In its first boys volleyball final four appearance Lake Brantley (26-3) takes on a familiar foe, Horizon (26-3), in a Thursday afternoon Class 3A state semifinal at Polk State College in Winter Haven.
The Patriots and Hawks played twice in the regular season, with each winning once.
The third Orlando area region champion, Lake Howell (25-5), is defending its 2025 Class 2A title and takes a 15-match winning streak into a Friday semifinal against Archbishop McCarthy (20-8) of Broward County.
Charlie Negron, a veteran club team coach and trainer, is in his sixth year as Lake Brantley’s head coach after eight as an assistant. The Patriots have improved their win total in each of the past three seasons and are primed for a shot at the state championship.
Brantley has been led by seniors Efrain L. Rivera Rodriguez, a setter (690 assists, 38 ace serves); and John Gomes-Garcia (324 kills). Sophomore Carter Green (332 digs) defends.
Horizon, a final four team last season, is led by outside hitter James Caleo (335 kills, 37 ace serves), the son of first-year head coach Kristen Caleo; setter Rafael “Rafa” Mello (666 assists) and middle blocker Joshua Robinson (75 blocks). Junior twins Emanuel and Esteban have combined for 412 kills.
Lake Howell coach Scott Leman has an experienced team that has 10 seniors and seven players back from the 2025 title run. Senior hitters are Xavier Borges (295 kills), Jayden Rivera (244 kills) and Julien Rogers (171 kills). Senior setter Kaiden Mezalon (790 assists, 49 assists) is a star.
“If our blocking and defense is good, and we limit our mistakes, we’ll be state champions again,” SilverHawks coach Scott Leman said Tuesday.
Lake Howell, Winter Park win FHSAA volleyball semifinals; Hagerty baseball falls short
Girls flag football
Two high-scoring teams on winning streaks, Harmony (19-1) and Deltona (20-0), play separate state semifinals on Friday in the FHSAA tournament at the Advent Health Training Center, practice home for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Bucs.
Both offenses are orchestrated by talented quarterbacks.
Deltona’s senior scrambler, cat-quick Frantashia Williams, leads the state with 46 touchdowns scored — two on interceptions as a cornerback. She has passed for 12 TDs and more than 4,000 yards.
“I’m trying to bring home the state championship, so people know the city,” Williams said after her team’s region semifinal win. “So they stop sleeping on us.”
Harmony’s freshman phenom, Ivy Munns, has completed 442 of 646 throws for 4,683 yards and a school-record 73 touchdowns.
“Ivy is very, very good. And she’s got good receivers,” 20th year Harmony head coach Paul Strauch said.
Jada Bloodworth, a junior, has 23 touchdowns on 48 catches; and senior Ellah Bloodworth has 20 TDs on 93 catches.
Deltona, coached by Mayra Matos Urgell, had never gotten past district tournament play before. The Wolves are averaging 32.2 points going into their semifinal against Miami Northwestern.
Harmony, averaging 30.5 points, has won 15 in a row going into its game against surprise 3A semifinalist Lennard of Hillsborough County. Both teams have Longhorns as their mascot.
Lennard scored a stunning 13-7 region final win against another Tampa area team, Alonso (19-1), which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 nationally by Rivals.com.
Harmony is making its third final four appearance under Strauch, one of the winningest coaches in state history.
No Orlando area teams have won a flag football state title since Dr. Phillips went 18-1 and won what was a single-class championship in 2011. Apopka was 18-0 as the state champ in 2004. That was the year after the FHSAA sanctioned flag football as a championship sport.
No Orlando area team has won a semifinal since Harmony did in 2017.
Harmony High flag football coach Paul Strauch has an .825 win percentage across 20 seasons. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Here are the records of the winningest flag football coaches in the Orlando area:
262-66 Anthony Jones, Dr. Phillips, 2003-14, 2016-25.
236-50 Paul Strauch, Harmony, 2007-26.
210-40 Matt Houvaras, Apopka, 2002-19.
Jones, also a longtime girls basketball coach, now coaches that sport only at Montverde Academy.
Houvaras, the first in Florida to get to 200 wins, remains at Apopka in his 31st year teaching. After stepping down from coaching he earned a Master’s Degree in art history and visual culture.
East Ridge bats stay hot with 9-0 rout of West Orange to open region softball
Softball scratches
Tuesday’s rain forced postponement of a number of region semifinal games.
Area No. 1 Lake Brantley (24-3) did get its game in, winning 9-2 against visiting Atlantic Coast in a 7A Region 1 semi. Auriana Turner and Maya Melendez both homered in the win, and pitcher Lauren Compton went the distance, striking out 10.
Weather permitting, the Patriots will host Thursday’s final against the winner of the Spruce Creek (19-7) at Hagerty (23-4) Wednesday night game.
East Ridge (25-2), in 7A-3 and Winter Springs (20-6) in 5A-2 were top seeds who were rescheduled for Wednesday, along with Eustis (19-6) in 3A-2.
In 2A-2, top seed The First Academy (21-3) was pushed to Wednesday as was the Cornerstone Charter (20-5) at Montverde Academy (19-5) game on the other side of that bracket.
In 1A-2, Mount Dora Christian (19-10) was able to play and beat Lakeland Christian 7-4. Foundation Academy (12-10) at top seed Geneva School (13-4) was moved to Wednesday.
Boys volleyball
At Polk State College, Winter Haven
State tournament pairings (with FHSAA rankings):
Class 3A
Thursday semifinals
No. 2 Lake Brantley (26-3) vs. No. 3 Horizon (26-3), 4 p.m.
No. 1 Miami Columbus (25-5) vs. No. 7 Seminole Ridge (24-6)
Saturday
Championship match, 1 p.m.
Class 2A
Friday semifinals
No. 3 Lake Howell (25-5) vs. No. 4 Archbishop McCarthy (20-8), 4 p.m.
No. 1 Belen Jesuit (24-6) vs. No. 7 Gulf Breeze (21-5), 7 p.m.
Saturday
Championship match, 7 p.m.
Flag football
State tournament pairings (with FHSAA rankings):
Class 2A
Friday semifinals
No. 3 Deltona (20-0) vs. No. 2 Miami Northwestern (16-2), 9 a.m.
No. 1 Tampa Robinson (19-1) vs. No. 4 Choctawhatchee (17-3), 10:30 a.m.
Saturday
Championship game, noon
Class 4A
Friday semifinals
No. 3 Harmony (19-1) vs. No. 8 Lennard (12-7), noon
No. 1 Park Vista (18-0) vs. No. 27 Tocoi Creek (12-7), 1:30
Saturday
Championship game, 2 p.m.
Bishop Moore, Hagerty, Orangewood, Winter Springs in FHSAA state baseball