High School Football: Winners and Losers from Dec. 10-13

Now that the high school football state championships around the country are wrapping up, one of the most explosive weeks of the season just occurred in the past few days. The week of Dec. 10-13 provided more surprises and upsets around the country as games become that much more important around this time of the year. We’re looking at the players who impressed, the coaches who stood out and the fans who are either celebrating or scratching their heads. This week, we’re highlighting the biggest winners and losers – the people and moments that made the past few days memorable.

WINNERS

Santa Margarita Catholic Eagles (Calif.): Is there a team that’s boosted their stock more than the Eagles of Santa Margarita Catholic in the last few weeks? Carson Palmer‘s crew has played its best football of the season and even the former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback knows that after the Eagles cruised to a 47-13 victory over No. 17 De La Salle last week in the CIF Open Division state championship. With the win and the impressive run the team is currently on, it’s hard to argue against creating the debate that this Santa Margarita Catholic team could be the best team in the land. With victories over a slew of national powers like De La Salle, Corona Centennial, Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon, Palmer wishes his team wasn’t done playing just yet. Heck, he even mentioned Georgia by name when it pertained to which state he’d like his team to face another one from.

Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubbs: Needing just one more chance in order to win a high school football state championship in the finale of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state finals on Saturday night, the future Notre Dame quarterback got his wish and took full advantage of it. Grubbs got the ball at midfield after a series of head-scratching decisions by Vero Beach, which led to the ‘Hail Lake Mary’ shot heard round the country. With just one play left to win the Class 7A title trailing 27-21, Grubbs launched a pass to the endzone, that was caught by FIU signee Barrett Schulz, who then handed it off to running back Tavarius Brundidge Jr. for what would be the game-winning touchdown with time expiring. Grubbs finished the game with 333 yards and three touchdowns, overcoming three interceptions on the night. The comeback fueled by Grubbs capped one of the most remarkable comeback wins for a Florida high school football team in a state final in quite some time.

DeSoto Eagles (TX): It must be an Eagles’ thing right now because we have already aforementioned the Santa Margarita Catholic Eagles, but we’d be 100 percent remiss if we didn’t also bring up another team that won in dramatic fashion last week. DeSoto, which started the season off with a 70-28 loss to Creekside (Ga.) and followed it with another one to North Crowley, led 51-44 with seconds left in the contest. The Eagles’ defense made a fourth down stop at the goal line of Southlake Carroll quarterback Angelo Renda (Pittsburgh signee), securing the victory in a UIL Class 6A-II state semifinal. It was another huge day on the ground for running back SaRod Baker, who carried the bal 38 times for 366 yards and three touchdowns. No team in the Lone Star State is playing better ball than Claude Mathis‘ DeSoto Eagles right now.

LOSERS

Vero Beach (Fla.) head coach Lenny Jankowski: The Vero Beach Fighting Indians got the ball back on their own 40-yard line with 1:18 left in Saturday’s Class 7A state championship up 27-19 over Lake Mary. We have no percentage of what the favorable odds would’ve been for the Fighting Indians to win the game, but according to artificial intelligence, that number would fall somewhere between 94 to 97 percent in Vero Beach’s favor. That left Lake Mary with a six to three percent chance of winning the game and those slim odds were assisted by a number of questionable coaching decisions that led to Vero Beach losing the game, 28-27, in the final moments. Jankowski’s team got the ball back and the head coach decided to take three kneel downs opposed to running his regular offense, which had totaled over 500 yards on the night. Then on fourth down, Jankowski decided to instead of just regular punt the ball away, to run his punter out of the back of the endzone for a safety with 10 seconds remaining, making it 27-21. Following the safety was a squib kick to the middle of the field around the 50-yard line instead of kicking the ball deep, setting up one of the more unbelievable sequences to end a high school football game you’ll ever see. Rivals was on hand in-person to see this go down and it was one of the wildest endings to a game you’ll ever watch, but it was all because of a number of coaching decisions that led to the improbable moment.

Archbishop ShawEagles (La.): Another team that somehow captured losing from the jaws of victory was the Archbishop Shaw. The Eagles led 21-20, with 35 seconds remaining and St. Charles Catholic senior place kicker Tyler Milioto lined up for what would’ve been the game-tying extra point but the kick would sail wide left. Archbishop Shaw players in a viral video can been seen celebrating prematurely and it continued well after the missed kick. The Eagles went and lined up in victory formation, took a knee, but an Eagles’ offensive lineman took his helmet off which drew a penalty and stopped the clock for St. Charles. Eventually Archbishop Shaw would be forced to punt with 20 seconds still remaining, giving St. Charles Catholic another chance to win the game and that they would. Milioto redeemed himself, knocking down the go-ahead field goal in the waning seconds. It just goes to show you, the game is never over until all zeros are marked across the scoreboard.

Miami Northwestern Bulls (Fla.): The Miami Northwestern Bulls’ coaches, players and fans walked into Pitbull Stadium with plenty of bravado as they looked forward to celebrating a repeat of last year’s state championship when they defeated Jacksonville Raines, 41-0. Problem was that was then and this is now. The Vikings came in matching blow for blow and confidence turned into angst which eventually turned into a loss for the Bulls in stunning fashion, 23-22, in the final seconds. All season long Miami Northwestern had been heavily touted as one of the best teams out of South Florida and the state for that matter. On Saturday night, it was Raines that looked the part and played like it, with the Vikings being the team handed the Class 3A title. Needless to say, it’s going to be a long off-season for the Bulls.

How to Follow National High School Football

For high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the gridiron excitement across the country.