5 Florida high school football games you should not have missed this week (10/21/2023)

Friday night lights in Florida always entertains with big time performances by some of the best high school football teams and and players in the nation. This

Friday night lights in Florida always entertains with big time performances by some of the best high school football teams and and players in the nation.

This week's edition also produced some thrilling outcomes, including our list of five games you should not have missed.

Here is a summary of these contests, running from 5 thru 1.

5. Jones 68, Wekiva 47

For lovers of offensive football, this was the match-up of the night as the Tigers and Mustangs combined for 115 points, including 68 in the fourth quarter.

Wekevia quarterback Ty’Ray Davis threw seven touchdowns in his team’s loss, including six in the second half. He finished with 530-yards passing, with more than 200 of that going to Jeremy Benjamin.

Jones (5-3) spread the offensive wealth more liberally as eight different Tigers scored. Both Trevor Jackson and Dereon Coleman had one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown, while Vernell Brown scored twice, once with a reception and once with a punt return.

The game was tight after one quarter, with Jones holding a 10-7 advantage, but the Tigers scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter and the lead grew to 34-7 in the third quarter.

Both offenses went up and down the field at will, with plenty of reserve players on the field in the fourth quarter, but Wekevia (4-5) never got closer than three scores.

4. Springstead 37, Mitchell 34

Springstead’s Connor Mccazzio plowed into the end zone from 2-yards out, with less than five seconds to play, Friday, lifting the Eagles to a heart-stopping, 37-24, win over Mitchell.

It was Mccazzio’s second touchdown of the game in this back-and-forth battle. Mitchell (4-4) got in two last snaps to attempt a comeback, but Tyree Davis came up with an interception to ice the victory and cap a big night for himself.

Davis, a two-way star, also scored a pair of touchdowns on offense.

Mitchell led 21-7 at one point in the second quarter and then rallied from a 30-21 deficit to take a 34-30 lead in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Cayden Thomas led the Mustangs with a pair of touchdown passes.

Springstead improved to 6-2 with the win.

3. Bozeman 25, Chipley 24

Walk-off victories are more commonly associated with baseball than football, but the Bozeman football team experience one, on the road Friday night, when Chance Jenkins nailed a game-winning field goal on the contest’s final play to lift the Bucks to a thrilling 25-24 victory over Chipley, as Bozeman moved to 8-0 on the season.

Jenkins kicked a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks rally.

Defenses dominated early, with both sides forcing key turnovers.

Chipley took the first lead on a Malik Henderson touchdown reception in the first quarter the Tigers scored again in the final minute of the first half to lead 14-7.

Bozeman pulled within one, at 14-13, before Jenkins kicked his first field goal to give his team its first lead of the night, at 16-14. Chipley went back in front with its own field goal and the two teams traded touchdowns before the Bucks got Jenkins in position for the winner on the game’s final play.

2. Spruce Creek 29, New Smyrna Beach 28, OT

Spruce Creek squandered a 22-7 half time lead by allowing a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns by visiting New Smyrna Beach before prevailing, 29-28, in overtime.

Senior quarterback Luke Smith found Cam Campbell for a short touchdown pass in in the first possession of overtime TD to push the Hawks back in front, 29-22, but New Smyrna Beach again made things interesting with its possession.

The Barracudas scored on a reverse option pass from wide receiver Nick Delucia to Brett Remensnyder. NMB then went for two and the victory, but a high snap eluded Delucia, who had lined up as the wildcat quarterback, and he was tackled to seal the victory for Spruce Creek.

1. Creekside 49, Fleming Island 48

In a wild contest, Fleming Island got seven combined touchdowns from Cibastian Broughton, but fell just short of victory when a 50-yard field goal attempt by Parker Sirdevan came up inches short as time expired.

Creekside appeared headed for an easy win when it built a 42-28 lead early in the fourth quarter, but needed to rally in the final two minutes after Broughton sandwiched a pair of touchdown throws around his own 19-yard TD run to push the Knights in front, 48-42.

Creekside also had possession with the less than two minutes to go and opportunity to close out the clock, but Luke Millinor forced a huge turnover and quarterback Sean Ashenfelder capitalized with his third TD pass of the game to return the lead to the Eagles, who still had to survive and one final push from the Fleming Island offense.

Broughton finished with 215 yards passing and 162 yards rushing in a spectacular performance for Fleming Island. Harrison Garrido rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns for Creekside and Ashenfelder passed for 294 yards and the three scores with just one interception. Taylor Burch also had a huge game for the Eagles, catching 10 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown.