Miami football commit guides Florida school to first undefeated season

Quarterback Dereon Coleman and the Jones Tigers head to the Class 4A state playoffs with a 10-0 mark

Jones quarterback Dereon Coleman, who will play his college football at the University of Miami, tosses a pass during practice. His team is preparing to head to the FHSAA Class 4A state playoffs with a 10-0 record. / Photo courtesy of Dereon Coleman

To say that the Jones Tigers have been on the prowl for greatness this high school football season is an understatement.

Perhaps motivated by three consecutive close state semifinal losses (2021-2023), Jones plowed past fellow Metro Orlando school, Wekiva, 28-6, last week to finish the regular season unbeaten at 10-0. It is believed to be the first time in the modern era that the Tigers went a complete regular season undefeated.

Jones went 9-1 during the 2020 season that was shortened by COVID, but played a minimal regular-season schedule.

“I knew we were going to do it since the start of the season,” said Jones star junior quarterback Dereon Coleman, a Miami commit who has passed for more than 2,200 yards and 21 TDs in nine games. “We just had to put our head down and work. But we’re not done We are focused on the big prize.”

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Jones earned the No. 1 seed for Class 4A, Region 2, where it will play Lecanto (6-4) on Friday, Nov. 15, in pursuit of its first-ever state championship.

The Tigers have been threatening to hoist a title trophy ever since former University of Florida and Atlanta Falcons standout Elijah Williams took over as head coach in 2016.

It only took Williams three years to get Jones to a state championship game. In 2019, the Tigers fell to a talented Miami Northwestern team, 34-17.

After falling to Tampa Jesuit, 40-24, in a regional final in 2020, Jones went on a tear for the next three seasons. The Tigers ran all the way to the Class 6A state semifinals in 2021 before falling to Pensacola Pine Forest in overtime, 20-13.

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Reclassified to Class 3Metro for 2022 and 2023, Jones faced Homestead in both seasons and lost nail-biters, 30-24, and 42-35.

Now, the 2024 season awaits. And, the Tigers are ready.

“I think it’s amazing,” said Jones athlete Mykell Reid. “I’m very honored to be on this team and to have the team of coaches that we have. I was very confident that we were going to go undefeated. We worked so hard since last spring and kept working Monday through Friday, all summer long.

“I knew we would go undefeated,” Reid said. “We worked together as a team and watched film, did everything our coaches taught us to do and became stronger.”

The combination of work ethic and stellar talent has molded Jones into a bonafide state power. Coleman has an elite stable of athletes all around him, including senior wide receiver Vernell “Trey” Brown III.

A Florida commit, Brown has caught 63 passes for 945 yards and six TDs through the first nine games. “We have worked hard for this, and it’s a blessing to be the first ones to do it (a complete unbeaten regular season). “Now, it’s time to finish what we’ve started.”

Junior Larry Miles also has been a big target for Coleman, catching 42 passes for 782 yards and eight TDs.

Behind Coleman is star senior running back Jaquail Smith, who rushed for 1,085 yards and 13 TDs in nine games.

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Defensively, Jones has been no less impressive. The Tigers have held six opponents to seven points or less, including three shutouts.

Leading Jones’ defense are Dante Williams Jr., Isaiah Murphy, Courtney Patterson, Quimaine Myers, Reggie Harris and more.

“It feels good to leave a legacy and to be the first to do something,” said Jones wide receiver Kameron Lee.