Mainland 21, St. Augustine 19: Live score updates, Florida 3S football state championship
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – The Florida Class 3S state championship showdown between Mainland and St. Augustine takes place on Thursday (3:00 p.m.), one of nine games in the 2023 Florida high school football championships, over three days, at Florida A&M University.
Mainland is back in the 3S championship game for a second straight year and the Buccaneers seek a better result after falling to Lake Wales last year. Standing in the way are the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets, who feature one of the state's top passing attacks.
Stay with SBLive Florida for reports from this state championship game and others as we cover all nine title games at Bragg Memorial Stadium on the campus of Florida A&M.
Below is our Live Update Feed created and updated as the contest progresses. Read from the bottom up to follow the action chronologically from beginning to end.
Live Updates:
FINAL: MAINLAND 21, ST. AUGUSTINE 19
4Q: MAINLAND 21, ST. AUGUSTINE 19
- FIELD GOAL! GAME OVER! Gettman converts the kick. Mainland wins at the final gun, 21-19.
- Jacob Gettman, who an earlier attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown lines up for a 23-yard attempt, but St. Augustine calls timeout.
- Hill stopped for no gain on the first down and dropped for a 1-yard loss on second down. Bucs call their final timeout to setup a game-winning field goal attempt. Two seconds left.
- Murray scrambles down to five. Just 34-seconds left.
- Murray keeps the Bucs alive. He delivers a first down strike to McCants.
- Mainland whistled for a false start. Now it's fourth and eight.
- Jimmie Wheeler makes a big hit on Hill. It's fourth and three with 1:01 to go. Timeout.
- Yisrael makes a sideline catch. It's third and two at the 29.
- Murray runs for three. Mainland has a second and seven at the 34. The Bucs call timeout with 1:20 to go. They have timeouts left.
- Robinson gets inside the 40 for a first down. 1:49 left.
- On second and nine, Murray eludes the rush and runs for seven. It's third and two.
- The punt is fair caught at the Mainland 49. The Bucs have 3:26 to get a go-ahead score.
- Hewlett rolls right and just overthrows Jenkins for what would have been a possible game-clinching score. St. Augustine is set to punt.
- Two short runs have the Jackets facing third and four from the 25. We're under four minutes to play.
- The Jackets finally get Murray on the ground, with Kyon Wilcox sacking him for a big loss back to the 49. Mainland punts and St. Augustine has it back at their own 18. The Yellow Jackets cling to the lead with 5:40 to play.
- It will be third and 22 after an incompletion, at the 37.
- Now Mainland gives up 15, on a blindside block call,
- Robinson runs for another first down at the St. Augustine 26.
- St. Augustine's bench is called for unsportsmanlike penalty. Mainland picks up a free 15 yards.
- Murray eludes all kinds of pressure and gets loose for eight yards and a first down. 7:24 left.
- Murray, who was shaken up on the two-point try, runs for a couple. It's third and five at the 40.
- The kickoff goes out of bounds, so Mainland will start at its own 35.
- TOUCHDOWN! St. Augustine goes back on top as Carl Jenkins Jr. gets a step on his defender and Hewlett hits him with a 52-yard touchdown pass. The Yellow Jackets go for two, but cannot convert. It's a one-point game with 8:40 to go.
- Lyons, with second effort, runs for 18. Second and two at the 48. Injury timeout with 8:54 left.
- Jackets go backwards with two straight false starts.
- Simmons makes a lunging first down catch at the 40.
- The dangerous Jones, already with one kickoff return for a TD, runs the ball out to the 32 where the Yellow Jackets will attempt to battle back.
- TOUCHDOWN! Robinson stopped one-yard short of a first down. On fourth and one, Murray makes a great ball fake, keeps it and races it 44-yards to pay-dirt. The two-point try fails, but the Bucs have their first lead of the game. 10:24 to play in the game.
END 3Q: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 12
3Q: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 12
- Robinson gains two and we'll go to the third quarter with Mainland holding all of the momentum.
- INTERCEPTION! Hewlett takes a deep shot by Bubba Westbrook comes down with an interception at the Mainland 48. Twelve seconds left in the third.
- Lyons runs for seven, but a false start pushes the Jackets back five.
- After the kick, St. Augustine is on its own 16.
- TOUCHDOWN! Rodney Hill bulls in on the wildcat run. Mainland runs the same play for the 2-point conversion, but Hill is stuffed and St. Augustine still leads by one with 31-seconds left in the quarter.
- Murray finds McCants for another nice gain. First and goal at the three.
- Robinson rips off another 11. The Bucs add five more on an encroachment call. First and five from the 19.
- Antonio Davis makes a diving catch for a big gain and a first down at the 43. Robinson follows with a big run down to the St. Augustine 35.
- On fourth and six, Logan Wandzilak pushes a 35-yard field goal attempt left. The Yellow Jackets turn it over to Mainland, missing two opportunities to add points. 1:54 left in the third.
- Hewlett rolls left on the play action and finds and open Myles Simmons, but it slips through his grasp denying the Jackets a certain touchdown.
- After a pair of runs by Lyons, Mainland jumps offsides on a fourth and one. St. Augustine has a first down at the Mainland 18 with 2:37 to play in the third quarter.
- Hewlett hits Jones on the edge, he slips a tackle gets another first down at the Bucs' 32. Best drive of the day so far by the Yellow Jackets.
- Hewlett to Jones followed by a nice burst up the middle from Jones gets the Jackets a first down in Mainland territory.
- The offense stays on the field and Lyons gains four to get the huge fourth down conversion. Timeout.
