Florida High School Football State Championships,” FHSAA Executive Director George Tomyn said in a statement. “Each location is sure to provide a unique and memorable football championship experience to all participating student-athletes and coaches, as well as their travelling fans.”
Last year, the FHSAA held all eight classification championship games at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium, including the Hawthorne Hornets’ matchup in the Class 1A title game.
Game times at each location will start at 7 p.m. and tickets will sell for $12 if purchased in advance and $15 on game day. Spectrum Sports will live stream all matchups. For specific event information regarding each location, visit the football sport page at FHSAA.com.
Friday marks the final games of the regular season, with the FHSAA playoffs beginning next week. Several area teams have their sights set on deep playoff runs and championship dreams and are regionally ranked, including Class 7A Buchholz (Gainesville) with an 8-1 record, Class 7A Gainesville at 7-2, Class 4A Keystone Heights at 9-0, Class 1A Hawthorne at 7-0, Class 1A Union County (Lake Butler) at 9-0 and Class 1A Chiefland at 9-0.