The pairings are now set for this week’s eight (8) high school football state championship games to be played at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee (Wednesday-Saturday).
This past Friday night, there were some surprising finishes in the state semifinals for Classes 5A-8A, including a last-second field goal (Edgewater’s 30-28 win against Niceville in 7A) and a 3 OT thriller (Lake Minneola edged St. Augustine 49-48 in 6A).
Of the eight defending state champions, only four have a chance to repeat – Champagnat Catholic (2A), Chaminade-Madonna (3A), Miami Central (6A), and defending national champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) (7A).
Defending 8A state champion Columbus (Miami) & 4A champ Booker T. Washington (Miami) opted out of the FHSAA state playoffs.
Hawthorne upset 3-time defending 1A state champion Madison County in the 1A state semifinals, and American Heritage (Plantation) knocked off defending 5A state champion Miami Northwestern in the regional quarterfinals.
Hawthorne (1A), Rickards (5A), Lake Minneola (6A), and Edgewater (7A) are seeking their first-ever state title.
2020 FHSAA Football State Championships
All games played at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee
Wednesday, Dec. 16
Class 2A – Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah) 41, University Christian (Jacksonville) 27
Class 3A – Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) 25, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) 22
Thursday, Dec. 17
Class 4A – Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 35, Bolles (Jacksonville) 21
Class 1A – Baker 27, Hawthorne 14
Friday, Dec. 18
Class 6A – Miami Central 46, Lake Minneola 0
Class 5A – American Heritage (Plantation) 24, Rickards (Tallahassee) 6
Saturday, Dec. 19
Class 8A – Seminole (Sanford) 38, Osceola (Kissimmee) 10
Class 7A – St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) 31, Edgewater (Orlando) 21
