The Florida High School Athletic Association will end its centennial year in Tallahassee with this week’s state football championships. Over the next four days, 16 schools from around the state, will compete at Doak Campbell Stadium on the campus of Florida State University.
This year’s state football championships will showcase some of the country’s best talent. Florida is one of the top states for the recruitment of college athletes. This football season is one where masks and social distancing have become as much a part of the Friday night experience as blocking and tackling.
The Covid-19 pandemic has touched nearly every football program in the state. Joshua Wilson, the founder of FloridaHSFootball.com, has followed varsity football in Florida for a decade.
“It’s definitely very exciting and, probably, a very hectic state championship round this year just because of everything you had going on with Covid-19 and all the protocols that have gone around to having a football season at all."
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the start of practice by three weeks and wiped out the first two weeks of games. Nevertheless, Wilson said many of the schools that made it this far, like 11-time state champions the Bolles School and St. Thomas Aquinas, expected to be here. Others, like Hawthorne, Lake Minneola and Rickards are here for the first time.
“I am expecting some new state champions this year that haven’t won it in a while, or haven’t played in a state title game, in a while. You definitely have some newcomers that are making their first appearance in the state championship game," said Wilson.
Tallahassee's Rickards High School (10-1) will play nationally ranked Plantation American Heritage (10-2) on Friday night at 7 p.m.
The action kicks off this afternoon when Hialeah Champagnat Catholic tries to defend its Class 2A state championship against Jacksonville University Christian.