High School

Florida governor Ron DeSantis attends CCC vs. Venice football game

A frequent visitor to high school football games in the Sunshine State, the governor conducted the pre-game coin toss

Gary Adornato

Florida governor Ron DeSantis chats with a first responder on the sideline of Friday's high school football game between Venice and Clearwater Central Catholic at Venice.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis chats with a first responder on the sideline of Friday's high school football game between Venice and Clearwater Central Catholic at Venice. / Alejandro Tamayo

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a one-time candidate for the Republican party presidential nomination, was on the sidelines for Friday's football game between Venice High School and host Clearwater Central Catholic.

DeSantis, who has received high praise for his leadership is guiding the state through the back-to-back blows from hurricanes Helene and Milton, in recent weeks, first showed his penchant for leadership while serving as captain of the Dunedin (Florida) football team. He was also a high school baseball player and went on to play the sport in college at Yale University.

DeSantis has been a regular visitor to high school games, often at Vero Beach High School. In 2020, he attended a playoff game between Vero Beach and Miami Palmetto, where he participated in the pre-game coin toss and met with both teams in their locker rooms. He once again did the honors for the coin toss on Friday.

In his role as governor, DeSantis has been involved in policies affecting high school sports, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, he advocated for allowing high school sports, including football, to continue during the pandemic with certain health guidelines in place. This stance made him a supporter of keeping school athletics open, despite nationwide debates on the matter.

Follow SBLive Florida throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App

Published |Modified
Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

Home/Florida