State Championship Look: Central Florida Road to Glory

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Orlando Jones (4A, 12–2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones punched its ticket back to the title game with a hard-fought 35–23 win over Port Charlotte. This week brings the ultimate test: defending champion American Heritage. Miami QB commit [player_tooltip player_id='405300' first='Dereon' last='Coleman'] is the engine, and everything flows through his arm and leadership. Heritage makes the long trip but will feel right at home in Miami, looking to repeat after a season many doubted they'd survive. This is a toughness test.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lakeland (5A, 12–2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakeland looked like itself again in a dominant 40–13 semifinal win over Ponte Vedra. Now, the Dreadnaughts are back in the title game for the fourth straight season, facing St. Thomas Aquinas once again. Lakeland hit its stride at the perfect time, playing its most complete football of the year. 2027 QB Kelin Hendrix has stabilized the offense and gives them a real shot. They'll need every ounce of that against a program chasing its seventh straight crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Vero Beach (7A, 14–0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vero Beach survived an instant classic, edging Miami Palmetto 45–44 in overtime to reach the title game for the first time in decades. The program is undefeated, battle-tested, and riding pure momentum. [player_tooltip player_id='1206211' first='Efrem' last='White'] has taken over games from the quarterback spot, and he's been the firestarter behind this run. They believe this is their year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lake Mary (7A, 11–3)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lake Mary arrives the hard way. A 31–26 win over Venice ended the defending champ's season and sent the Rams back to the finals. This is the last ride for Notre Dame commit [player_tooltip player_id='1206696' first='Noah' last='Grubbs'], and it shows in the way he's playing. Calm, aggressive, and fearless — Lake Mary is here to finish what it started last season. This one feels like a war.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Season Updates</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Gainesville Buchholz (6A) – Season ended after a 24–17 home loss to West Broward.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Orlando Bishop Moore (3A) – Season ended with a road loss to Miami Northwestern (52–21).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Orlando Edgewater (5A) – Season complete after undefeated regular season</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeLand (7A) – Season ended after a strong year and playoff push.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->