Predicting the winners of the 2024 Florida high school football playoffs 2A state semifinals

High School On SI is going on the record to make our predictions on the FHSAA 2A playoffs

Gadsden County football defeats Florida High 42-11 in FHSAA 2A regional semifinals on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 at Gadsden County High School / Liam Rooney/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Class 2A state playoffs continued in the state of Florida last week and the classification did not disappoint. 

Heading into Friday, it’s helped set up some fantastic state semifinal matchups, and the talented field of 4 teams is going to get sliced in half. Round 4 will feature several intriguing matchups, and several long road trips across the Sunshine State.

>>>FHSAA 2024 PLAYOFF BRACKETS<<<

While the fourth round might not see its tournament favorites fall, it has the potential to see several really good teams have their seasons upended a lot shorter than they anticipated. 

Check out who High School On SI predicts will win their state semifinal matchups on Friday, and who will secure a spot in the Class 2A state championship.

CLASS 2A STATE SEMIFINALS

(4) Miami Booker T. Washington (10-2) at (1) Gadsden County (12-1)

Andy V's quick hit: In the preseason, Gadsden County lost to Class 7A favorite Venice, 34-19, on the road. It was an early sign that the Jaguars were going to be pretty good. Russell Ellington's group has only continued to reinforce that notion and now find themselves a game away from reaching the state championship game. The Jaguars proved themselves once again in an impressive 21-9 victory over Bolles last week. Driving up to Havana will be an over 7-hour commute from Miami for the Tornadoes, creating possible jetlag from the long bus ride up. Tim 'Ice' Harris leads one of Dade County's top teams behind the play of two-way star Ben Hanks Jr., who is up for South Florida's most prestigious award, the Nat Moore Trophy.

Prediction: Gadsden County, 31-28

(3) Cocoa (9-3) at (2) Cardinal Mooney (12-0)

Andy V's quick hit: This game is the only state semifinal that features two programs that won state championships a season ago. When looking at the makeup of each team, you can easily see why they're on the footsteps of reaching another state title game. Cocoa's Brady Hart just reclassified and committed to Texas A&M, making this his last season with the Tigers. Hart is a candidate to win Player of the Year honors, but will need to do it against a Cardinal Mooney defense that held Bishop Verot to 14 points last week. The Cougars feature plenty of weapons on offense, including running back Connail Jackson and athlete Chris McCorkle.

Prediction: Cocoa, 34-31

2024 FHSAA high football state championship projections

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