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What Team Pulled Off This Great Turnaround Story? 1997 Raines Vikings


OldSchoolLion

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Prior to 2000, a certain coach pulled off one of the great turnaround stories in FHSAA history by turning a 4-7 program into an undefeated state champion in back-to-back seasons.  That team is considered by some to be the best team to ever come out of a certain metro area. 

In the state game, their QB led his team to a comeback win, and in doing so, broke the record at the time for most passing yards in a state title game.  A WR on that team also broke a record at that time.       

What team is it and what year was their great turnaround?

Extra Credit!!!

Who was their coach?

Who was that record-setting qb?

What future Gator All-American and NFL star caught the winning TD in that title game?

What team did they beat to win the state title?

Who was the famous qb on the opposing team?

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I think your info might be wrong as I don't think they won state championships back to back seasons.... unless you mean they were 4-7 and then went undefeated the next season. I definitely read it as state champions twice.

Raines 1997 
Coach Welton Coffey
Mack Frazier
Jabar Gaffney
Glades Central
Brad Banks (Iowa, runner-up for the Heisman)

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5 minutes ago, gatorman-uf said:

I think your info might be wrong as I don't think they won state championships back to back seasons.... unless you mean they were 4-7 and then went undefeated the next season. I definitely read it as state champions twice.

Raines 1997 
Coach Welton Coffey
Mack Frazier
Jabar Gaffney
Glades Central
Brad Banks (Iowa, runner-up for the Heisman)

that is what I meant

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It is the 1997 Jacksonville Raines team, which finished the season 15-0 and beat Glades Central(14-1)  32-27 to win the Class 4A title in front of 7000+ fans in Gainesville.  That Raines team featured many great players, including hs All-American db and future Gator great Lito Sheppard.  First-year head coach Welton Coffey took over a 4-7 team and led Raines to its first state title and the first state football title ever by a Duval County public school.  As a result, Coffey was voted the 1997 4A coach of the year.  He is now AD at Camden County High in Georgia.

QB Mack Frazier rewrote the Florida finals record book with a 349-yard passing performance(20 for 32) to lead Raines in a matchup between unbeaten teams.  Frazier's performance overshadowed a 224-yard passing effort from Glades Central qb Brad Banks.  Raines WR Maurice Harris also broke a finals record record with 180 receiving yards.

An 80-yard drive that began with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter helped the Vikings overcome a 27-26 Glades Central lead. The key play in the drive was a 32-yard pass from Frazier to future Gator great Jabar Gaffney with 1:53 left that gave Raines the ball at Glades Central's 23.  On that play, Raiders defensive back Terrence Simms went for an interception and missed as Gaffney turned the play into a big gain.

Frazier, whose yardage total surpassed the mark set by Anthony Penn of Delray Beach Carver (281) in 1968, completed two more passes in the drive, including the game-winner to Gaffney with 1:22 left in the fourth period. 

Glades Central put together one final drive when it drove down to the Raines 7 on three completions by Banks, who was sacked at the 6 by Maurice Harris and Zeboye Doctor on the game's final play.

Below is a video of Raines' final scoring drive.

 

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I am sorry if I have put any Glades Central fans over the edge this week.:rolleyes:  Mack Frazier(Raines) setting a state final passing record against the Raiders in the 1997 final, Chevelle Buie(Cocoa) rushing for 215 yards against them in the 2009 final, and Duke Johnson(Norland) rushing for over 250 yards and 4TD's in the Muck in a 2011 region final.  These are the guys the Raiders still have nightmares about. 

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I still have the FHSAA Game Day program from that Saturday December 20th doubleheader featuring four undefeated finalist. Raines (14-0) edged Glade Central (14-0) 32-27 on the stellar play of their QB. The nite cap had Miami Carol City (14-0) just beating Lake City Columbia (14-0) 20-17 in front of several thousand Tiger fans who followed their team the short distance down I-75 to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Up until recently when the FHSAA started handing out paper team rosters at the gate in state title games, I still have all the game day programs from the late 1980's to around  2014. From 1989-2017 I saw at least one championship day for 29 straight years. Wave and Darter both can also claim numbers like that too.  

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On 5/10/2019 at 9:28 AM, OldSchoolLion said:

"an undefeated state champion in back-to-back seasons."

Dang, I guess I wasted my time looking for for a team who went undefeated and won a state champion one year (the year after going 4-7) and then went undefeated and won a the state championship the following year.  :(

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