The FHSAA updated its football power rankings Saturday night and also revealed the matchups for the state semifinal games to be played this upcoming Friday night.
Orlando has three area teams still alive in the playoffs. In Class 7A, Lake Mary will be hosting Venice. Jones will be hosting Port Charlotte in Class 4A. Bishop Moore will have the task of traveling to Miami Northwestern in Class 3A.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLake Mary (10-3) welcomes a chance to avenge a 52-19 loss to Venice (9-3) last year in the 7A championship game. Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubbs had a night he would rather forget against Venice last year, so he’s looking forward to this opportunity.
Football region rewind: Lake Mary spoils DeLand season; Jones, Bishop Moore advance
“It’s great. Venice is always a hard-fought team and they always have great players and great coaches and always great schemes, and I can’t wait to go back at it head-to-head with them,” Grubbs said Friday night after the Rams defeated DeLand in the region championship game 33-31.
The winner will face the winner of the Miami Palmetto (11-2) at Vero Beach (12-0) game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJones (11-2) is back in the state semifinal round for the fifth straight season. The 4A runner up last year will face a Port Charlotte (11-2) team that knocked off Region 3 No. 1 seed Tampa Jesuit 22-21 on Friday.
The winner will face the winner of the Plantation American Heritage (7-5) at Choctawatchee (12-1) contest. American Heritage defeated Jones in the championship game last year 41-31.
Bishop Moore (12-1) probably has the most difficult task of the three remaining Orlando teams. The Hornets will have to make the 3-and-a-half hour drive to Traz Powell Stadium in Miami to face defending 3A state champion Northwestern (12-0). This is Bishop Moore’s first trip to the semifinals since winning the state championship in 2015.
The winner will face the winner of the Sarasota Booker (12-1) at Jacksonville Raines (12-0) game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAll games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m., Friday.
The dates and times for the state championship games will not be determined until after the semifinal round. All games, with the exception of the rural class state championship game, will be played at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of FIU in Miami, Dec. 10-13.
The rural state championship game between Hawthorne and Blountstown will be played Friday night at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium in The Villages.
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