South Florida football reigns supreme in state playoffs
MIAMI, FLORIDA – Five finalists. Five state football champions.
Once again, South Florida reigned supreme in the Florida football playoffs.
Based on history, this is nothing new with the region routinely bringing home state championships.
This year, the title games were played at Pitbull Stadium at Florida International University, providing a home field advantage to South Florida schools.
What is new is this year had a different format compared to the last few when there were just four classifications.
All five South Florida schools won impressively: Chaminade-Madonna (Class 1A), Miami Northwestern (Class 3A), American Heritage (Class 4A), St. Thomas Aquinas (Class 5A) and West Boca Raton (Class 6A).
As the 2024 football season draws to a close, High School on SI wraps up what the state championships meant to each of the South Florida-based winners.
Chaminade-Madonna, Class 1A
The Lions (13-2) made it look easy, breezing past Clearwater Central Catholic, 42-7, for the program’s fourth straight state title. For coach Dameon Jones, it’s his seventh championship in nine years. Chaminade’s string of nine straight years of reaching the title game also is a Florida record.
The common thread the last three seasons is all the wins have been against Clearwater Central Catholic.
As dominant as Chaminade looked against CCC, this season was extremely challenging. The Lions lost their first two games, and skepticism surfaced as injuries also started to pile up.
Over the course of the year, four different players started at quarterback. Even in the title game, sophomore Tyler Chance came off the bench and ended up being named the game’s MVP, throwing for 217 yards and three touchdowns.
Next year projects to be more of the same for the Lions.
Along with Chance, returning are running back/linebacker Derrek Cooper (Georgia commit), and receivers Jasen Lopez and Denarius Gray (Auburn) and running back Arwin Jackson.
Chaminade’s dominant defense is losing several standouts, like defensive backs Chris Ewald (Miami) and Camari Hall.
Among the returnees on defense are linebackers Bryant Junius, Jaiden Roper, athlete Angelo Smith and end RJ Alphonse.
Another standout who will return is kicker/punter Noah Sidan, who is drawing interest from major colleges.
Miami Northwestern, Class 3A
It took just one season for Teddy Bridgewater to bring a title to his alma mater. A former Northwestern quarterback great, Bridgewater cemented his legacy even further – now as a coach.
Not only did the Bulls dominate Jacksonville Raines, 41-0, in the Class 3A finals, they sent out a signal that they are the new king of Miami-Dade County football.
Bridgewater spent all season publicly putting the spotlight on the players. The 32-year-old former NFL quarterback tried to take the attention away from himself.
In return, the Bulls delivered, winning the school’s first state title since 2019.
As for the future, the Bulls are positioned to contend again in 2025. Star quarterback Leon Strawder (who threw four touchdown passes against Raines) is a junior, and many of the team’s nucleus are underclassmen.
As for Bridgewater’s future? There’s been speculation that he may seek a return to the NFL.
If Bridgewater indeed intends to give an NFL comeback a shot, he isn’t letting on. At least, just yet.
Bridgewater says he plans on staying at Northwestern.
“Yeah, I’ll be back to work on Monday morning,” Bridgewater told Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald after Saturday’s game. “I really enjoyed this season.”
American Heritage, Class 4
Few could have seen this coming, especially after Heritage’s five-star quarterback Dia Bell (right leg) went down early in the playoffs.
But the Patriots demonstrated tremendous resiliency and defeated Orlando Jones, 40-31, for the school’s first title since 2020.
Let’s rewind a bit to the night Bell got hurt against Dillard. Afterward, coach Mike Smith told his team: “The goal remains the same. The path will be different.”
Was it ever.
Malachi Toney was the story of the playoffs, performing at a high level at quarterback after Bell’s injury. Toney (Miami signee) happens to be one of the top receivers in the state. Switching to quarterback wasn’t part of his long-range plan. Now people are speculating Toney may have a future as a QB.
Then there’s running back Byron Louis (Florida) is as good as it gets, especially when it comes to power and explosiveness.
Both will be moving on next year.
Still, the Patriots promise to be strong yet again in ’25.
Bell, a junior, should be back at full strength. Receivers should again be strong for the Patriots with Coi Jean-Noel, Brandon Bennett and Jamar Denson all expected back.
Defensively, Kymani Morales and Dylan Bennett are juniors.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Class 5A
Six and counting.
St. Thomas Aquinas extended their Florida-record to six consecutive state championships.
This one is especially sweet for the Raiders, who overcame so much to claim their latest title in dominating fashion. St. Thomas completely dismantled nationally ranked, and previously undefeated, Lakeland, 34-0.
Coach Roger Harriott’s squad, which finished 12-3, showed resiliency all season. The losses were to traditional powers, Bishop Gorman, and two Florida champions – Chaminade-Madonna and American Heritage.
Even in the playoffs, St. Thomas had to go on the road, and the Raiders came back in several games to reach the championship. Against Delray Beach Atlantic, they trailed by three touchdowns and still won.
The Raiders have won 30 consecutive playoff games. Their last loss? It came in the 2018 Class 7A state title game to Lakeland.
Lakeland is a school with history of success against St. Thomas. Heading into Thursday’s contest at Pitbull Stadium, the Dreadnaughts (14-1) won five of six all-time meetings with the Raiders.
Harriott now has coached nine state title teams, with eight at St. Thomas (the other at NSU University).
Quarterback Andrew Indorf ends his St. Thomas career with back-to-back state championships. Running backs Chance Washington and Cedric Wyche II are also seniors. On the defensive side, linemen Richard Scott, Trevor Sommers and linebacker Travares Daniels will also be moving on to college.
Returning, the Raiders again should be loaded in 2025. Star receivers Julius Jones and Ah’mari Stevens are just sophomores, and defensive back Justice Fitzpatrick is a junior.
West Boca Raton, Class 6A
The Bulls (15-0) capped an undefeated season by pulling away from Kissimmee Osceola, 26-7.
The game was tight in the first half, with West Boca heading into halftime ahead 10-7.
As he’s done all season, quarterback Mason Mallory made the key plays. Mallory threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns – both to Mark Hanniford.
The highlight moment was Mallory hooking up with Hanniford on a 93-yard touchdown pass. Hanniford’s other TD came on a 47-yard reception.
The title was the first in Bulls’ history.
Defensively, West Boca also made huge plays, including Je’Mario Bradford’s interception.
The exposure of winning a title is producing immediate rewards for West Boca.
Sophomore defensive lineman Jamar Thompson had seven tackles in the win, and after his standout performance, the University of Kentucky reportedly extended him an offer.