MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) Mustangs have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its fourteenth year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Mustangs ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Columbus 37-35 in the
FHSAA Class 8A state championship contest on Saturday, December 8 marked the completion of an incredible 11-4 season — and earned Mandarin an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
After falling behind 7-0 early in the opening quarter, the Mustangs scored 17 straight points to take a 17-7 advantage midway through the second quarter. Mandarin then went up 37-21, its largest lead of the game, early in the fourth quarter on Carson Beck's 29-yard strike to Demario Douglas, who scored four touchdowns. Mandarin, however, had to sweat out the title game when Columbus' Brandon McDuffey tossed a 32-yard strike to Kalani Norris and then hit Xzavier Henderson with a nine-yard strike with 1:17 left.
But, Columbus' two-point conversion failed and the Mustangs recovered the onside kick, ran out the clock and went on to win their first state football title at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Beck tied the contest 7-7 when he tossed a 23-yard strike to Douglas and gave the Mustangs the lead for good with a 41-yard strike to Kris Mitchell. Following a 27-yard field goal by Hudson Levine, Douglas caught scoring strikes of 11, 39 and 29 yards over the final three quarters to round out Mustang scoring.
Beck completed 25 of 36 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns. Terrell Jennings led the Mustang ground game with 65 yards on 17 carries, while Douglas caught nine balls for 141 yards and a state title game record four touchdowns. Mitchell hauled in seven catches for 118 yards and the other score. Darian Oxendine reeled in six receptions for 54 yards and led the champions with 10 tackles, while Nijel McGriff made nine stops. Oxendine, Douglas and Kasimir Absolu had an interception each, while McGriff was credited with two quarterback hurries. Columbus out yarded the Mustangs 410-383. Mandarin opened postseason play with a 35-0 shutout of DeLand. Then, following a 41-8 win over Winter Park, the Mustangs kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 19-7 semifinal triumph over Wekiva. Mandarin bumped Riverview Sarasota from state championship contention with a 45-31 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Columbus.
Bobby Ramsay's club opened the season with a 39-7 win over Atlantic Coast. Then, following a 47-44 loss to Godby, Mandarin fell to Lee to start the season 1-2. The Mustangs won 10 of their final 12 contests and out scored their competition 462-329. Mandarin posted a shutout and held seven foes to 13 points or less, while scoring a season-high 45 points in the state semifinal win over Riverview Sarasota.
Having won nine of 10 games to end the season, Mandarin set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only are the Mustangs the top-ranked club in
MaxPreps' Florida Class 8A Rankings, Mandarin is the sixth best team in all of
Florida. The Mustangs are ranked No. 48 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Mandarin Mustangs an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium for a pep rally as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Thursday, February 19 at 1 p.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
