Florida High School Football Week 1 Highlights: Carol City Rolls, DeLand Survives Thriller

No. 22 Carol City cruises past Mainland, defending state champion West Boca Raton shuts down American Heritage and DeLand escapes Lake Wales by a point.

Carol City quarterback Malik Leonard (7), shown here during a preseason game against West Boca Raton, ran for touchdown and passed for another to lead the Chiefs past Daytona Beach Mainland, 38-3, in the regular-season opener for both schools on Aug. 21, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Week 1 of the Florida high school football season delivered a little bit of everything Friday night — dominant performances, defensive statements and a finish decided by a 2-point conversion.

Miami Carol City, ranked No. 22 nationally in the High School On SI Power 25, made one of the night's biggest statements. The Chiefs traveled to Volusia County and scored 38 unanswered points in a 38-3 rout of Mainland.

Defending Class 6A state champion West Boca Raton also opened impressively, using a dominant defensive performance to beat defending Class 4A champion American Heritage Plantation, 24-7. DeLand survived a much different kind of opener, stopping Lake Wales on a late 2-point conversion attempt to escape with a 35-34 victory.

Florida didn't fare as well on the other side of the country. Two-time defending Class 4A runner-up Jones traveled to California and was shut out by Santa Margarita, 27-0.

Here's a look at how four of Friday night's notable Florida high school football games unfolded:

Carol City 38, Mainland 3

Mainland went ahead early, 3-0, on a 43-yard field goal by Casen McDonald but Carol City responded with 38 unanswered points. The Chiefs scored 38 unanswered points behind the efforts of Za’Kari Johnson, who ran for a touchdown and passed for another, and a defense that had three interceptions.

Santana Blount scored on a 90-yard punt return, and quarterback Malik Leonard ran for a touchdown and threw for another for the Chiefs.

West Boca Raton 24, American Heritage Plantation 7

The Bulls intercepted AHP star quarterback Niemann Lawrence twice and did not allow a first down until the second half.

That defensive effort gave West Boca quarterback Trey Moran time to pass for two touchdowns and run for another score. Moran threw TD passes to Lorantae Davis and Billy Clancy III.

Delorian Airall Jr. and Max Reid had interceptions for the Bulls.

DeLand 35, Lake Wales 34

In a wild back-and-forth battle, the DeLand defense stopped Lake Wales on a 2-point conversion run with less than 3 minutes left to escape with a one-point win.

DeLand and its single-wing offense scored five rushing TDs – three by athlete Taihj Moore and two by Kaveon Johnson.

“It was a great team win over a good team,” DeLand quarterback Gardner Nordman said. “It’s always awesome to win like that, but not satisfied, yet. We’re excited to go to work and improve throughout the season.”

Lake Wales quarterback Kingston Loydd accounted for most of his team's offense.

Santa Margarita (Calif.) 27, Jones 0

Central Florida power and two-time defending Class 4A state runner-up Jones ventured out west and and struggled against a nationally ranked California power.

Santa Margarita’s defense shut out Jones, 27-0, and got touchdowns from Grant Van Raaphorst, Deuce Smith, Kiyan Callis and Adrian Petero.

Quarterback Fletch Palmer threw two TD passes for Santa Margarita.

Ke’Sean Williams had an interception for Jones.

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Jeff Gardenour can be reached via email at jgardenour1962@gmail.com or X @JMarkG1962