REGIONALS: Florida High punches ticket to Lakeland, University Christian ends FAMU DRS' 11 year run

FAMU DRS and Florida High looked to punch their tickets Friday to the FHSAA State Championships in Lakeland.

Despite the games being only five miles apart, they couldn't be more different.

The Class 3A Seminoles dominated the Stallions, 64-39, winning this program's first regional title since 2019.

The Class 2A Rattlers rallied from a 15-point deficit to push University Christian to its limit, but fall just short, losing 55-53 loss and snapping an 11-season regional title streak.

Florida High (20-3) opens the FHSAA State Championships Wednesday against Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (18-6) at 2 p.m. at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Kings Academy (24-5) meets Westminster Academy (25-5) in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.

The championship game is Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Here's how the pair of regional title games went down.

University Christian 55, FAMU DRS 53

For the bulk of the first half, it looked like the Rattlers' season was over. University Christian jumped out to a 20-7 lead early, dominated by a height and speed advantage over DRS. The Rattlers were also having trouble navigating around 6-foot-4-inch junior Yakiya Milton, who centralized scoring for the rest of the Christians.

Down 12 at halftime, DRS came out with the aggressive press that it has made a trademark for the last decade. University began to cough up the ball and the Rattlers were converting on the other end, coming back from as many as 15 down to make it a four-point game late in the third quarter.

"We picked up our defensive pressure and we tried to capitalize on their mistakes," Rattlers head coach Ericka Cromartie said. "At the end, we just came up short."

The game went back and forth, seeing both teams take major players out of the game. Milton fell into foul trouble late in third quarter and DRS' top scorer senior forward Ameari Logan fouled out in the fourth. However, that didn't waiver either squad.

It was a late three from UC's Lariel Green that bounced off the back of the rim and plopped down that gave the Christians the edge and eventually the win. The loss is the first time since 2010 that FAMU DRS has not qualified for state semifinals. They did make it to Lakeland that season, but the tournament was under a different format than it is today.

"We kind of started off slow and we came around to get together, but I think we kind of dug ourselves a hole," Cromartie said. "We did come back and gith until the end."

DRS showed fight, but it fell just short of a trip to Lakeland. The team showed depth beyond its top scorer, who sat the final stretch of the game due to fouls. Senior guard Alexandria Reddick and sophomore guard Jaila Young stepped up big time, seeing Reddick finish with 15 and Young with 10. Reddick also shot an impressive 6-6 from the line.

FAMU DRS finishes its season at 15-4, with its lone losses coming to Florida High (twice), Orange Park, and Univeristy Christian. The Christians were the Rattlers' only 2A loss of the season. DRS graduates five seniors: Antwania Davis, Suraya Wash, Jah'Nyah Willis, Reddick, and Logan.

Seeing the younger group come alive Friday night, Cromartie said that there's something to look forward to next season.

"It gives us something to look forward to," Cromartie said. "From what we have coming back, they stepped up to the plate. They did the best that they could, but at the end of the day, we came up short."

Florida High 64, Providence School 39

Since falling to Miami Central by 22 points almost two months ago, Florida High has been perfect. It's gone 11-0, won a district championship, and now has won a regional championship, punching its ticket to Lakeland with a 64-39 win over Providence School.

The Seminoles team has not just won but had dominated all throughout the postseason. In its five playoff games, two in districts and three in regionals, it has won all of its games by an average of 40.8 points.

"The girls played awesome all postseason and it was just icing on the cake of how we've come together since Miami," Seminoles head coach Darryl Marshall said. "People have stepped up in their role, accepted those roles, and worked to make this team better as a whole. They're not worrying about 'I'. Putting that all together made this win happen tonight."

Florida High has expanded its scoring core beyond senior guard Tonie Morgan and Audia Young, adding junior guard Laniyah Gennie into the mix. Gennie played a supporting role Friday night while Morgan went off for a season second best 29 points, while Young followed with 17.

It's a big change from where this team was a year ago. In the 2021 3A-1 championship game, Morgan left with an injury changing the momentum of the game and ending the Seminoles state-run. A year later, the team has a new look and is executing as a whole, not just relying on one player.

"Everybody knows their role and has accepted their role," Marshall said. "From a coach's standpoint, I have to make sure everyone is on one accord and everybody is understanding roles. I don't think I did a good job of that, so that was my number one goal going into this year."

"Now, when you get that, the players start to be accountable for their actions, and then there the gelling of the girls. These young ladies truly love each other, so with that, they are celebrating. They love celebrating each other, and that's the difference with this team this year."

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com, on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida High wins regional title, University Christian ends FAMU DRS' season