Cardinal Mooney wins first state title since 1972: Florida high school football 2023 rewind

Chris McCorkle scores the game's go-ahead touchdown and adds game-sealing interception for the Cougars and lifting them over Trinity Catholic

Cardinal Mooney won its first state title since 1972, defeating Trinity Catholic 31-27 / Matt Christopher

As we get ready for the beginning of the 2024 Florida high school football season, we wanted to take a look back at 2023 to see how the season ended in each of the state’s nine classifications with a rewind recap of the state championship game.

In this edition, we will take a look at the 2023 FHSAA Class 1S state championship game, with Cardinal Mooney upending Trinity Catholic in a 31-27 thriller in Tallahassee.

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CARDINAL MOONEY 31, TRINITY CATHOLIC 27

It's been 51 years since Cardinal Mooney last won a state championship. 

That's a lot longer than the 17 seconds it took the Cougars to drive down the field for a game-winning touchdown in Friday morning's Class 1S state championship game at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Ken Riley Field. 

With less than a minute to go, quarterback Michael Valentino hit a wide open Chris McCorkle and lifted Cardinal Mooney to a thrilling, 31-27, victory over Trinity Catholic. The Cougars won their first state championship since 1972. 

"It feels great. I don't even know what to say right now," McCorkle said about winning a state championship. "I'm shocked we even won this. My mindset and where I wanted to be, we got where we needed to be. (Trinity Catholic) thought they were just going to run right through us."

A lot of talk prior to the match-up between the Cougars and Celtics was about the overall strength of schedule between the two teams. Trinity Catholic had played a schedule that included playoff teams like Clearwater Central Catholic, Calvary Christian, Carrollwood Day, FSU High and Raines to name a few. 

Cardinal Mooney head coach Jared Clark said he heard some of the murmurs leading into the game and had one thing to say about that. 

"There's no question," Clark said that his club played some tough teams. "I've heard some murmurs or whatever and some grumblings of us having a weak schedule. Well, we're the state champs."

The Celtics' offensive front has been one of the best in 1S all season long and you could see why early on as they leaned upon a line averaging around 275 pounds. Trinity Catholic opened up the scoring when running back Austin Holder (15 carries, 60 yards) punched it in from three yards out to put the Celtics up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. 

Big plays became the common theme in the first half for Cardinal Mooney, as they feature players like Florida commitment Teddy Foster, McCorkle and Zymarrion Lang on offense. The Cougars (12-2) went up top just under three minutes after the Celtics' score, with quarterback Devin Mignery (3-of-4, 138 yards), who shared duties with Valentino, connecting with McCorkle on a 71-yard touchdown strike. 

A long pass from Mignery to wide receiver Bo O'Daniel helped set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Carson Beach (19 carries, 63 yards) gave Cardinal Mooney a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. About three minutes later, the long ball hurt Trinity Catholic again when Mignery connected with Foster on a beautiful 83-yard touchdown throw.

Trinity Catholic trailed 21-7 at one point in the first half, but a Zach Johnson interception helped turn the tide for the Celtics. It began a 14-0 run that was highlighted by a 16-yard touchdown pass by Preston Wright (19-of-35, 164 yards) to Joshua Wright. 

Cardinal Mooney and Trinity exchanged field goals before the Celtics took the lead with just over a minute to go when Cooper Badics knocked down a clutch 49-yard kick. 

Needing to go down the field with 1:10 remaining in the game, Clark went with the more mobile Valentino (5-of-11, 174 yards) down the stretch. The move paid off, plus having a talent like McCorkle (two catches, 116 yards) helps as well. 

With under a minute remaining in the game, the Cougars dialed up a vertical call with McCorkle, who sprung wide open on a 39-yard touchdown to give Cardinal Mooney a 31-27 lead with 47 seconds left. 

Trinity Catholic (6-8) had one last opportunity to drive the ball down to score, but Wright's Hail Mary pass would be intercepted in the end zone by McCorkle with time expiring. 

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl