Final Season Record: 10-1, SSAA 8-man 3A Champions, Mason Dixon Conference Champions.
For the first time in our 8-man history, we can call ourselves playoff champions! We have been members of the Sunshine State Athletic Association (formerly the SSAC) ever since we became a 8-man football program back in 2019.
The way the SSAA sets up its playoffs is that all teams will enter it and be placed in a bracket. The top 8 teams in the conference are placed in the highest bracket and play for the right to be called state champions (4A). The next best 8 teams are placed in the "silver" bracket (3A), then the next 8 best go in the "bronze" (2A) and so forth.
Here's our history of which bracket we were in and the results:
2019: #1 seed in 4A, lost in 1st round in an upset to the eventual runner-ups.
2020: No season, COVID
2021: #8 seed in 4A, lost in 1st round to #1 seed.
2022: #4 seed in 3A, lost in 1st round.
2023: #1 seed in 2A, lost in championship game.
2024: #2 seed in 3A, won the championship.
The game tonight was won by big plays on the ground (14.5 yards per carry average) and timely defensive stops. Once again, our dynamic duo of Daniel Healy and Edward Bell went over the 100-yard mark. It would not have been possible if not for our boys on the offensive line. They were outsized, outweighed, and often outnumbered as Hernando Christian Academy (HCA) played with 5, 6, or even 7 defensive linemen!
Kudos to Robert Essex, Jr. for his first career touchdown as he recovered a fumble in the endzone to give us the hammer to nail in the final nail in their coffin. Robert had a stellar game defensively with a blocked punt, another fumble recovery, and several tackles along with that touchdown.
We will miss our three Seniors who contributed mightily to our success this season: Angel Guillen (RB/LB), Dylan Bellorin-Santos (QB/DB), and Antawn Wanliss (OL/DL). Come back and visit us out on the field anytime!
Thank you fans for cheering us on this season. It was great to be a Dragon!
For game stats, head over to MaxPreps: Game Boxscore
For the playoff brackets in our conference: SSAA Brackets link
For our conference info, you can visit these three links: GoBound SSAA 8-man power rankings, Maxpreps 8-man standings, and SSAA 8-man conference
