‘I am full of joy and full of happiness:’ Mainland wins Class 3S Florida high school football championship

Jacob Gettman booted a 23-yard field goal with two seconds on the clock to give the Bucs a dramatic 21-19 come-from-behind victory against St. Augustine.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 7:27 a.m. December 13, 2023
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Mainland High School (14-1) snagged the coveted FHSAA Class 3S football state championship with a dramatic 21-19 victory over the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets (13-1) on Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

After a second-half takeover and a game-ending 23-yard field goal by Jacob Gettman, the Buccaneers quashed their 20-year dry spell and replaced the memories of the 2022 championship game loss to Lake Wales.

Mainland head coach Travis Roland was on the Bucs' last title-winning team in 2003.

“I am full of joy and full of happiness,” Roland said. “My heart is so full. These kids earned this — worked hard for this. I’m just thankful to our community, thankful to my mom and dad for raising me how they raised me and thankful for every lesson I’ve gone through to get to this point. (I am) so grateful.”

St. Augustine's special teams made a statement in the quarter with a 93-yard touchdown return by Trenton Jones on the game-opening kickoff and a 67-yard touchdown return by Marquice King off of a blocked field goal to take a 13-0 halftime lead. 

While the Yellow Jackets had the halftime lead, the Bucs out-gained the Yellow Jackets 240 yards to 40 in the first two quarters. During halftime, Mainland's coaches and players decided it was imperative to score on the first possession when they returned to the field.

“We came out and we did what we wanted to do,” said Terry Anthony, Mainland assistant coach and athletic director. “Defense held them and we took the lead. When they came back to take the lead again, we did what we always do. That’s how we practice — to stay in the moment, stand up in the paint and the big times. We responded and came back with a victory at the end.”

To win it here is surreal. This was a testament of our guys finishing what we started last year. Our motto was ‘we left food on the table last year’ so we wanted to finish eating tonight. I’m so proud of, not just this team, but the Mainland Buccaneer program. I’m glad that ‘Buc Pride Never Dies’. That’s not a saying, it’s a feeling. It comes from the heart.”
— TERRY ANTHONY, Mainland assistant football coach and athletic director

The Buccaneers came out blazing in the third quarter with a kick return by E’Zaiah Shine followed by a barrage of big plays orchestrated by quarterback Dennis Murray Jr.

A long pass by Murray to wide receiver Tyree Weatherspoon landed the Bucs on their 45-yard line. Clarence McCloud then caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with eight minutes left in the third quarter, putting the Bucs on the board. 

“I don’t think the yardage or driving down the field was a problem, it was just a matter of finishing those drives,” Murray said. “Coming out in the second half, we were able to do just that — finish.”

Murray passed for 210 yards and ran for 170 yards with a 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Mainland offense had a total of 505 yards.

“Just the sheer will of wanting to win and put it all out there for my guys kept me going,” Murray said. “I’ve been telling them all week that I’m going to lead with every ounce of energy and every ounce of everything I have left in my body. I’m going to leave it all out there on the field because this is my last game ever playing high school. I asked the same thing of them and they did just that. I’m so proud of them. I just want to give all glory to God for allowing me to be in this position.”

Mainland owned the second half with the strength of the Bucs' defense led by University of Florida commit L.J. McCray. Outside linebacker Rodney Hill sacked Yellow Jackets quarterback Locklan Hewlett before the half and rushed for a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter while playing both sides of the ball.

Murray said he did not have any doubts that his teammates would push through the adversity-ridden first quarter.

Even after losing the final season game to Lake Mary, he said they did not listen to the outside noise and continued to play for each other every week.

“I want to give a special shout out to the whole O-line and the whole receiving corps,” he said. “Everybody was out there making plays when we needed them the most. I just had so much faith in the guys to get it done. When you have faith like that, everything happens — faith in God, faith in your teammates, faith in your brothers, faith in your family.”

A pivotal moment came at the end of the third quarter when safety Bubba Westbrook intercepted a Hewlett pass intended for wide receiver Carl Jenkins. Westbrook's father, Arthur Westbrook, coaches the Bucs’ running backs and is in his 13th year coaching for Mainland. He said he could not have made that play.

“Since the doctor gave him to me, I’ve been hard on him, but it’s tough love,” Arthur Westbrook said. “He played tonight. That interception was nice. There’s nothing I can say but good game and I love you.”

Arthur Westbrook said he was hard on his running backs because of their level of responsibility. Running back Khamani Robinson led the team with over 1,100 rushing yards. He ran for 94 yards in the title game.    

“It’s like there was a big cloud over my head, then the sun and now there’s a rainbow,” Westbrook said. “Since May 1, we have been working — practice, film, running, going through plays and telling them to keep their grades up. This is where it pays off, right here.”

Westbrook said he had also coached kicker Gettman for years, knew that he would not be nervous and would make decisive field goal. Gettman has been kicking for six or seven years and trains with Dan Lundy.

“I was just confident in my ability and I knew that I made it as soon as I hit the ball,” Gettman said. “I knew my teammates got in the best position they could and I knocked it down. I’m glad that it ended the way that it did. I’m glad that we won the game.”

Anthony said he was pleased that Gettman was ending his high school career with the play that won the championship at Florida A&M's stadium. Anthony was also grateful to be back in Tallahassee where he was a wide receiver at Florida State. 

“To win it here is surreal,” he said. “This was a testament of our guys finishing what we started last year. Our motto was, ‘We left food on the table last year,’ so we wanted to finish eating tonight. I’m so proud of, not just this team, but the Mainland Buccaneer program. I’m glad that ‘Buc Pride Never Dies’. That’s not a saying, it’s a feeling. It comes from the heart.”

 

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