CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Defending state champions Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) and Champagnat Catholic battle it out for title

NO. 4 TRINITY CHRISTIAN CONQUERORS (9-4) vs. NO. 3 CHAMPAGNAT CATHOLIC LIONS (10-2)

WHAT: FHSAA Class 2A State Championship

WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET

WHERE: Gene Cox Stadium, Tallahassee

TICKET INFO: Go Fan ($14 per game advance purchase & $17 day of)

RADIO: Trinity Christian Athletics Radio

INTERNET STREAM: Spectrum Cable ($9.95 fee per game)

ABOUT TRINITY CHRISTIAN

COACH: Verlon Dorminey, 31st year (302-81)

THE PATH HERE: d. St. John Paul II (Tallahassee), 44-7 (Regional Semifinals); d. Munroe Day, 39-22 (Regional Finals); d. Orlando Christian Prep, 29-21 (Regional Finals)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 8-2 overall record in state championship games with titles won in 2002, 2003, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020

KEY PLAYERS: QB Colin Hurley, Fr. (137-of-243 passing, 2,043 yards, 23 TDs, 11 INTs); RB Treyaun Webb, Jr. (126 carries, 1,019 yards rushing, 9 TDs); RB Darnell Rogers, So., (173 carries, 1,124 yards, 10 TDs); WR Fred Highsmith, Sr., (34 rec., 570 yards, 12 TDs); WR Darias James, Sr. (25 rec., 485 yards, 5 TDs); WR Xander Ross, Sr. (36 rec., 457 yards, 2 TDs); LB Caden Morrell, Sr., (139 total tackles, 14.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 11 QB hurries, 2 FR, 4 FF); LB Cameron Anderson, So. (99 total tackles, 14 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 QB hurries, 3 INTs, 3 pass breakups, 2 FR, 2 FF); LB Keaton Thomas, Sr. (53 total tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB hurry, 7 INTs, 3 pass breakups); CB Cam Miller, Sr., (56 total tackles, 2.5 TFL, 6 pass breakups, 1 FR, 1 FF)

THE SKINNY: Despite not coaching the last two games in a full capacity, Verlon Dorminey is expected to coach his 384th game in the Class 2A State Championship game on Thursday night. The Conquerors who won the Class 3A State Championship game in 2020 is looking to win their second straight state championship and their sixth state championship in the last decade. Like Champagnat Catholic, Dorminey has demanded and expected the most out of athletes as well with a demanding schedule that produced a 6-4 result in the regular season. That included games against playoff teams like Raines, Columbia, Bolles, American Heritage (Plantation), Florida High, Riverside, and Lincoln. They also had a huge game with non-FHSAA member Clearwater Academy who has done extremely well. QB Colin Hurley has been a leader for the Conquerors as a freshman who has carried his weight with the passing game while the ground game has relied on the services of junior Treyaun Webb and sophomore Darnell Rogers who have combined together for over 2,100 yards rushing and 19 TDs. Hurley has his favorite targets in Fred Highsmith, Darias James, and Xander Ross and the trio has combined for 19 TD receptions through 13 games. On the defense, linebackers are the name of the game with Caden Morrell and Cameron Anderson leading th way in tackles for the Conquerors. Keaton Thomas, who is a 3-star prospect according to 247Sports, leads the teams in interceptions with seven while cornerback Cam Miller, a four-star Penn State commit has 56 tackles, but has not seen the ball come his way often this year as most teams have avoided passing to the area he has been covering against their opponents’ top receivers.

ABOUT CHAMPAGNAT CATHOLIC

COACH: Hector Clavijo III, 4th year (40-13)

THE PATH HERE: d. Glades Day, 35-7 (Regional Semifinals); d. John Carroll, 38-28 (Regional Finals); d. First Baptist (Naples), 27-8 (State Semifinals)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 4-2 overall record in state championship games with titles won in 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Lions were runner-up in 2016, and 2018.

KEY PLAYERS: QB Ennio Yapoor, Fr. (188-of-276 passing, 2,636 yards, 23 TDs, 2 INTs); WR Benson Prosper, Sr. (38 rec, 567 yards, 3 TDs); WR Jaylin Terzado, Sr., (21 rec., 493 yards, 6 TDs); WR Marvin Sims, Sr. (38 rec, 444 yards, 4 TDs); MLB Cromury Butts, Jr., (45 total tackles, 9 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF); SS Monroe Ingraham, Jr., (20 total tackles, 3 INTs, 3 TFL); ATH Antron Williams (33 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FR) 

THE SKINNY: This is the sixth straight year that Champagnat Catholic will appear in the Class 2A State Championship and the fourth under current head coach Hector Clavijo who is 2-2 in state championship games as a head coach. Clavijo has demanded a lot of his athletes this season as the defending Class 2A state champion from 2020. This year the schedule featured five teams that reached the playoffs including Miami Northwestern, American Heritage (Delray), Fort Meade, Gulliver Prep, and Benjamin. Offensively speaking, the Lions are led by freshman quarterback Ennio Yapoor who has excelled this season with over 2,600 yards passing and has only thrown two interceptions. His favorite targets have been three-star receiver Benson Prosper who is committed to Arkansas State along with Jaylin Terzado who is a Western Carolina commit. On defense, which has been one of the Lions’ strong points in recent years seems to have slid some with Cromury Butts leading the way with tackles and sacks, while strong safety Monroe Ingraham leads the teams in interceptions. 

PREVIEW

Both of the teams have played demanding schedules to get to the state championship game using freshman quarterbacks to lead the way while much more experienced players stepped up to be the full leaders for the Lions and the Conquerors. With that said looking at the teams overall, Trinity Christian appears to be more cohesive as a team both offense and defense while Champagnat Catholic seems to know what it can do on offense with a passing game, but lacking a solid ground game while the defense also lags some. While this is going to be a great game overall, this one might be hard for the Lions to overcome with the Conquerors being a better overall team. 

PREDICTION: Trinity Christain 8 over Champagnat Catholic