Tag: florida high school football

Florida flips 4-star recruit Roderick Kearney from Florida State

Florida scored a big recruiting win over their rivals at Florida State on Monday evening. 

Florida scored a big recruiting win over rival Florida State on Monday evening.

Four-star offensive lineman Roderick Kearney had previously committed to the Seminoles, but he’s changed his mind and announced he’ll go to the Swamp instead.

Kearney (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) is one of the best OL prospects in the class of 2023. He ranks No. 4 among all interior offensive linemen, No. 28 in the state and No. 123 nationally, per 247Sports.

The Gators are getting a mauler in the trenches with impressive power and an aggressive streak. As a Junior, he was credited with 56 pancake blocks last season in 10 games for Orange Park (Fla.).

Kearney joining the club brings Florida’s total number of recruits for the 2023 cycle to 22 and gives the Gators some breathing room in the recruiting rankings. While they are still at No. 8 behind LSU, there’s now more space between them and ninth-ranked Clemson. Meanwhile, Florida State dropped to No. 19.

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USA TODAY Sports Super 25: Week 9

Nebraska keeps top recruit in the state with Malachi Coleman commitment

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WATCH: These 2 touchdowns helped Central hold off Columbus in battle of Miami

Florid high school football at its best!

The two best high school football teams in Miami (Fla.) met on Friday night. As expected, Central —ranked near the top of the USA TODAY Sports Super 25—came out on top against Columbus; however, the way they did it went against the 2022 season norms.

Over the last several weeks, Central’s defense shut down their opponents, holding five straight teams to seven points or less. 

This time around, it was their passing offense this time that won the day.

These two touchdowns helped Central hold off Columbus, 42-35.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkD2EkrL458/

Central is now 8-0 on the season, while Columbus suffered its first loss, dropping to 8-1.

The Rockets will close out their regular season schedule on Friday, hosting Monsignor Pace (Fla.), while the Explorers play their last game at home against Goleman (Fla.).

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High school football key matchup of the week: Central (Fla.) vs. Columbus (Fla.)

A showdown in Florida with Super 25 implications.

The biggest high school football game this week will take place between two teams based in Miami, Florida: Central and Columbus.

Central (7-0) is currently ranked No. 3 in our Super 25 list, coming off a dominant 53-7 win over Norland (Fla.). The Rockets have not been threatened by anybody since their Week 1 matchup with IMG Academy (Fla.), which they won by a touchdown. Since then, it’s been all easy sailing, and none of their opponents have come closer than 17 points on the final score. 

Overall, Central has won their games by a total of 269-54.

However, Columbus (8-0) may give the Rockets a run for their money. While the Explorers haven’t been quite as dominant and haven’t faced a national powerhouse like IMG, they’re still rolling through their competition. Last week they defeated Doral Academy (Fla.) by a score of 35-7, led by four passing touchdowns from Junior quarterback Alberto Mendoza. It may be difficult for Mendoza to repeat that – as Central’s defense has held their last five opponents to seven points or less.

Central should be considered the favorite, but an upset is hardly out of the question. Columbus would come crashing through the door of our Super 25 rankings with a win.

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Texas commit Cedric Baxter Jr. has another dominant game

Longhorns fans should love seeing this!

Texas has one of the top recruiting classes of 2023. Quarterback Arch Manning will get most of the attention over the coming months as he closes out his high school career, but he won’t be the only superstar in the Longhorns’ backfield.

Edgewater (Fla.) running back Cedric Baxter Jr. is ranked the No. 2 RB in the country, and he committed to Texas on August 10. Since then, he’s had several dominant performances showcasing his awesome potential. On Friday, he had another in a 28-19 victory, posting over 200 rushing yards and scoring three touchdowns. Baxter shared one of his best runs on Twitter:

He has totaled over 1,000 rushing yards in just five games this season.

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5-star DL David Hicks picks Texas A&M over Oklahoma

USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings: Week 5

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Florida high school football rankings: 6 teams appear in latest Super 25

Six schools from the state are in the latest USA TODAY Super 25 rankings.

Talent can be found all around the country if you know where to look, but the truth is that much of the elite football prospects are concentrated in a few places.

In Texas high school football is more of a religion than a hobby, and they usually have several of the best teams in the nation.

Florida is also a hotbed of high-quality recruits and teams, though. Six schools from the state are in the latest USA TODAY Super 25 rankings. Here’s who they are and where they rank compared to the competition.

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Lamar Jackson reacted hilariously to Dalvin Cook’s high school story

Dalvin Cook and Lamar Jackson spoke to The Athletic about a high school playoff matchup, and Jackson responded hilariously to one Cook quote.

The audience watched a pair of future NFL stars in this November 2013 playoff game, but more than a half-decade later, then-Boynton Beach Community (Fla.) quarterback Lamar Jackson and then-Miami Central (Fla.) running back Dalvin Cook recall the warmups as well as anything in the game itself.

Cook was a consensus five-star athlete, ranked the No. 2 running back in the country, and the best player on a championship-or-bust team. Jackson, a three-star player who had just transferred to a team that had hadn’t won five games in a season in more than 10 years, still had people questioning his ability to play at the college level.

So prior to their playoff matchup, Cook went to watch the warmups of Jackson, the opposing quarterback who led his team to a 10-1 record and its best season in more than a decade. Cook recounted the moment to The Athletic last week:

“I was watching him amazed because he looked like a wideout,” Cook said. “I’m looking at him like, ‘This is the guy they’re talking about? He’s small as shit.’ I was looking like, ‘We’re going to break him apart.’ It looked like he ain’t touched no weights.”

He quickly saw why Jackson was so good. The soon-to-be star took the opening play to the house for an 80-yard touchdown, according to The Athletic.

