While the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) gave its members an extra week in the regular season to make up games affected by Hurricane Milton _ which none of the eight Seminole County schools needed _ the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) stayed on schedule and contested its State Semifinals last week.
Three local teams advanced to the SSAA Semifinals, but it was only defending Champion The Master’s Academy (10-1) earning a shot at a 2024 State Crown.
Standout freshman quarterback Jackson Stecher was amazing again, completing 14-of-19 passes for 239-yards and three touchdowns in leading the host TMA-Eagles to a 40-29 victory over the Christ’s Church Academy Eagles (9-2) from Jacksonville in the SSAA 11-Man State Championship Semifinals at Pennington Field in Oviedo last Friday.
Freshman Jacob McDonald (4-receptions, 89-yards) and junior Davon Washington (2-receptions, 61-yards) were the top two targets for Stecher, who will lead TMA into the State Championship Game for the second straight season this Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium in The Villages.
Meanwhile, the FHSAA released its State Playoff Brackets on Saturday and it included three teams from Seminole County.
Leading the way is Class 7A-District 3 Champion Lake Mary (8-2), which will be the top seed in 7A-Region 1 and host No. 8 seeded DeLand (5-5) in a Regional Quarterfinal this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Don T. Reynolds Stadium.
The Rams will be joined in 7A-1 by No. 2 seeded and neighborhood rival Seminole (8-1).
Since the Fighting Seminoles, which added a victory to its total after The First Academy-Orlando had to forfeit all of its victories because of violations, are an At Large selection, they will have to travel to St. Johns to take on No. 7 seeded Creekside (5-5) at 7 p.m.
The other local team is Class 6A-District 4 Champion Oviedo High School (8-2), which will be the No. 6 seed in Class 6A-Region 1 and will travel to the Florida panhandle to face Pace (9-1) in a Quarterfinal on Friday at 7 p.m.
Here are the SSAA Semifinal Playoff results and this week’s SSAA and FHSAA schedule:
Sunshine State Athletics Association Playoffs
Semifinals
Friday, November 8
8-Man 3A Championship
(2) St. Augustine-Florida School for the Deaf & Blind 34, (3) The Geneva School 14.
11-Man 1A Championship
(2) Ocoee-Legacy Charter 16, (3) Trinity Prep 14.
11-Man State Championship
(1) The Master's Academy 40, (2) Christ's Church Academy 29.
(1) NSU University 21, (2) Oasis 10.
Finals
Saturday, November 16
The Range at H. G. Morse Stadium, The Villages
11-Man State Championship
(1) The Master's Academy vs. (1) NSU University, 7 p.m.
FHSAA Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Friday, November 15
(All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
Class 6A-Region 1
(8) Gonzalez-Tate at (1) Ponte Vedra-Nease, 7:30 p.m.
(5) Orange Park-Oakleaf at (4) Jacksonville-Mandarin.
(6) Oviedo at (3) Pace.
(7) Evans at (2) Gainesville-Buchholz.
Class 7A-Region 1
(8) DeLand vs. (1) Lake Mary at Don T. Reynolds Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
(5) Spruce Creek at (4) Flagler Palm Coast, 7:30 p.m.
(6) Winter Park at (3) Orange City-University.
(2) Seminole at (7) St. Johns-Creekside.
