All eyes will be on a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard when Jones High and visiting Dr. Phillips take the field during the final week of the high school football regular season.
A Senior Night celebration ensues at Jones after the new HD video board — standing nearly 30 feet with a 10x 20 screen — is unveiled and turned on for the first time during a 6 p.m. ceremony.
The scoreboard upgrade was made possible through a joint effort by McCoy Federal Credit Union, Florida Citrus Sports and Florida Blue.
“We’re so appreciative of this generous contribution as part of an ongoing effort to modernize our on-campus athletic facilities,” Jones principal Orlando Norwood said in a press release. “We can’t wait to see the new technology in action as our quest for a state football championship continues and our winter sports season begins.”
The main event features football teams with 6-3 records already ensured of Florida High School Athletic Association playoff spots in separate classifications.
Jones, ranked No. 5 in the Sentinel Super 16, won 35-14 in 2022 and 48-13 in 2021. The Panthers rank No. 11 in the Super 16.
The Week 11 schedule features several rivalry games involving ranked teams, including city showdowns featuring No. 1 Edgewater (9-0) at Boone (5-4), No. 13 Wekiva (4-5) at No. 10 Apopka (6-3) and Hagerty (6-3) at No. 12 Oviedo (7-2).
Edgewater, winners of 27 consecutive regular season games, has won five in a row vs. Boone in Orlando’s oldest-running rivalry. Just one touchdown has separated the teams in the Battle for the Barrel in each of the past two years.
Apopka, a state runner-up in three of the past four seasons, has dropped five of seven meetings in the series vs. the Mustangs since 2017. That includes a 2018 playoff loss and 20-14 setback in 2022.
Wekiva needs another win for any chance at sneaking into the Class 3 Metro Region 1 playoffs.
Oviedo owns a 14-3 series lead over Hagerty, including seven in a row since 2017. The Lions have held the Huskies to no more than 18 points in five straight meetings, which includes a 2020 playoff game.
St. Cloud (6-3) hoped to break in its new artificial turf field against neighboring rival Harmony (2-7), but that game will take place at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee. Harmony tied the series at 9-9 since it began in 2005 with a 44-0 win last year.
St. Cloud plans to schedule a bowl game against a non-playoff team to be played on its new field next week.
Windermere High could start hosting on-campus football games as early as August 2024 after gaining approval last month for a stadium to be built. The Wolverines (3-6) host Horizon (4-5) at nearby Scott Pine Community Park in a game between schools separated by just six miles.
Lake Mary (8-1), No. 3 in the Super 16, travels to Volusia County to clash with unbeaten Daytona Beach Mainland (9-0). That contest will be broadcast live on the Cure Bowl YouTube channel.
A Rams win would likely secure the top seed in Class 4M Region 1 ahead of Sanford Seminole (8-2) despite Lake Mary’s 29-28 loss to the ‘Noles when those teams played last week. Lake Mary holds a 17.13 to 17.02 advantage over Seminole in FHSAA playoff power rankings.
The FHSAA will reveal its final playoff rankings and postseason pairings during a live YouTube broadcast Sunday at 10 a.m.
The Master’s Academy (7-2) hosts Jacksonville Zarephath Academy (5-4) in an independent Sunshine State Athletic Association championship bracket semifinal.
Master’s eighth grader Jackson Stecher passed for 3 TDs and rushed for two more last week during a dramatic 42-36 win vs. Gainesville Oak Hall (7-2). The Eagles made a stop inside the 1-yard-line to hang on.
The winner advances to face Fort Lauderdale’s NSU University (9-0) or Westminster Academy (8-1) in the title game Nov. 11 at Bryant Stadium in Lakeland.
Orlando Christian Prep (8-1), a two-time independent state champ now in its second season in FHSAA district play, travels to St. Petersburg Northside Christian (6-3) for its finale. Northside is in its first season under coach Bailey Granier, a former UCF player and Master’s Academy coach.
Friday’s schedule involving area teams is listed below. Rankings are from the Sentinel Super 16. Team overall win-loss records are included in parentheses.
Week 11
No. 1 Edgewater (9-0) at Boone (5-4), 7
No. 3 Lake Mary (8-1) at Daytona Beach Mainland (9-0), 7#
No. 4 DeLand (7-2) at Flagler Palm Coast (3-6), 7
No. 11 Dr. Phillips (6-3) at No. 5 Jones (6-3), 7
No. 6 Olympia (7-2) at Groveland South Lake (2-7), 7
No. 7 Lake Minneola (6-3) at Lakeland Lake Gibson (5-4), 7:30
No. 8 Winter Park (8-0) at Lake Brantley (1-8*), 7
No. 9 Orange City University (8-1) at Deltona (1-8), 7
No. 13 Wekiva (4-5) at No. 10 Apopka (6-3), 7
Hagerty (6-3) at No. 12 Oviedo (7-2), 7
No. 15 Bishop Moore (6-3) at Lakeland Kathleen (1-8), 7:30
Mount Dora (6-3) at Lake Howell (6-3), 7
Lake Nona (4-5) at Evans (4-5), 7
Osceola (3-6) at West Orange (3-6), 7:30
Horizon (4-5) at Windermere High (3-6), 7#
Tavares (5-4*) at Clermont East Ridge (4-5)
West Oaks (4-5) at Foundation Academy (6-3), 7
East River (2-7) at Oak Ridge (3-5), 7
Colonial (1-8) at Lake Buena Vista (4-4), 7
Freedom (2-7) at Orlando University (2-7), 7
Timber Creek (3-6) at Cypress Creek (0-9), 7
Windermere Prep (1-6) at The First Academy (5-4), 7
Harmony (2-7) at St. Cloud (6-3), 7:30#
Liberty (2-7) at Poinciana (3-6), 7
Havana Gadsden County (5-4) at Gateway (0-9), 7
Eagle Lake Lake Region (4-5) at Celebration (1-8), 7:30
Brooksville Central (2-7) at Umatilla (1-8), 7:30
Tohopekaliga (5-4) at Haines City (5-4), 7
Eustis (6-3*) at Merritt Island (6-3), 7
Deltona Pine Ridge (3-5) at Port Orange Atlantic (4-5), 7
Orlando Christian Prep (8-1) at St. Petersburg Northside Christian (6-3), 7
Winter Springs (0-9) at Palm Coast Matanzas (6-3), 7
Jacksonville Zarephath Academy (5-4) at The Master’s Academy (7-2), 7
Mount Dora Christian (4-5) at Jacksonville Bishop Snyder (6-3), 7
Deltona Trinity (2-7) at Riverview Bell Creek Academy (4-5), 7
#Home sites: Mainland at Daytona Stadium; St. Cloud at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex, Kissimmee; Windermere High at Scott Pine Community Park, Winter Garden.
Regular season complete: No. 2 Seminole (8-2), No. 14 Leesburg (9-1), No. 16 Ocoee (4-6), Central Florida Christian (0-6), Cornerstone Charter (3-6), Faith Christian (4-5), First Academy-Leesburg (3-6), Lake Highland Prep (4-3), Legacy Charter (2-6), Lyman (6-4), Orangewood Christian (4-5), Trinity Prep (1-8).
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
