Lake Mary and Jones are back in football state semifinals tonight, this time joined by Bishop Moore to make it three Orlando area teams in FHSAA final four games.

Winners go to Miami next week for state finals at Pitbull Stadium on the campus of Florida International University in Miami.

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Teams are listed with their position in the FHSAA power rankings (bolded), which were updated last Sunday.

Class 7A semifinals

Winners advance to Saturday night, Dec. 13, state final in Miami.

No. 6 Miami Palmetto (11-2) at No. 1 Vero Beach (13-0), 7 p.m. 

No. 4 Venice (9-3) at No. 3 Lake Mary (10-3), 7 p.m. 

Coverage by Chris Martucci

Venice’s pass on 4th down falls incomplete. Lake Mary takes over on downs. First down Lake Mary at their 47. 4:54 3Q.

Lake Mary’s Lucas Parker punts the ball away and pins Venice up against its goal line. First down Venice at the 7-yard line with 8:48 left in the third quarter.

Venice attempted an onside kick and covered the ball. But it did not go the required 10 yards so Lake Mary will take possession at the Venice 49.

TOUCHDOWN: Dorian Jones punches it in from 5 yards out for Venice after Tyree Manning’s 50-yard run set it up. Extra point no good. Venice takes 20-17 lead at 10:42 3Q.

Venice will receive the second half kickoff.

Lake Mary first half stats:

Noah Grubbs: 14-for-23 passing for 181 yards, 1 touchdown.

O’Shea Faison: 8 carries for 34 yards.

Barrett Schulz: 6 receptions for 86 yards, 1 touchdown.

Lake Mary goes to halftime leading 17-14.

FIELD GOAL: Lucas Parker’s 24-yard field goal attempt is good. Lake Mary back in the lead, 17-14, with 1:39 to to in the first half.

TOUCHDOWN: Venice answers Lake Mary’s touchdown immediately as Tyree Manning scampers untouched on the first play of the drive for a 30-yard touchdown run. Extra point good. 14-14. 4:23 2Q.

TOUCHDOWN: One play after Barrett Schulz makes a spectacular one-handed catch at the 1-yard line, Gavin Isaacs punches it in for Lake Mary to give the Rams the lead back. Extra point good. 14-7 Lake Mary. 4:39 2Q.

TOUCHDOWN: Venice running back Dorian Jones smashes through would-be tacklers as he carries it in for the 17-yard touchdown run. Extra point good. 7-7. 8:19 2Q.

Lake Mary forces a fumble as Venice entered the red zone. Rams recover. First down Lake Mary at its 12-yard-line. 5:22 1Q.

TOUCHDOWN: Lake Mary strikes first as senior quarterback Noah Grubbs finds his favorite target, Barrett Schulz, on the fade route for a 16-yard touchdown. That capped a 15-play drive that took off 5 and a half minutes. Extra point good. 7-0 Lake Mary. 6:30 to go in 1Q.

Lake Mary wins the toss and chooses to receive.

Checking in from Lake Mary. An absolutely perfect night for football as we have a rematch from last year’s Class 7A final in the semifinals between Lake Mary and Venice. Kickoff is at 7.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

These teams met in the 7A state final a year ago and Venice ran roughshod over the Rams, winning 52-19 to claim the big-school championship. It was the first finals appearance for Lake Mary.

This time rankings have Lake Mary as the slight favorite.

The pure MaxPreps rankings have Vero No. 1, Lake Mary No. 2, Venice No. 3, and Palmetto No. 5.

Last year’s title was the fourth for the Indians (2000, 2017, 2021, 2024) — the third under current coach John Peacock.

The Indians have reached finals in each of the past five seasons.

Venice is on a six-game winning streak since losing to IMG Academy. The Indians lost their opener to Tampa Bay Tech, 29-7, and lost to The First Academy of Orlando, 21-14, at midseason.

Lake Mary has won five in a row after it lost regular season games against Evans and two state semifinal teams: Lakeland and Raines.

State semifinals preview: X-factors key for Lake Mary, Jones, Bishop Moore

Class 4A semifinals

Winners advance to Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Dec. 13, state final in Miami.

No. 3 American Heritage-Plantation (7-5) at No. 2 Choctawhatchee (12-1), 7 p..m. (CST)

No. 7 Port Charlotte (11-2) at No. 1 Jones (11-2), 7:30 p.m

Coverage by Chris Hays

TOUCHDOWN: Port Charlotte’s Chavon Lizana intercepts Dereon Coleman pass and returns it for a 15 yard touchdown. Port Charlotte takes lead at Jones 23–21. Extra point missed, 8:18 3Q.

Port Charlotte misses 28 yard field goal try as time runs out in the first half. Jones leads 21-17

TOUCHDOWN: Dereon Coleman hits DJ Hicks with a 45-yard touchdown pass. Jones takes 21-17 lead over Port Charlotte 3:12 left in the first half.

Jones forces the Pirates to punt the ball away.

Port Charlotte intercepts a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage to thwart a Jones scoring threat at the PC 8-yard line. The ball was returned to the 25 yard line. 3:54 left in the second quarter with Port Charlotte leading 17–14.