- Mainland makes a defensive stop on third and 3. The Jackets line up in the wildcat on fourth down, but then call timeout with 5:55 left in the third quarter.
- Trenton Jones makes a nice first down catch at the 32 on a throw from Hewlett. The Yellow Jackets need a response from their offense.
- The coverage team drops St. Augustine on the 13.
- TOUCHDOWN! Clarence McCloud makes a spectacular leaping grab in the back of the end zone for a 14-yard TD catch. The Bucs miss the kick, but its back to a one score game. 8:06 left in the third quarter.
- St. Augustine's defense is responding once again. It's 3rd and 11.
- Murray slips through traffic and takes off. He gains 31 down to the Yellow Jackets' 13.
- Murray throws from the goal line, into a crowd, and Tyree Witherspoon brings it down for a big gain. Murray then runs for another first down at the St. Augustine 44.
- Drake Lusk with a big hit. Second and nine.
- The second half is underway. Mainland is called for a hold on the return. The Bucs now start on the eight.
- The teams are back on the field and warming up. St. Augustine is set to kickoff in just a few minutes.
HALF: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 0
- Mainland dominated time of possession and out-gained St. Augustine 220-40 in the first half, but the Jackets played clutch defense when it counted and got two special teams touchdowns.
2Q: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 0
- Murray scrambles and finds McCants once again, but the clock expires. We go to the half with the Yellow Jackets on top by 13.
- McCants takes a short pass out to the 49 of St. Augustine. Now just seven seconds left in the half.
- Hill converts the run, but the Bucs are still in their end with less than 30 seconds to play.
- Mainland is keeping its offense on the field.
- On a fourth and one, Mainland attempts to draw St. Augustin offsides, but the Yellow Jackets hold their ground. There is a timeout with 36-seconds left in the second quarter.
- Mainland gets the stop. St. Augustine will punt with 1:49 left in the half. The kick takes a friendly bounce down to the Mainland 15.
- Rodney Hill sacks Hewlett. It's third and long.
- Hewlett makes a great third down throw to Jenkins, on the skinny post. It's a gain of 13.
- A face mask call is followed by by nice first down reception by Carl Jenkins Jr. First down at the 30.
- Lyons runs for a first down out to the 14.
- Devonte Lyons runs for five to give the Jackets a little breathing room. Second down.
- Murray's throw to the back corner of the end zone falls incomplete. St. Augustine turns Mainland away again. The Jackets get the turnover on downs. They will take over at their own four.
- Mainland calls timeout with 6:36 to play in the second quarter.
- St. Augustine stuffs Hill on third down. It's fourth and goal.
- On second and goal from the seven, Hill churns his way down to the four.
- Marquis McCants converts with a slant rout reception for 11, just outside the Red Zone. Murray then finds McCants at the nine for another first down catch.
- It's fourth and five for Mainland from the Jackets' 31.
- Murray finds a safety valve in Emmanuel Yisrael and he gains 26 for a first down in St. Augustine territory.
- After a 5-yard penalty, Mike Wright makes a tackle for a loss. Bucs face 2nd and 20 from their 38.
END 1Q: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 0
1Q: ST. AUGUSTINE 13, MAINLAND 0
- Khamani Robinson converts a first down run. Then rips off an 11-yard first down run to bring the first quarter to a close.
- Murray is having a big day with his legs, gaining eight on first down. Mainland faces a 2nd and two at the 30.
- TOUCHDOWN! More special teams magic for the Yellow Jackets. Jacob Gettman's 37-yard field goal attempt is blocked by Singleton and scooped up for a long touchdown return Marquice King. The PAT is also blocked, but St. Augustine leads, 13-0, with less than a minute to play in the opening quarter.
- Murray completes a short pass to Tyree Witherspoon, sets up a field goal attempt.
- A holding call will push Mainland back to the 21.
- Nothing going of the first two downs. Third and goal from outside the 10.
- Murray runs for another first down. The Bucs are at the 10.
- Murray converts on a fourth down with a run to the 22.
- Murray slips out of a tackle in the backfield and spins out for four. Second and six at the 30.
- Murray drops back to pass but sees clear base on the right end and runs for 18 down to the St. Augustin 36.
- Both defenses playing well. Mainland has a 3rd and five from the 45.
- Hewlett escapes another sack and completes a short pass on third down, but St. Augustine must punt. No return. Mainland will start at its own 40 with 7:51 to go in the first quarter.
- Mainland pressures in the end zone and QB Locklan Hewlett has to get rid of it to avoid a safety, but Mainland called for defensive holding which gives the Jackets a first down.
- The Bucs decide to punt. It rolls dead at the St. Augustine five. The Jackets will start there.
- Mainland is facing their second fourth and short of this drive with 9 minutes to play in the quarter.
- Ja'ki Singleton almost comes up with an interception for St. Augustine on the first throw of the game.
- After a pair of runs by Rodney Hill, QB Dennis Murray Jr.is stopped short on third down. Then Khamani Robinson converts with a 1-yard run on fourth down.
- Bucs will get their first possession, starting at their own 28 after the kick return.
- TOUCHDOWN! Trenton Jones fields the kickoff and races 96-yards to start this game with a bang. The Yellow Jackets tack on the extra-point and it is 7-0 just 14 seconds into the contest.
- Mainland will kick it away to start this.
MAINLAND VS. ST. AUGUSTINE
- The Yellow Jackets are wearing white pants, maroon jerseys with gold numbers trimmed in white and gold helmets. Mainland is wearing all white uniforms with blue numbers trimmed in gold and gold helmets. We are just about set.
- We are less than 30 minutes from kickoff.
- Kickoff is schedule for 3:00 p.m. (EST)