Mainland handles Middleburg in playoff opener, gears for Mosley

Quarterback Sebastian Johnson celebrates his 18th birthday with a 34-13 win over the Broncos.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 3:00 p.m. November 19, 2025
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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It was a happy birthday indeed for Mainland quarterback Sebastian Johnson who led the Buccaneers to a 34-13 win over Middleburg in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 14. Johnson turned 18 the day the second-seeded Bucs guaranteed themselves a playdate with No. 3 seed Lynn Haven Mosley in the semifinals at Daytona Stadium on Friday, Nov. 21.

Head coach Jerrime “Squatty” Bell was all smiles as he was doused with a celebratory torrent of water following his first quarterfinal win with the Bucs. Last season, Tallahassee Lincoln eliminated Mainland with a 21-0 win in the first round of playoffs.

 “Offense played well. Defense played well. Special teams played well. It was a complete game, again,” Bell said. “We have some things to clean up. We had too many touchdowns called back, but we’ll fix that. They executed through that, though. Even through the penalties and dropped passes, we kept throwing and scored on most of those drives, so it was great. It was a good night.”

Middleburg running back Gino Addison rushed for the first touchdown of the game, while the Broncos' defense held the Bucs on downs and kept them off the scoreboard in the first quarter. Addison finished with 89 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Tonight was a great night, but we’ve got to move on to the next opponent — Mosley. We’ve got to keep rolling. It’s a standard to win round one here, so it’s after Thanksgiving or bust. I’m just ready for the next game and hopefully we get to play all the way to December.
— CHRISTIAN COOPER, Mainland team captain

Mainland running back Braylyn Simmons shifted the trajectory of the game with a touchdown  run minutes into the second quarter. The Flagler Palm Coast transfer carried the ball 18 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 15 yards. All year long, Bell said he has been saying that Simmons is a special kid.

“That’s what Braylyn Simmons is (a special kid),” Bell said. “He showed you in the ring game (Belleview). Everybody in Flagler County got to see it last year. Everybody in Daytona Beach got to see it his whole youth football career. Tonight, he put it on display for the rest of the state to see. When the ball is in his hands, special things are going to happen.”

Simmons ran in two more touchdowns which were called back. Wide receiver Kadin Flores also had a kickoff return for a touchdown called back.

“It was bang, bang penalties — you can call it either way or you don’t call it either way,” Bell said. “We’ve got to make sure we don’t put ourselves in positions to allow them to call stuff like that. Whether we believe it or not, we’ve got to clean it up.”

Johnson passed for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Chris Butler caught a 52-yard touchdown pass with seconds remaining in the first half. Christian Cooper had a 54-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Butler finished with 104 yards receiving, and Cooper snagged five passes for 97 yards.  

Cooper’s first year as a receiver was his freshman year at Mainland. Coach A.J. Mallory is the Bucs receiver coach. Cooper said he had Mallory as a coach for four years and credits him with his development along with coach Aaron Mallory, coach Gordon Cohagan and coach Arthur Westbrook.

After the win, Cooper said he was at a loss for words because of his memory of last season’s 5-6 finish and the loss to Lincoln in the quarterfinals.

“We didn’t put any points up on the board,” he said. “It was just a horrible game altogether, 21-0. Tonight was a great night, but we’ve got to move on to the next opponent — Mosley. We’ve got to keep rolling. It’s a standard to win round one here, so it’s after Thanksgiving or bust. I’m just ready for the next game and hopefully we get to play all the way to December.”

Mosley defeated Lincoln 33-30 in its quarterfinal on Nov. 13. The Dolphins are 0-1. Quarterback J.P. Holsombake totaled 260 offensive yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Ga’Marcus Halstead had 90 yards receiving and three touchdowns. The Dolphins' defense racked up five tackles for loss and five sacks.

Mainland had seven tackles for loss. With linebackers Dennis “Tank” King III and Tamaj Woodard leading the Bucs’ defense, Bell said he is looking forward to the matchup against Mosley. Woodard led the Bucs with eight solo tackles, five assists and one tackle for loss. King and Marcus Day each had nine total tackles with Day adding a tackle for loss. 

“They’re a tough opponent,” Bell said about Mosley. “I always thought they were probably the second best, most talented team in our region. Whether we are playing in the third round or playing the second round, we have to play a tough team. We’ve been watching them on film throughout the year and they do some really good stuff. They have a great coach who has turned that program around. They play tough.”

The other Region 1-5A semifinals on Friday are: Ponte Vedra hosts Beachside, Orlando Edgewater Orlando hosts Tampa Bay Tech and Lakeland hosts Tampa Gaither. 

 

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