The stage is almost set for this year’s high school football state championship games.
This past Saturday the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) announced the schedule and times for all nine games, which includes this week’s Class Rural state title game and the Rural Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) state championship.
Two area teams advanced to this Friday’s games at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium (The Villages).
In the Rural FIT, No. 5 seed Dixie County (Cross City) will play No. 6 seed Fort Meade for the championship on Friday, Dec. 6, at 1 p.m.
Dixie County advanced with a 52-22 win at home this past Friday against Trenton in the semifinals. The Bears (7-6), who have won four in a row, also defeated No. 12 seed Wewahitchka, 29-6, in the regional semifinals, followed by a 41-32 win at No. 4 seed Jefferson County (Monticello) in the regional final.
Fort Meade advanced with a 20-19 win against No. 7 seed Wildwood in last week’s semifinals. The Miners (5-7) also defeated No. 11 seed Taylor (Pierson), 42-0, in the regional semifinals, followed by a 33-14 win at No. 3 seed Franklin County (Eastpoint) in the regional final.
Two-time defending state champion Hawthorne defeated Williston, 28-7, in the FHSAA Rural state semifinals. The Hornets (10-1), who scored 28 unanswered points to start the game, will play Madison County (9-3) at 7 p.m. in the Rural state championship game in a rematch of last year’s state championship game.
Hawthorne lost to Madison County, 13-12, in the Class 1A state championship game in 2021, but the Hornets defeated the Cowboys, 22-13, in last year’s state championship game.
You can listen to the Hawthorne-Madison County game on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and online (audio) at IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Buchholz is the only other area team remaining in the state playoffs.
The No. 2 seed Bobcats (10-3) defeated No. 5 seed Oakleaf (Orange Park), 25-19, in an FHSAA Class 6A-Region 1 Final.
With the win, Buchholz advanced to its fourth straight semifinal. The ‘Cats will host Osceola (Kissimmee) (11-2) this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Citizens Field.
Osceola’s 17-7 win at Armwood (Seffner) in the 6A-Region 2 Final gave Buchholz home-field advantage in the state semifinals for the second straight year. Last year, the Bobcats suffered a heartbreaking loss to eventual state champion Lakeland, 21-20, in last year’s 4S state semifinals.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the Class 6A state championship game at 12:30 p.m. next Friday, Dec. 13. West Boca Raton is hosting Southridge (Miami) in the other state semifinal.
The FHSAA Class 1A-7A state championship games are being held Dec. 11-14 at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. State semifinals for 1A-7A are this week.
The 1A state championship game will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Top seed and defending 1M state champion Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) is hosting No. 4 seed Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) this Friday in the 1A state semifinals, while No. 2 seed Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach), which lost at Buchholz in the regular season finale, is hosting No. 3 seed Clearwater Central Catholic.
The 2A state championship will be at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, followed by the 5A state title game at 7:30 p.m.
Gadsden County (Havana), which eliminated Bolles (Jacksonville), 21-9, in last Friday’s 2A-Region 1 Final, is the top seed and will host No. 4 seed Booker T. Washington (Miami) in this Friday’s 2A state semifinals, while No. 3 seed Cocoa, which eliminated Newberry, 40-3, this past Friday, will travel to No. 2 Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota).
Defending Class 3M state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), which won an FHSAA record fifth straight state title last year, will travel to top seed Manatee (Bradenton) on Friday for a Class 5A state semifinal, while No. 3 seed Niceville travels to No. 2 seed Lakeland in the other state semifinal.
The Class 4A state championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, and will pit the winner of the American Heritage (Plantation) vs. St. Augustine winner vs. the winner of the Jones (Orlando) vs. Naples winner.
The final two state championship games will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14, with the 7A state championship game at 12:30 p.m., followed by the 3A state championship game at 7:30 p.m.
Defending 4M state champion Columbus travels to 4S state runner-up Venice for one 7A state semifinal, while Lake Mary hosts Dr. Phillips (Orlando) in the other semifinal.
Raines (Jacksonville) is the top seed in the 3A state semifinals and will host No. 4 seed Booker (Sarasota), and No. 2 seed Eau Gallie (Melbourne) will host No. 3 seed Northwestern (Miami) in the other semifinal.
All nine state championship games will be broadcast via the NFHS Network (video).