CLASS 4S STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Venice looks for back-to-back titles while meeting up with high-powered Lakeland team

NO. 2 VENICE (9-3) VS. NO. 1 LAKELAND (13-0)

WHAT: FHSAA Class 4S State Championship

WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

WHERE: DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale

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

PARKING: Available via ParkMobile App ($24 per vehicle)

CLEAR BAG POLICY: A clear bag policy is in effect for spectators. Click here for more.

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

ABOUT VENICE

COACH: John Peacock, 18th year (159-40 overall at Venice)

ROAD TO FORT LAUDERDALE: d. Riverdale (Fort Myers), 87-20 (Regional Quarterfinals); d. Lehigh (Lehigh Acres), 39-0 (Regional Semifinals); d. Riverview (Sarasota), 35-15 (Regional Finals); d. Buchholz (Gainesville), 42-35 (State Semifinals)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Venice is 3-0 in state championship game appearances. They won state championships in 2001, 2017, and 2021.

KEY PLAYERS: DE Dameon Wilson, Sr. (82 tackles, 8 TFL, 8 sacks, 7 QB hurries, 1 PUB, 2 FR, 2 FF, Division I FBS prospect); DB Elliot Washington, Sr. (49 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 INTs, 3 PBUs, 1 FR, Penn State commit); QB Brooks Bentley, Sr. (144-of-248, 1,794 yds, 21 TDs, 3 INTs); RB Jamarice Wilder, So. (133 car, 850 yds, 12 TDs); RB Alvin Johnson III, Jr. (194 car, 926 yds, 10 TDs); WR Ryan Matulevich, So. (50 rec, 673 yds, 5 TDs); WR Keyon Sears, Sr. (45 rec, 625 yds, 8 TDs); OLB Eli Seed, Jr. (117 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 QB hurry, 3 INTs, 3 PBUs, 1 FR, 1 FF); MLB Dominic Wood, Sr. (106 tackles, 2 TFL, 4 PBU); CB Huber Jack, Sr. (102 tackles, 10 TFL, 1 INT); OLB Carter Dalton, Jr. (85 tackles, 8 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 3 PBUs)

SCORING AVERAGES: Points For: 35 ppg; Points Against: 17.5 ppg

ABOUT LAKELAND

COACH: Bill Castle, 47th year (473-98 overall at Lakeland)

ROAD TO FORT LAUDERDALE: d. Lake Gibson (Lakeland), 49-0 (Regional Quarterfinals); d. Mitchell (New Port Richey), 47-10 (Regional Semifinals); d. Lake Minneola (Minneola), 41-6 (Regional Finals); d. Osceola (Kissimmee), 14-7 (State Semifinals)

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Lakeland is 7-1 in state championship game appearances. They won state championships in 1986, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2018. They finished as state runners-up in 2008.

KEY PLAYERS: DB Cormani McClain, Sr. (15 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 INTs, 3 PBUs, 1 FF, Miami commit); LB Larry Jones III, Sr. (66 tackles, 25 TFL, 16 sacks, 2 PBUs); WR Tyler Williams, Sr. (28 rec, 399 yds, 6 TDs; 9 car, 115 yds, 1 TD; Georgia commit); WR Daidren Zipper, Sr. (23 rec, 458 yds, 2 TDs); RB D’Marius Rucker, Jr., (91 car, 940 yds, 11 TDs); QB Zachary Pleuss, Sr. (101-of-151, 1,470 yds, 13 TDs, 4 INTs; 44 car, 129 yds, 6 TDs); CB Shadarian Harrison, Sr. (14 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 INTs, 3 PBUs, 1 FR); DE Idris King, Sr. (50 tackles, 23.5 TFL, 11 sacks, 2 PBUs, 1 FR)

SCORING AVERAGES: Points For: 39.8 ppg; Points Against: 7.5 ppg

PREVIEW

This is one of those dream matchups we have wanted to see for years in high school football for a state championship game and now we are going to actually be living in it. Two of Florida’s well-known and talented teams the Venice Indians and Lakeland Dreadnaughts will be taking place and it is for the first-ever Class 4S State Championship. When people talk about great football from Florida, these two teams are always in the conversational mix. Venice, they are a defending state champion from 2021 having won the Class 8A State Championship that is marked as one of their best teams in program history. With the team reaching the state championship game for the second year in a row, it is an accomplishment given many of the key players this year were backups last year. With that said Venice has strived hard to get to this point considering at one point during the regular season, some wondered if the Indians had enough in the tank to get to the state championship game this season. On the other side is the Dreadnaughts who got an influx of talent during the offseason on top of the talent already on the roster and they have gone through the season with no blemishes to the record, but that didn’t come without some challenges in playing Osceola twice and ended up winning those two games by three and seven points respectively. Also, it is worth noting that Head Coach Bill Castle is now the state’s all-time winningest head coach and has done it all at one school that dates back to 1976 when he became the head coach for the Dreadnaughts. The accomplishments that Coach Castle has is a mile long and to add one more state championship to his collection of seven that he has already won could be the cherry on top of a career as a head coach that will never be matched by anyone else in Florida for many, many years to come.

PREDICTION

Lakeland 38, Venice 24