4A Championship: Raines Vikings (12-1) vs. Booker T. Washington Tornadoes (8-5)
Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium – Orlando, Florida
Saturday, December 4th – 7:07pm kickoff
TV: Bright House Sports Networks (Channel 1147)
Head Coaches:
Raines – Deran Wiley (Louisville ’98) -7th season at Raines (61-23 record)
Booker T. Washington – Earl Tillman Jr. (Grambling State ’93) -4th season at Booker T. Washington (36-16 record)
The Quick Slant:
-Raines is the only public school in Duval County to win a state championship–defeated Glades Central 32-27 in 1997.
-Booker T. Washington is seeking their fourth consecutive state championship.
-This is Raines’ 31st appearance in the postseason–that’s sixth all-time in the state.
-The Tornadoes’ streak of three-straight ties them with Baker, Cocoa, FAMU, Glades Central, Lakeland, Miami-Central and Union County for second all-time in terms of consecutive titles. If Booker T. wins–they will be tied with North Florida Christian out of Tallahassee and Live Oak-Suwannee for the all-time consecutive titles’ won with four.
-Raines WR Rick Wells 6-0/180 is committed to the University of Florida.
-Brian Dawkins and Louis Nix are notable alumni from the Jacksonville school.
-BTW’s HC Earl Tillman Jr. was the coach at the school previously from 2008-2010 before returning this season.
-The Tornadoes graduated 23 seniors from a nationally-ranked team last season.
-The two teams combined for 8,423 yards of offense in the regular season this year. The Tornadoes with 4,589 and the Vikings with 3,834.
Statistical Leaders: Raines
QB – Augie Debiase 6-2/215 (Senior)
112-of-180, 1,887 yards, 21TD’s-7INT’s
RB – Alex Rutledge 5-8/183 (Senior)
138 carries, 1,040 yards, 11TD’s
WR/FS – Ronald Patterson 6-2/185 (Senior)
32 receptions, 660 yards, 12TD’s
DE/ATH – Jaquan Bailey 6-3/235 (Senior)
89 tackles, 14 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 fumble recovery
Statistical Leaders: Booker T. Washington
QB – Daniel Richardson 6-0/175 (Freshman)
190-of-300, 2,553 yards, 30TD’s-10INT’s
WR – Raymond Flanders 5-11/170 (Senior)
64 receptions, 1,016 yards -12TD’s
RB – Craig Nelson 6-0/185 (Junior)
89 carries, 553 yards, 6TD’s
DE – Jaquan Beaver 5-11/190 (Sophomore)
126 tackles
How they got here: Raines (12-1)
W, Lee 39-0
W, North Miami Beach 61-0
W, Ed White 49-10
W, Fernandina Beach 53-0
W, Wolfson 45-0
W, First Coast 26-15
W, Andrew Jackson 56-0
W, West Nassau 47-0
W, Bolles 35-30
L, Ribault 19-14
W, Panama City-Rutherford 41-0**
W, Bolles 34-8**
W, Santa Fe 35-14**
**-playoffs
How they got here: Booker T. Washington (8-5)
L, St. Thomas Aquinas 35-3
W, Monsignor Pace 41-0
L, Jackson 38-35
W, Southridge 23-14
L, Central 35-28
W, Keys Gate Charter 57-20
L, Northwestern 23-17
W, Gulliver Prep 45-20
L, Columbus 40-13
W, Edison 50-6
W, University School 41-18**
W, Glades Central 35-21**
W, Cocoa 33-14**
**-playoffs
Raines wins IF:
They stay as balanced as possible and Augie Debiase takes care of the ball when getting it to his speedy wide receivers. The Vikings have plenty of senior leadership and if they can get to the freshman QB for the Tornadoes and get him rattled on the big stage then they can let loose on the defensive side and have some fun.
Booker T. Washington wins IF:
Daniel Richardson (QB) has a monster game and completely forgets he’s just a freshman trying to win a historic title game for his squad. Also–the Tornadoes will be nearly impossible to beat if they can force turnovers and possibly points while forcing those turnovers.
They said it best: Booker T. Washington’s Head Coach, Mr. Earl Tillman Jr.
“Started off a little slow this season–rocky road, but we’ve finally been able to put it all together and to win the ones that count–the kids are buying-in to what we’re doing.”