Guess who’s back, back again.
Defending state champion Hawthorne will play Madison County for the FHSAA Class 1R state title on Thursday at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee on the campus of Florida A&M University.
It’s the fourth straight state championship game appearance for the Hornets (12-0), who have won 24 straight games.
The game will be broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and IamCountryRadio.com (audio) with Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Hank Rone (Color) calling the action beginning at 7:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
Hawthorne advanced with a 49-0 win against Blountstown in last Thursday’s state semifinals, while Madison County (10-1) moved on with a 61-22 rout of Bozeman (Panama City).
It was the third shutout of the season for the Hornets, who are allowing just 7.5 points per game.
“I have been happy with our defensive performance this year,” said Hawthorne defensive coordinator Dustin Adkins. “We had some question marks coming into the season, and had to replace some valuable players from last year’s team. However, this group was hungry and eager to show everyone that they would not drop off in production this year. I would have to rate them as good, if not better, than last year based off results and statistics. However, both groups were dominant and could change a game.”
Leading the charge is senior Andrew Zock, who was named the Pavlik Orthodontics Athlete of the Week for his performance last week.
Zock leads the team with 131 tackles (10.9 per game). The Navy commit is tied for second on the team with 19 tackles for a loss.
“Zock is one of the players that makes a coach’s job easier,” Adkins said. “He shows up each day with a positive attitude and always is willing to learn and ask questions. His energy and passion is also something that gets our defense going, similar to how Jailen Ruth was for us last year…he has definitely been fun to watch this year. He is a big physical kid that doesn’t get enough credit for his speed and sideline-to-sideline ability. A complete player.”
Senior Earick Williams III (35 tackles, 11 TFL) leads Hawthorne with eight sacks, while junior Naziy Gent leads the Hornets (12-0) with 23 tackles for a loss.
Hawthorne has been exceptional in all three phases, including an offense that is averaging 41.6 points per game.
“It’s extremely fun to coach this group,” said offensive coordinator Greg Bowie, who is the older brother of Hawthorne head coach Cornelius Ingram. “All of them are unselfish and they take pride in blocking for each other. Each receiver is capable of taking a 5 -yard catch and turning it into a 60-yard touchdown.”
It’s a team with several playmakers, including junior quarterback C.J. Ingram, Cornelius’ son, and junior running back Keenon Johnson (190 carries for 1,456 yards, 16 TDs), but it all starts up front.
“CJ can make all the throws and Keenon is a physical runner,” Bowie said. “We rely heavily on center Torance Myers and Ingram to echo the calls to our young O-Line who have made some great strides over the course of the season.”
Ingram, who has over 10 Division-I offers in football and basketball, has completed 121-of-186 passes for 2,470 yards with 37 TDs and only four interceptions. He led the Hornets to their first state title in program history last year and is undefeated as the starting quarterback.
He has several big-play wide receivers in USF commit Alvon Issac (team-leading 45 receptions for 907 yards and 17 TDs), senior Caleb Rollerson (36 rec. for 768 yards, 10 TDs), and senior Matthew Mckinley-Daniels (21 rec. for 541 yards, 8 TDs), but Johnson gives the team some much needed balance with his ability to control a game and eat some clock.
“In my opinion Keenon is one of the top backs in the state,” Bowie said. “Look at his body of work during the regular season and he’s been even more impressive in the playoffs. He’s had over 20 carries every game since the playoffs started. Along with his workload running the ball, I’ve been impressed with his pass protection.”
Madison County, which is coached by former Dunnellon coach Price Harris, counters with an offense that is averaging 37.2 ppg.
Junior running back Jason McDaniel (96 carries for 816 yards, 10 TDs) and senior quarterback Za’vion Bryant (63 carries for 456 yards, 7 TDs) help lead a rushing attack that averages 238 yards per game and 9 yards per carry.
“Madison has great athletes who they love to get the ball to in space,” Adkins said. “Their QB is a threat to run and throw and they do a lot of motions and shifting to try and out align their opponent. We have to be prepared for the motions and shifts, along with lining up correctly to have a chance to stop them Thursday.”
Defensively, the Cowboys are allowing 14 points per game.
“Madison County’s DNA has always been play fast and physical on defense,” Bowie said. “They are very disciplined and they rally to the ball. We’ll definitely have to block our best to control the line of scrimmage.”
Madison County was in the direct path of Hurricane Idalia this past August.
Many were impacted by the storm, and some of the player’s families were in those that lost their homes. The school itself was damaged and the scoreboard to the field was destroyed.
Despite the adversity, Madison County, a six-time football state champion, is back in the title game.
The Cowboys’ last football state championship came in 2021 under coach Mike Coe. The will be a rematch for Hawthorne, which lost 13-12 to Madison County in that 1A state championship game, but hasn’t lost since.
The other area team in Tallahassee this week is Bradford (Starke), which set a program record with 14 wins.
Last Friday in the Class 2S state semifinals, the Tornadoes (14-0) overcame five turnovers and rallied from a 14-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to edge Pensacola Catholic, 22-21, in overtime.
“We played about as bad as we could play in the first half,” said second-year head coach Jamie Rodgers. “Our kids, they knew it, they knew we had not played very good when we were in there at halftime. Their grit and determination…when it got to 14-7, I knew we had a shot because I knew we could hold them to zero and that’s what happened. I’m just so happy with the determination and how hard they play.”
Senior quarterback Dae’jon “6ixx” Shanks, who was dealing with “double calf cramps,” according to Rodgers, scored the touchdown and the game-winning 2-point conversion.
“They know to put it on (number) 6 and it’s going to get in there,” Shanks said. “6ixx for six. I had to put the team on my back because them boys trust in me, so I had to get in there.”
Shanks (68-of-114 for 1,206 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INT) has a chance to go over 1,000 yards rushing (966 yards, 6 TDs) and leads a ground attack that averages 207.5 yards per game rushing.
Bradford will play defending state champion Cocoa for the Class 2S state title on Friday at 8 p.m. The Tigers (13-1), who defeated Bradford, 31-21, in last year’s state semifinals, advanced with a 41-3 win against Booker (Sarasota).
“That’s a formidable opponent,” Rodgers said. “They’re in it every year, 17, 18 straight years, whatever it is, deep playoff runs. I think everybody thought that they would be there. We’re going to give them our best shot. We’re going to give them everything we can after a great week of preparation.”
This will be the first time Bradford has played for the state championship since finishing as state runner-up to Bartow in 1985.
2023 Florida High School Football State Championships
Thursday, Dec. 7
Class 1M State Championship, 10 a.m.
- Clearwater Central Catholic vs. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood)
Class 3S State Championship, 3 p.m.
- Mainland (Daytona Beach) vs. St. Augustine
Class 1R State Championship, 8 p.m.
- Madison County (Madison) vs. Hawthorne
Friday, Dec. 8
Class 1S State Championship, 10 a.m.
- Trinity Catholic (Ocala) vs. Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota)
Class 4M State Championship, 3 p.m.
- Mandarin (Jacksonville) vs. Columbus (Miami)
Class 2S State Championship, 8 p.m.
- Bradford (Starke) vs. Cocoa
Saturday, Dec. 9
Class 2M State Championship, 10 a.m.
- Berkeley Prep vs. Miami Norland
Class 3M State Championship, 3 p.m.
- Homestead vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)
Class 4S State Championship, 8 p.m.
- Lakeland vs. Venice