TOUCHDOWN: Port Charlotte takes the lead as Elias Pearl goes 3 yards for the score. The score was set up by a 32 yard run from quarterback Logan Flaherty. Port Charlotte up 17–14, 9:53 left second quarter.

Tigers lead 14-10 heading into the second quarter.

FIELD GOAL: Port Charlotte makes a 31 yard field goal to trim Jones lead to 14-10 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Dereon Coleman hits DJ Hicks for 27 yard touchdown pass. Drive highlighted by two big catches by Larry Miles for 28 and 20 yards. Jones leads over Port Charlotte 14–7. At 3:26 of the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Port Charlotte answers with a 7 yard Elias Pearl touchdown run. This game is tied 7–7, 5:39 left first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Larry Miles goes 31 yards for touchdown run and Jones takes 7-0 lead over Port Charlotte, 9:25 left first quarter.

Jones’s quarterback Dereon Coleman busts a 35 yard run on the second play from scrimmage. Jones is on the move.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Jones is in the final four for the seventh time and fifth in a row. The Tigers scored semifinal wins in 2019, when they lost to Miami Northwestern 34-17 in a state final played in Daytona Beach; and last year, when they were 14-0 before losing 41-31 to American Heritage in a championship game in Miami.

Jones is on a nine-game win streak since losing back-to-back games to 6A Evans, 28-25, and 5A Edgewater, 20-17.

Port Charlotte lost to 7A semifinalist Venice, 29-22, and to Zephyrhills in a 49-48 game that came down to the final minute. The Pirates went for a two-point conversion to win, but it was stopped.

Last week Port Charlotte again went for two in the closing minutes to beat favored Tampa Jesuit, 22-21, in its region final. The Pirates have five wins by five points or less.

MaxPreps rankings differentiate, with American Heritage No. 1, Choctawhatchee No. 2, Jones 5 and Port Charlotte No. 7.

Class 3A semifinals

Winners advance to Friday, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 12, state final in Miami.

No. 3 Sarasota Booker (12-1) at No. 2 Raines (12-0), 6:30 p.m. 

No. 4 Bishop Moore (12-1) at No. 1 Miami Northwestern (12-0), 7:30 p.m.

At Traz Powell Stadium, Miami

Halftime. Northwestern leads 24-14.

TOUCHDOWN: Bulls score on another TD pass. Northwestern leads 24-14 with 2:38 before halftime.

TOUCHDOWN: Bishop Moore’s Jaxson Anderson scores on a 37-yard TD pass by Blake McCollough. Northwestern lead is cut to 17-14 with under six minutes remaining in the first half.

TOUCHDOWN: Northwestern scores on a pick-6 interception to expand its lead to 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Northwestern scores on short TD run and takes a 10-7 lead with 1:58 to go in first quarter.

Bishop Moore leads 7-3 heading into the second quarter.

FIELD GOAL: Northwestern settles for a field goal to cut Bishop Moore lead to 7-3 with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Bishop Moore gets a stop, blocks the Bulls punt and returns it for a 7-0 lead just 55 seconds into the game. Trenton Gummer is the Hornets player who scored the TD.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Northwestern is the defending state champ and has won eight FHSAA football titles: 1995, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024. The Bulls are ranked No. 20 nationally by MaxPreps.

Bishop Moore makes its fourth football state semifinal appearance. The Hornets won championships in 1970 and 2015 and lost a 2014 final four game 21-20 to state champ American Heritage-Plantation.

Bishop Moore’s regular season loss this year was to 7A semifinalist Lake Mary.

MaxPreps ranks Northwestern No. 1, Raines No. 2, Bishop Moore No. 3 and Booker No. 4.

Other classifications

Class 6A semifinals

No. 7 West Broward (11-2) at No. 2 Buchholz (12-1), 7:30 p.m. (at Citizen’s Field, Gainesville)

No. 6 West Boca Raton (11-2) at No. 3 Armwood (13-0), 7:30 p.m.

Winners advance to Friday, 12:30 p.m., state final in Miami.

Class 5A semifinals

No. 11 Riverdale (12-1) at No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (12-1), 7:30 p.m.

No. 4 Ponte Vedra (11-2) at No. 2 Lakeland (11-2), 7:30 p.m.

Winners advance to Thursday, 7:30 p.m., state final in Miami.

Class 2A semifinals

No. 6 Cocoa (8-4) at No. 1 Cardinal Mooney (12-1), 7 p.m.

No. 4 Cardinal Gibbons (10-3) at No. 2 Bolles (12-1), 7 p.m.

Winners advance to Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., state final in Miami.

Class 1A semifinals

No. 9 Trinity Christian-Jacksonville (9-4) at No. 1 Chaminade (10-2), 6:30 p.m.

No. 3 Carrollwood Day (12-0) at No. 2 Cardinal Newman (10-3), 7 p.m.

Winners advance to Thursday, 12:30 p.m., state final in Miami.

Rural division championship

Friday, at H.G. Morse Stadium, The Villages

No. 2 Hawthorne (10-1) vs. No. 1 Blountstown (12-0), 7 p.m.

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.Â