But Cook wasn’t exactly wrong about everything. Jackson quote-tweeted the story with a hilarious response:

He didn’t need to touch the weights, totaling 248 passing yards and 194 rushing yards against the powerhouse, per the Athletic. Miami Central had college-level players at nearly every position and walked to a championship, but Jackson and Co. gave them their toughest challenge of the year.

The 55-37 Rockets win was Miami Central’s closest margin of the postseason and the only time in the entire year they allowed more than 21 points.

As good as Jackson was, Cook was similarly dominant, rushing for three touchdowns and adding another on an 85-yard punt return. He also played defense in effort to slow down Jackson.

It was the first matchup of many between the two. The Athletic article was published ahead of the Ravens and Vikings overtime thriller on Nov. 7, and this time Jackson got the upper hand with a 34-31 win.

In this game, Cook didn’t need to watch warmups to size up the star.

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Abby Dicenzo becomes 1st girl to score rushing TD in Florida HS history

Abby DiCenzo became the first girl to score a rushing touchdown in Florida high school football history.

Abby DiCenzo made Florida history on Friday night.

The Bell Creek Academy (Rearview, Fla.) sophomore football player became the first girl to score a rushing touchdown in state history, according to the school.

DiCenzo got a handoff from the shotgun and burst through a hole set up by some nice blocking. She was grabbed by a defender but tore through him, reaching the goal line as the defender made a second effort to bring her down.

She got up and was mobbed by a pair of teammates as she ran off the field exuberantly. Her first touchdown of high school capped off a 45-0 win over Berean Christian (West Palm Beach, Fl.).

DiCenzo is listed as playing three different positions on Maxpreps. She played on the team as a freshman, and has two career tackles to her name, according to the stats site.

She has something else to her name now, too: breaking the glass ceiling. She joins a small list of women to have scored touchdowns at the high school level, and the first Florida girl to rush for one in a game.

The Panthers’ victory over Berean Christian improves their record to 2-2 on the season. DiCenzo’s three-yard score, which came with about five minutes left on the clock, was the final touchdown of the night.

Florida high school football game halted at halftime due to COVID concerns

A high school football game in Florida was stopped at halftime due to COVID-19 concerns over the weekend.

A high school football game in Florida was stopped at halftime due to COVID-19 concerns over the weekend.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Broward County Athletic Association called Dillard’s matchup with Deerfield Beach with Dillard leading 21-0 at halftime. Dillard was awarded the win after Deerfield Beach players left the field at the end of the second quarter, as Dillard was not comfortable returning for the second half after a Deerfield Beach player had shown COVID-19 symptoms at a clinic.

“Dillard said they didn’t feel comfortable going back out on the field,” Deerfield Beach head coach Jevon Glenn wrote in a text message to reporter Adam Lichtenstein. “Once they told Dillard that the player participated in the game, Dillard said they were uncomfortable continuing the game. We pulled the player from the game in the second quarter.”

Glenn then took to Twitter after the game, saying that he was not aware of the player’s symptoms and questioning why the issue was not addressed before the game instead of at halftime.

“Why wasn’t the game canceled beforehand. If they were so worried about COVID, my team and my life was in danger as well,” Glenn said. “I guess we are only protecting the football players and not all the students and staff he has been around all week.”

The decision to stop the game was mutual, according to the Broward County Athletic Association. Dillard is now 2-0 on the season, while Deerfield Beach sits at 1-1.

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WATCH: Eighth-grader throws for over 500 yards, 6 TDs in second varsity start

Eighth-grader Zander Smith threw for over 500 yards and six touchdowns in his second varsity start on Friday night.

Zander Smith has yet to begin high school, but is already making waves as a starting quarterback at the varsity level.

Smith, who plays at Bradenton Christian in Bradenton, Florida as an eighth-grader and already stands at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, dominated in his second varsity start on Friday night, throwing for 522 yards and six touchdowns in a 59-20 win over Northside Christian, which is led by former Pro Bowl fullback Mike Alstott.

Bradenton is 3-0 on the season and 2-0 with Smith under center. In his first varsity start two weeks ago, Smith threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 87 rushing yards and one score on the ground.

Florida going ahead with current fall prep sports as scheduled

Despite a warning to the contrary, the Florida High School Athletic Association voted to proceed with fall sports on-schedule/

Never doubt Florida to do what shouldn’t be done during the throes of a pandemic. On the same day, California announced it would delay its prep fall sports schedule until December or January, the powers that be in the Sunshine State are going full-speed ahead with the high school season, with football practice starting July 27.

The six Florida High School Athletic Association fall sports: football, volleyball, bowling, cross country, golf, and swimming, the opening to the calendar remains unchanged.

Per Sun-Sentinel.com:

After hearing from the chair of its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the Florida High School Athletic Association voted to keep the current sports calendar in place despite rising coronavirus cases in the state.

The board voted 10-5 to maintain the July 27 start date for fall sports teams to begin practicing despite the chair of the SMAC, Dr. Jennifer Maynard, saying it was not safe to begin playing football and girls volleyball.

“It is our stance that return to competition for the high-risk sports of football and volleyball is not medically safe,” said Maynard, who is a physician at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

You read correctly the chair of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee said it was not safe for football and volleyball to start, yet the FHSAA voted to run that stop sign.

And this may be the most Florida of all parts of this decision:

The board did not take questions from the public despite several thousand people watching the meeting on Zoom and Youtube. The board directed those with questions to email them to the FHSAA.

Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a disclaimer:

“A lot of this may be moot because we may get shut down again,” Wewahitchka athletic director Bobby Johns said after his motion passed while acknowledging there are no guarantees in a state adding roughly 10,000 COVID-19 cases per day.