The high school football state playoffs have officially arrived.
Tonight from 6-7 p.m., join me and former Gator football player Hank Rone as we preview the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) football playoffs from locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (NW 39th Avenue).
A total of 13 area teams advanced to the FHSAA playoffs. Our guests on “The Prep Zone” sports show will join us via phone. Buchholz football coach Mark Whittemore is up first at 6:20 p.m., followed by first-year Chiefland football coach Cliff Harrell at 6:40 p.m.
Chiefland (9-1) is the No. 3 seed in the FHSAA Rural-Region 3 Semifinals and will host No. 14 seed Sneads (7-3) on Friday, while Buchholz (9-1) is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 seed Oviedo (8-2) in the FHSAA Class 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals on Thursday at Citizens Field.
You can listen to the show ‘live’ and ‘archived’ online at MainStreet Daily News.
On Thursday night, tune in to the Jacksonville Jaguars Coaches Show on 106.9 FM “I am Country,” followed by this Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The pregame show begins at noon followed by the kickoff at 1 p.m.
This Friday, we will have a pair of high school football broadcasts.
Our radio broadcast is South Sumter (Bushnell) at Eastside from Citizens Field. Eastside (8-2), which is the No. 4 seed in 3A-Region 2, defeated the No. 5 seed Raiders (6-4), 27-21, in overtime on Oct. 10 to win the 3A-District 5 title.
Join Ridaught (Play-by-play) and Rone (Color) for all the action, beginning with the pregame at 7 p.m. on 106.9 FM “I Am Country” and audio online at IamCountryGainesville.com. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Our Mainstreet Daily News live stream broadcast is Branford at Hawthorne, which is geared up for another state title run. Join Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Alex Washburn (Color) for the first round of the FHSAA Rural state playoffs.
The host Hornets (7-1), who lost to Madison County, 21-14, in last year’s title game, is seeking its sixth straight championship game appearance. They are the No. 2 seed and the visiting Bucs (7-3) are the No. 15 seed in Rural-Region 4.
You can listen to the game online at MainStreet Daily News beginning at 7:15 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
FHSAA Football
Regional Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 14
All games at 7:30 p.m. (unless noted)
Class Rural-Region 2
13 Trenton (7-3) at 4 Taylor County (Perry) (9-1)
Class Rural-Region 3
14 Sneads (7-3) at 3 Chiefland (9-1)
Class Rural-Region 4
10 Lafayette (Mayo) (8-2) at 7 Williston (9-1)
15 Branford (7-3) at 2 Hawthorne (7-1)
Rural Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT)
Friday, Nov. 21
9 Wildwood/8 Jefferson County at 1 Fort White (6-4)
6 Union County (Lake Butler) (2-7) at 3 Holmes County (Bonifay) (5-5)
FHSAA Regional Quarterfinals
Thursday, Nov. 13
Class 6A-Region 1
8 Oviedo (8-2) at 1 Buchholz (9-1), 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 21
Class 2A-Region 2
8 Avon Park (6-4) at 1 Bradford (Starke) (9-1)
7 Santa Fe (Alachua) (7-3) at 2 Calvary Christian (Clearwater) (7-3), 7 p.m.
6 Newberry (5-5) at 3 Cocoa (5-4)
Class 3A-Region 2
5 South Sumter (Bushnell) (6-4) at 4 Eastside (8-2)
Class 4A-Region 1
6 Rickards (Tallahassee) (3-7) at 3 Columbia (Lake City) (8-2)
SSAA
Regional Semifinals
Friday, Nov. 14
11-man 3A
Oak Hall (7-4) at The Masters Academy (Oviedo) (6-6), 7 p.m.
8-man 1A
Saint Francis Catholic Academy (5-6) at The Classical Academy of Sarasota (Sarasota) (4-6), 7 p.m.